Fg 6Speed Auto Trans

[Ekul]

Hi there fella's,

After doing all the power mods on my 2011 Fg ute (4"dump, intercooler, 4" race intake, surge tank/Bosch pump, injectors etc, and several edits to get it just right) my attention has turned to up-grading oils (from new I always used Mobil 1 0-40, change after 1,000kms then every 3000km's after that) Then came trans and diff oils. Diff was easy - drained and filled with some nice expensive synthetic Motul gear oil (used in F1 cars).

Went to drain the trans to put the synthetic Motul trans oil in and can't find a drain/fill, or level plug anywhere?

Asked Ford at 2 NZ dealerships - one said that the trans is sealed for life and it has to go back to Germany for any maintenance..... I didn't know if he was taking the puss, so I rang another Ford dealership - they said they have never changed/touched the trans oil in a ZF auto 6 speed, and had heard that the oil was really top stuff - around $70/litre (but didn't know what it was), so why would you want to change it, if there are no problems?

I want to change it because I am putting heaps of power through the trans and it seems like common sense to want to put some really good oil in there..?

Any ideas or comments welcome, anybody else switched to a different tranny oil with the ZF auto 6 speed?

Cheers,

Luke.

[Turbonator]

Hi Luke,

A couple of things come to mind regarding the tranny oil:

1. "Leave well enough alone"

2. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"!

I am also wondering why you change your oil every 3000km? I would think that every 5000-7500km would be sufficient and thereby save you some $$$ that could be put to use elsewhere (petrol for instance). I'm not knocking you for taking excellent care of your "baby", but it just seems like overkill. Mobil 1 (or any good synthetic) should be good for quite a bit more than 3000km. Enjoy your new toy!

[Ekul]

Thanks for that Turbonater.

Yes - have been changing the oil quite regularly, the reason being due to each time I added a new bit of performance gear and re-modified the tune, on the dyno (and road) - I would change the oil after the total thrashing I would give it for a few weeks afterwards.... Just made me feel better

I have done all the mods I am going to do now for quite some time given that I should probably get forged pistons and beefed up rods if I take it any further. So the oil changes will get pushed out to 5000km's now.

Also have changed the thermostat from a 91deg.C to 82deg.C and it doesn't seem to get too hot anymore. Even from new before I started boosted the output it always seemed too hot, even though the temp indicator sat just below half way. It now sits one full segment below half way and does not smell like its cooking...

So what is the syory with the trans oil - why can't it be touched - what oil is it running - what is the story? Never heard of a gearbox that lasts forever on the same oil..?

Cheers,

Luke.

[Turbonator]

According to Ford and ZF the 6spd auto gearbox never needs to have the fluid changed. If the trans does need servicing for some reason, the Ford/ZF fluid is the only one recommended. From what I have read, in order to change the fluid you have to replace the plastic pan with a steel pan that has a sump plug. There are some owners who have reported having problems with their transmission, problems which started shortly after changing the fluid. That's why I said, "leave well enough alone".

I am not an expert when it comes to these things, but there must be a reason why the ZF gearbox was not designed to be serviced or tinkered with by backyard mechanics such as myself.

[bossmang]

if your still keen on servicing the ZF for whatever reason. you might have to ring around a few specialist ZF workshops for some advice. im not sure if there are any places in NZ that do this though.

there are only a couple here in aus melb that are confident and skilled enough to do it.

btw whos tuning it? yourself? how?

[Ekul]

Thanks Turbonator and FF1,

Have pulled lots of big, complex and expensive tranny's apart (including ZF) in the past, in the heavy plant machinery world for folks like CAT, Hitachi, Volvo etc. and many more, - however I understand that ZF may want to maintain a level of control of their product for many reasons, which probably hinge around long term profitability, through patent protection, collecting all failure info for R&D in future products.

Essentially, by making it difficult for any other folks to collectively come up with improvements, or discover causes of problems before they do. They want to be the only supplier to the aftermarket, by remaining in control as much as possible. Probably helps control warranty issues too.

But, it is my tranny and I can do whatever I want with it. If I break something and subsequently come up with a fix, or find a better internal component, or oil that permits a performance enhancement for my purposes and use of the product, then it should be possible to get some product info.

Given that most folks on this forum (and others like it) will at some point be pushing the ZF tranny pretty hard for quite a few years to come, ZF would probably do well to supply some broad factual info to Ford dealerships - it makes them look like monkeys when they have no idea at all about a standard fitment transmission in a vehicle they sell and maintain.

Hoodoo and voodoo around what is now a common/standard piece of gear, just makes me want to have a look inside even more, to find out what the fuss is about. Would be good to get some facts from the manufacturer in terms of oils, internal filtering, adjustments, wear charecteristics at different loadings than standard etc - so we, and even a Ford dealership can apply our preferences for our use of the product, rather than compromise our use, to fit within a very broad band of users.

All work on vehicle is done by myself - Tuning is done by WRC Developments in Napier, NZ - Check out their website - real top shelf tuning work.

Edited 28/08/11 08:48 PM by Ekul

[SuckSqueezeBangBlow]

lots of people use transmax Z, a few have tried Gulf Western syntrans, and before it was 'de-approved' Penrite sin atf (some had dramas, some didn't)

I'm going to give transmax Z a go.

[kovac]

I was also amazed that you didnt need to service the zf but from what I have fiund out is that it is also picky in how much oil is in the tranny if you either put too much or too little itll play up and the kit (plastic pan and accesories needed) will cost around $700 just for the kit from ford they said you only need to get it serviced when u have probs with them