eric_eric_eric

Epilogue: The final odometer reading was: 108,909. I sold my Ford Fusion to Clunker Junker escorted to auction by IAA. My final test run on the highway in 5th gear safety mode proved to be a success. Meanwhile, I now have to repair the intermediate steering shaft of my Toyota Camry: The odometer for that car currently reads 118,761 miles with many more to go. https://www.toyotanation.com/threads/balance-shaft-delete-without-plugging-oil-feed.1675207/post-14332163

You are most certainly welcome and I wish you all the best.

The final step of the master plan to fix the car involved putting the Mercon LV fluid back into the transmission. According to the service manual, a normal drain and fill involves 4.23 quarts (0.23 quarts = 218 milliliters). With the removal of the control cover, however, it's 5.28 quarts (0.28 quarts = 265 milliliters). As such, I put in 5 quarts and then brought it down to around the 600 milliliter mark on the 6th bottle. Since the bottle is 946 milliliters, adding 346 milliliters was close enough to the required 265 milliliters for the sake of simplicity during the initial fill, which is subject to draining during the level procedure. I went ahead and put the airbox back on the car, which only uses two (2) bolts to attach to the frame. The rubber goes over the metal rectangle to create a seal. Before reconnecting the airbox back to the throttle body, since it would just get in the way of the fill procedure, it helps to rotate the tube that connects the airbox to the throttle body towards the passenger side. It stays in place if you rotate it far enough, but of course you need to be careful not to break anything as it pivots. Then you need to pull the rubber cap out of the transmission fill port. I don't know if you're supposed to push the metal clamps with pliers to loosen the grip on the cap, but I just wiggled the rubber cap until it came out. Then I used a flexible spout to get to the hole and pour the fluid. Once the cap is replaced, the airbox tubes are reconnected, the two (2) clamps are tightened with a flat head screwdriver, the connector is pushed back into the airbox (if removed) and the two (2) plastic tabs are pushed over the air filter, it's time to level the fluid. According to the service manual, the car has to be on a level surface. Of course in my backyard behind my shade tree, the gravel driveway's gradient is sloped downwards to move rain away from the house. Therefore, I drove it forward so the front tires actually dipped downward in a slight depression at the driveway boundary that had been created by digging a small ditch. Using a spirit level, I first verified the car was not tilted towards the driver's side or passenger's side. Placing it underneath the car where a lift catches the rail or you put a jack, I then verified the car was not tilted upwards or downwards. It's also important to note that the car must be running and in park while you perform the level procedure. After starting the car, cycle through reverse, neutral, drive, neutral, reverse and park. You should wait a few seconds between each position and then leave it running in park. Since you do not need to jack up the car to access the leveling plug, it's simply a matter of placing a pan under the plug and getting a long 5mm hex key. Granted, it requires you to stretch your arm quite a bit but it's not too much difficulty if you practice a few times. Having a long magnetic pickup tool can help put it back into the transmission once unscrewed, especially if it's hot. Before realizing my particular hex key allowed the plug to stay on the tool upon removal, I had toyed with the idea of using a dab of superglue to connect the key with the plug or purchasing a magnetic hex key. According to the manual, the fluid needs to drain until it's level. If no fluid drains, which happened in my case, you are supposed to turn off the vehicle, add another 250 milliliters and repeat the procedure. Since nothing drained the second time around, I just poured in the rest of the 6th quart and finally a small teardrop came out of the transmission. Once it's level with the plug, you drive it around for about 20 minutes and repeat the procedure again while in park. The fluid expands with heat so the hot level is the true accuracy. It makes you really wonder why they didn't just lower the plug and require a drain only once while it was relatively cold. I guess it's just another needlessly complex dimension of this Rube Goldberg machine. So what's the verdict? The fluid doesn't leak, it still drives, but . . . it didn't fix the problem. According to the service manual, P0751 means: "Shift Solenoid 'A' Performance / Stuck Off" and it's sometimes paired with P2700 meaning "Transmission Friction Element 'A' Apply Time Range / Performance." This in turn means "forward clutch damaged or worn" per the manual. When I first started this repair, I could not understand why the service manual would refer to the clutch itself when referencing the solenoid. After reading it again in much more depth, I realize it's a generic concept for the entire mechanism's aggregate collection of parts responsible for actuating the 1/2/3/4 gears in the forward clutch. In other words, the DTC refers to anything that causes a failure with the engagement of this element. This could be the solenoid itself, which I hoped, or other parts such as the return spring, piston, wave spring, forward clutch pressure plate, regulator valve, etc. It could even be a worn rubber seal buried within the transmission that might be leaking and reducing the pressure necessary to engage the clutch, per a video I saw on YouTube. I won't lie and pretend I'm happy about this. Quite the contrary, I felt terrible the rest of the day. The one thought in my mind was simply "what a complete waste of time" that kept repeating itself. But perhaps someone else will be able to use this information and repair their vehicle. Perhaps one day I will remove the transmission from the car and post a new topic as I tear it apart. All things considered, I still learned a lot about my car and transmissions in general. The end.

