I went to autozone the other day and bought three quarts of automatic transmission fluid. My car had no fluid so i couldnt move it. I put in three quarts and the car still was not able to move when i pushed the gas. It would only move in reverse but it barely moved. It took the car alot of power to move in reverse. In every other gear there was no movement, but you could here the engine revving. here is the STUPID part: I pulled up the hood, and took out the transmission fluid stick thingy and it wasnt filled up to the max. The stupid thing is that I read on the stick and it said something about warranty requires TYPE F fluid or something. I read the bottle of transmission fluid i had bought and it was TYPE H. i was like damn this sucks. anyways the question is: is the car not moving because I put in the wrong kind of tranny fluid? or do I need a new tranny? oh yeah and I need to put 5 quarts to fill it up right? and if it is the fluid that is not letting the car move, I need to take out all of the old fluid right? thanks
have you changed the filter?drain the fluid and try some "type f".5-5 1/2 quarts should fill it.possible the bands could just need adjusting.
dumb question dumb question: what filter and how do you change it? and what bands? thanks much for the advice !
on the bottom of the tranny,you'll see a pan held in with i forget how many bolts.take them out,and inside you'll see a filter held in with i think 3-5 little bolts.replace that,(you'll get a new gasket with the filter)and pour in 5 quarts of type f.your tranny should be a c-4.there are some adjustments for the forward and reverse bands.located on the side of the tranny.
Hey Duster, This is not meant to be stupid. But are you sure your brakes are not froze up or possibly the emergency brake is on????? Dean
wait wait wait... is that a common thing... What is that for? I changed mine and it shot out..... still havent figured out what it is for?!?!
For right now, it won't matter what fluid is in there. You do need to fill it to the full mark though, after running it through the gears first and at normal temp. A plugged filter will also cause this problem, get a good Ford trans manual and it will go into detail on all the maintenance and even complete overhaul. These are available at most parts stores and even in some library's for referance. Type F is the preferred fluid in all early model Ford tranny's. But any fluid will work for them, in a pinch. They are just a hydraulic pump with valving to apply pressure to various clutch packs, etc., for movement in forward or reverse. Removing the pan for filter change can be messy so have a large pan to catch the fluid when you pry down one corner to start the flow. Before replacing the pan and gasket, clean it up and put in a drain plug assy. for future job's like this. These are available at most parts stores or transmission shops. If it still won't move after your endeavors, then it will have to be removed and rebuilt or a new one put in etc. Very rarely is the band adjustment the cause of your problem, but the proper adjustment procedure is in the tranny manual too. A search of the archives here, should have lot's of post's on this little tranny. Good luck and keep us informed.
I searched the forum and found some stuff related to the tranny. I read that putting something that is not TYPE F tranny fluid into the tranny could ruin it or something. Is this true? another question: what does the filter look like? and is the car not moving because the filter might be bad? thanks you all for the great help
it just sounds like you are low on fluid...did you check the fluid level?????was the tranny empty? if so then 3 quarts is not enough to move it no matter how much gas you give it,add fluid slowly as not to over fill the tranny and as mentioned move the gear shift lever from reverse to drive several times to circulate the fluid.
the filter is a screen just inside the pan attached/bolted to the transmission valve body in there. if that screen is too plugged, it will not pick up any fluid and you will not get any pressure. definately try getting the fluid up to level first, because if it isnt then the same thing will happen.
yea the tranny had no fluid. Well the tip of the dipstick BARELY had fluid on it, but it was below the ADD level so it didnt even have a quart. Yea I only put in 3 quarts. So i should add more fluid and check if the car moves before I replace the filter right? i put 3 quarts and someone on the board commented that I needed 5 quarts or 5 1/2. The 3 quarts I put in were TYPE H. should the next 2 quarts I put in be TYPE H also, or should they be TYPE F? or should I drain all the TYPE H fluid out and put in the full 5 quarts of TYPE F? thanks alot for the great help
