My 2001 v6 4wd escape is doing the torque converter shutter at least once everytime I drive it now. I have only had it a year but it has 130,000 miles on it, and I don't see on the maintenance record where any tranny service has been done. My mechanic drained and replaced 2 quarts andadd lubeguard about 7-8K miles ago. My question is I have an apppointment to have it checked for the shudder on Thursday, I told him I don't want the flush done only the flash. My husband is going to do another drain and fill. How many quarts should he drain?

 

Try to get as much old fluid out as you can. But beware, sometimes (not all the time though) it could make the problem much more pronounced or worse than before.

 

The risk with changing transmission fluid and filters on any vehicle with 120,000 KM ( 80,000 Mi) that has never been serviced, is that because there has been a build up of metal and residuals over time, the transition of new oil can cause problems or failures. It usually doesn't but if your past that in Miles its better toleave the transmission alone.
Your better not to change the oil if your not having problems if your past this KM or Miles.
In your case you are having problems and your risk is worth taking. I think get a complete transmission kit done, at FORD. Not a tranny shop unless you know them very well.
That is Oil, and Filter- flush ect. Also if its skipping gears a lot, your past that point of help- sad to say.

How many Miles do you have on it?

RB

 

Thank you for your replies. I have 130,000 miles on it. As I said, this summer my mechanic did a drain and refill of 2 quarts and added lubeguard to it. It seemed ok for awhile but then I kept getting a misfire code. Had to have all 6 coils replaced (OOOUCH). It drove great after the coil fix, except for hard shifting at times, until a2-3 weeks ago I noticed it shuddering about once almost everytime I drove it.

When they put the code reader on it for the misfire, there were no other codes stored. The truck drives great except for this shudder.

Should my husband do the drain and fill before I have the reflash done.

 

My suggestion is bordering on receptive action. The lubeguard is used as a short term fix for the torque- so it could be time again. Problem is this is often associated with larger internal problems.
I would just get the oil flushed and filled with a filter ,at the shop RE ( Transmission Maintenance Package) . Should be about $125.00 or so I am guessing. I do think a trip to the Ford shop will tell you if this is going to help. As much as they wouldn't mind if you buy a new vehicle they like to fix and stand by the vehicles still on the road, at least I believe that.
Failing after that, you will be looking at what you don't want to hear about. Maybe time for a trade in or a reliable rebuilt tranny; however at 130,000 you may want to consider if putting that amount of money into a tranny is worth it.
Its been a decade since I bought one, and then It was a lot of money and I got shafted from Mr. Transmission on Wolfdale Rd in Mississauga Ontario, Canada. They ripped me off for $2000. I thought I would throw that in for all you Canadians on this site.
I hope the service does it for you, I am skeptical.
I'm not a mechanic by any means, but have had a lot of these problems over the years and learned the hard way.


RB