Hi bbf2530, I'm glad my post is well-received by the community. I have decided to wait until Monday to finish the project, since the weather changed somewhat since I last checked. It was not supposed to dip into the low 40s last night so that affects curing time. Will it be the end of the world? Probably not, but at this point I've put too much work into the project to risk exposure of transmission fluid to a product that has not fully cured. The last thing I want is to drain the fluid, remove the cover and seal it all over again. As temperature and humidity are the key factors, I will adopt the adage of "haste makes waste" and practice the lost art of patience.

After scraping the surface for another hour or so, I removed the remaining sealant. You may notice that the paint is missing. While not necessary to create a good seal, I take comfort in going the extra mile. Any nicks, burrs or gouging are easily handled with RTV sealant. The dynamic nature of this amorphous solid allows the gaps to be filled, much like oil creates a film on bearings in light of their inherent asperity. Since the cover must be completely assembled and torqued while the sealant is still wet, which is approximately 15 minutes after application on the surface, it's a good idea to make sure you practice putting the cover back onto the transmission without touching the surface on anything until it's properly aligned. To that end, I first removed the bracket underneath the transmission fluid cooler assembly. It's just a single bolt that attaches the bracket. This gets in the way of the cover as you try to push it up from underneath the car since the radiator hose prevents placement from the top of the car. The next thing I did was move the wires away from the top area by using a zip tie. Finally, I fabricated some guides by simply taking a few of the bolts and screwing them in backwards prior to putting the cover onto the transmission. This allows the cover to push onto them and stay in place while screwing in a few bolts the proper way. Once you get a few bolts properly tightened, you simply remove these backwards bolts and use as normal. With all my preparations complete and the surfaces wiped down one last time with 91% alcohol on microfiber cloth and compressed air to boot, I opened the packaging of TA-29 sealant. Since a little sealant goes a long way with RTV, I cut the smallest bead possible which was one eighth (1/8th) of an inch. It's important to apply the sealant in the middle of the perimeter. When you encounter a bolt hole, you circle the lower half that is closest to the inside of the cover and not the outside. Otherwise, the fluid would simply escape down the threads. While not my best work, it is a fine bead that has no breaks. It's okay to screw up and wipe off sealant that either gets too thick or too close to the inside area. As long as you make sure the bead is connected without breaks after all is said and done, you will get a barrier that prevents fluid leaking. Notwithstanding all my preparation, the cover wouldn't stay fully seated when I pushed onto the guide bolts and held my hand against it. No matter. Even though it separated from the transmission during the bolting process, it really didn't wiggle too much. And besides, it will necessarily create a film so the important thing is just the speed of assembly. For reference, the service manual did not reveal any pattern to tighten the bolts so I just went along the perimeter a few times in sequence. Some people let the sealant "skin" prior to assembly. Also, I've seen people say to finger tighten the bolts and then wait an hour before torquing the bolts. Such a methodology may work with other products, such as Permatex RTV sealants, but there are no such instructions with this product. Unless the manufacturer-specific chemical composition is explicitly designed for that process, it will defeat the purpose of the sealant since the extra tightening will cause the semi-cured seal to rip under additional pressure. It needs to cure after creating the initial shape which necessarily requires the full torque. On a final note, I always make sure the weather will remain above 50 degrees for the entire 24 hour period after assembly. It's "room temperature vulcanization" so it makes sense to ensure non-freezing temperatures during the curing process. Although the package says to only wait one (1) hour prior to putting in new fluid, I wait an entire day just to play it safe. The next post will hopefully be the last, whereby I fill the transmission with fluid.

