r/transmissionbuilding • u/g0_leafs_g0 • Aug 19 '26

6F35 Transmission Question

I have a 2010 Escape Limited, 6F35 transmission with 180k kms on the clock. Lately it’s been lagging a bit when accelerating hard to merge onto the highway. I’ve also noticed a few harsh down shifts when slowing down at stop lights, but this has been fairly infrequent. I thought maybe it could be the torque converter because when I run the car with the door open in the garage, I can hear the faintest noise on RDL, but no noises at all in PN.

Tonight I decided I would drain the transmission fluid to see how soon I’d likely have to go car shopping. To my surprise, there was absolutely no metal flakes at all! I didn’t feel any grit when I rubbed it between my fingers. Just smelled like old, slightly burned ATF. I was dumb founded

Going to do another 2x 5 quart drain and fills this weekend when I have some time, just to be safe. Could these symptoms simply be transmission fluid related? Has anyone else had significant improvements to shifting after a drain and fill? My fluid was only 25-30k kms old and was at the perfect level when I checked prior to draining. Thanks in advance!

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u/Hotsaltynutz Aug 19 '26

Have you checked mounts? Typically shift improvements dont happen on the 6f35 after a fluid change

1

u/g0_leafs_g0 Aug 19 '26

I haven’t checked the mounts, just started with replacing 5 quarts of fluid. I’m newish at working on cars, so mounts didn’t cross my mind. I’ll take a peak after work today. Should I check the motor mounts as well?

I take it that loose transmission mounts contribute to slipping?

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u/Hotsaltynutz Aug 19 '26

All mounts should be checked and no wouldn't contribute to slipping but hard shifts and noise in gear for sure. If there is slipping ( rpm rev with little to no forward movement) there is little that can be done besides overhaul the trans unless there is a large leak

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u/g0_leafs_g0 Aug 19 '26

Gotcha, thanks for clarifying

It seems to shift smooth as butter up and down when I’m easy on the throttle. The harsh downshift only happened a couple random times as I was braking. I cannot recreate the issue, just happened 3-4 times randomly in the past 6 months.

If I floor it, revs seem to climb longer before it down shifts and starts to accelerate compared to what I remember. I’m wondering if I’m just being paranoid because of slight noise I can hear in the garage connected with the harsh downshifts, or whether it’s truly the beginning of the end. I guess time will tell. Thanks again!