After receiving the solenoids which I ordered online through "parts.ford.com" at half the price of the dealer, they still had fluid on them. The line pressure control solenoid also had that soap scum appearance as well, just like the first one I received at the dealership. I suppose this is just how they come for some reason: Therefore, I decided to just install them in the solenoid body and hope for the best. The next step was to place the harness back on the solenoid body. According to the instructions from AllDataDIY, there are two (2) holes that use dowels to line up the process of installation. Not being able to purchase the "special" tools from the dealership, I took some hex keys and placed them through the harness. Of course, the wrenches I used were too small but it's just to show the locations. Without using my makeshift guides, I decided to just gently push the harness onto the solenoid body and use my eyes instead of the dowels to line up the metal prongs with the solenoids. After the harness was in place, I wondered why the service manual called for such tools. As I attempted to screw the first bolt back into the harness, I discovered my answer. The screw would not catch in the threads regardless of where I started or with any of the other bolts. I then realized that the guide dowels are necessary to push the harness slightly upwards. Using just a tad of strength, I pushed the harness upward as I attempted to screw in the bolt and it properly threaded this time. With the harness attached to the solenoid body, I plugged the two (2) connectors back into the sockets. Next comes the cleaning of the metal surface of remnants of old RTV sealant. It's extremely important to remove all traces of the silicone if you want the cover to seal properly without leaks. Prior to the cleaning, I placed a microfiber towel over the harness and used a red straw from my compressed air can to push it under the outer lip. This prevents small chunks of silicone falling behind the solenoid body and potentially causing problems when the equipment is sealed back together. The last thing you want is rogue pieces of foreign material getting stuck in places they shouldn't be. Depending on the amount of material left, you may need a razor blade. Since the razor is difficult to use with the limited space, I just used my fingernails. Once the main pieces were removed, I placed 91% alcohol on a microfiber cloth and began to rub in a vigorous manner. Eventually, the surface was very clean. The process needs to be repeated with the other surface that mates with this surface. Unlike the other surface, a razor blade is absolutely essential to removing the material. After spending about an hour gently removing most of the material, I needed to pack it up since the sunlight was going away. As such, I rubbed it down with alcohol and a microfiber cloth. Note, this is *not* complete, as there is still material to be removed. I will hopefully be able to finish cleaning the surface tomorrow and put down a bead of RTV sealant that I purchased from the dealership. Stay tuned.

I appreciate the feedback, thanks! My goal is to help anyone else with the problem and in turn give back to the community at large. The saga continues, however. When I picked up the "new" solenoids from the dealership about an hour ago, I noticed they were soaking in transmission fluid. The packaging was also soaking in fluid and one of the solenoids' outer metal finish was so grimed-up with a flaky material that the bar code and band number were practically unreadable. It should be noted that my momma didn't raise no dummy. That being said, I returned the parts and ordered again with a stipulation they confirm with the distributor on Monday it's new and not somehow remanufactured. The parts guy said sometimes transmission parts have fluid in them, but it's very possible the same problem has repeated itself in the past. After ordering the parts a second time, I decided to call another Ford dealership about 30 minutes away. The person there said he'd never once seen a transmission part soaking in transmission fluid. This furthers my hypothesis that the "testing" done at the manufacturing plant is simply electronic voltage applied to the solenoid to test plunger movement in variable increments; no immersion in fluid is necessary. Anyway, I will hopefully get the solenoids by Tuesday by ordering online and then proceed to post the next parts of the process - installation of the solenoids, the wiring harness (with a makeshift dowel pin to hold in place) and the sealing of the cover with RTV material. I will keep you posted.

After removing the bolts, I used a stiff putty knife to break the silicone seal holding the front cover together. It took some light tapping with a hammer to get it under the cover. Also, since there is some fluid remaining, it's wise to place a pan underneath as shown in the picture below. After it finished draining, I slowly continued to work the putty knife around the perimeter until the cover loosened enough to be removed. The rubber O-ring that sits between the main cover and internal wiring harness needs to be removed as well. Here is the front of the O-ring that faces the front of the car: With a top-down view, here's the internal wiring harness once the front cover has been removed: After removing the two (2) connector clips on the wiring harness, I used a torx bit (T20) to remove the five (5) screws holding the internal wiring harness to the solenoid body. It's important to be careful as you remove the harness, as it can easily break the plastic part of the solenoid that connects to the metal prongs. With the internal wiring harness removed, the solenoid body is exposed. Using needle nose pliers, simply pull out the two (2) dowel pins that hold each particular solenoid in place. Once removed, the solenoids basically slide out of the solenoid body without any effort. In this picture, I've removed the bottom solenoid (line pressure control) and the second from the top (solenoid A). Each solenoid is either a low pressure variable bleed (7G136), a high pressure variable bleed (7G383), or a simple on/off solenoid plunger position (7G484). It should be noted that the very top has two (2) solenoids, so I am indicating the 7th as being closest to the driver side on the top right of the solenoid body. As a point of reference, starting from the bottom all the way to the top, they are: 1. Line Pressure Control solenoid - high variable bleed 7G383 2. Shift Solenoid C - low variable bleed 7G136 3. Torque Converter Clutch solenoid - low variable bleed 7G136 4. Shift Solenoid E - on / off positions only 7G484 5. Shift Solenoid A - low variable bleed 7G136 6. Shift Solenoid B - high variable bleed 7G383 7. Shift Solenoid D - high variable bleed 7G383 The low pressure solenoids have a brown nozzle and green O-ring, while the high pressure solenoids have an orange O-ring and black nozzle. It's also important to note that each solenoid has five (5) possible numbers indicating the band. In my case, the high variable bleed line pressure control solenoid had a band number of 1 and the low variable bleed solenoid A had a band number of 4. Concerning solenoid E, it has a blue O-ring and black nozzle. I did not see the band number in the picture I took, but at that point in time I wasn't even looking for it. I had simply removed this solenoid to see how it was different from the other types and to make sure I had not accidentally broken the plastic tab at the end since it looked different from the others. I had been debating whether or not to replace all the solenoids while the cover was removed, but I determined that it was too expensive to justify as mere maintenance. Since the line pressure control solenoid is extremely important (as it's responsible for regulating the pressure throughout the entire system), perhaps it's fate that I broke it by accident and will need to replace it in addition to solenoid A. I am now simply waiting for the solenoids to arrive from the dealership, which might be a few days.

The next step, prior to removing the thirteen (13) bolts, is draining the fluid. It's a pretty simple step, whereby you just use a socket or wrench to turn the drain plug until its finger-loose, then remove the plug with your fingers and let the transmission fluid flow into the pan. Once it drains and you've put the plug back into the transmission, you need to remove the nine (9) studs with a 13mm socket and the four (4) bolts with an 8mm socket. Although I've stopped for the day at this point, the next step would be to remove the cover from the transmission. It's kinda glued together with RTV sealant so it'll need a putty knife to gently break the seal along the perimeter. Since the electrical connector moves with the cover, it would not be wise to hit the cover especially downwards. It needs to be pulled off the transmission so the connector plug does not break off the internal wiring harness. I'll update when I've removed the cover, the internal wiring harness and solenoid A.

Update: The connector requires you to push the middle of the black piece on the back inwards towards the front cover while moving the lever up and over. https://www.fordforumsonline.com/threads/20-pin-connector-on-6f35-transmission-main-control-cover.30342/ It then pulls out very easily, though somewhat shockingly there was some fluid on the connector. Here are more pictures of the connector once removed from the front control cover of the transmission:

Did you ever figure out the issue?

Does that mean the MPG issues happened after the new transmission was placed in the car? If so, perhaps that is the source of the issue but I don't know how precisely that would affect it.

Maybe all the speakers are blown and/or disconnected.

My 2013 Ford Fusion S with a 6F35 transmission had recently exhibited symptoms of jerky transmission shifts around the 90,000 mile mark. It eventually got to the point that the transmission would not engage in 1st or 2nd gear and instead, after waiting for approximately 7 seconds, would loudly engage into overdrive mode. From my reading of information on AllDataDIY, this is a safety feature that defaults into certain parameters. This of course generates an orange check engine light in the form of a water pump icon. This is the stored DTC of P0751 (and most likely P2700 as well per the service manual). When the transmission tries to engage the first gear governed by shift solenoid A, it essentially revs the engine without effect on the transmission. It will then go back to overdrive. After a few failed attempts, it will illuminate the orange wrench and stay in safety mode from that point forward, until the car restarts. After changing the transmission fluid with Mercon LV directly from the dealership on three (3) separate occasions, the problem persists. The other gear of reverse is fine and it smoothly engages. If anything, I have preserved the functionality of the transmission with the passive drain and fill procedures along with slowly driving in RPM ranges of 1500 to 2000. On a side note, I determined that the fill procedure involving the oil leveling plug on the side of the transmission case is absolutely necessary. When I originally drained the fluid and measured, I filled back the same amount. When the transmission shuddered upon reverse being engaged, I added the extra quarter of a quart of ATF. This fixed the problem but then something strange happened next. As I was driving down the road, I would hear these burping sounds or popping noises that originally sounded like problems with the CV joints. When I added an additional quarter of a quart of Mercon LV ATF to continue to test the amount of fluid needed without opening that oil leveling plug, it got worse. In fact, it started making these bubbling noises while in park so I decided to burp the system with a new drain and fill. When I filled the fluid again with 4.25 quarts and started the car, shifting the gears and staying in park, I opened the oil leveling plug hole with a 5mm hex key. (Of note was the levelness of the car, verified with a simple level purchased at Walmart for a few dollars.) Nothing came out so I closed the port, turned off the car, filled another .25 quarts and repeated the procedure. Again, nothing came out but there was now fluid on the threads. The popping noises went away and the shifting has been fine in the current safety mode. Now that I want to replace the Solenoid A, I am having difficulty removing the 20-pin connector on the main control cover, underneath the air box. Has anyone ever dealt with this connector before?