Ranger Mods

My Ford Ranger Mkii Auto Transmission Cooling Mods.
Have 2017 XLT and tow a 3 tonne off road caravan. Have had GVM/GCM upgrade done prior to first registration. Currently have done 36,000k’s half of that towing the caravan. Was trying to hold off doing any transmission mods till out of warranty but due to ATF readings from Scan gauge decided I couldn’t wait any longer. Recent weekend trips away towing van at 100kph has shown transmission oil temperature getting up to 112 degrees with ambient temperature 38 to 40 degrees. Researched what to do and decided on a Wholesale Automatics transmission oil cooler. and also the Sure-Cool Thermal Control Bypass Valve. Next was to research whether I could perform the modifications myself. Researched YouTube and found many videos on how to do an oil/filter change and flush on a Ford 6R80 Transmission. Heaps of videos out there and easy enough to do. Next was to find videos on how to remove and replace the valve body to enable fitting the Thermal Control Bypass Valve. The best I found is a series of 4 videos and have attached link to the first one below.
https://youtu.be/J3u5nhU27Zw
This series of videos describes the valve body removal on a Ford F150 which uses the same Ford 6R80 Transmission as the Ranger.
Then I needed to research the oil I was going to use. Was originally thinking of either of the popular oils P------ or N----- but ended up using Castrol Transmax which is the only oil that I could find that is actually licensed by Ford. The other brands say they are compatible but aren’t actually licenced by Ford from what I could find. Ended up getting a 20ltr drum of oil as it’s the most economical way to buy it and now have enough left over for another oil change. Then I researched the possibility of adding a drain plug to the oil pan to make future oil/filter changes a lot easier and less messy. Found this item B&M Drain Plug Kit. Further research however discovered that people had problems with this type of kit leaking after installation. Kept researching then found the Dorman Transmission Pan part No. 265-854 from the USA which fits the 6r80 in Ford F150’s and Mustangs so took a chance it would fit the Rangers 6r80 which it does. It only cost just under a $100 delivered to me in Darwin. This pan comes with a drain plug built into it. Wasn’t interested in fitting an increased volume pan which are much more expensive. Also purchased a new filter on line from Wesfil. Ok now with everything to hand decided it was time to tackle the job. Set the Ranger up on some Ramps and axle stands which gave me plenty of height to work. Took me the whole day approx. 6-8 hours to complete the job as I just plodded along. All went well with no drama’s. I did purchase a Plastic kids sandpit Clam Shell from Bunnings for $12.50 to catch the oil in when I dropped the pan from the transmission. Here is a picture of the oil that came out of the transmission after only 36.000klms. Glad I didn’t wait any longer to do these mods. The oil is black as black and Ford tells you the transmission is sealed for life and doesn’t need a service???? The most daunting part was dropping the valve body but that came off and went back up very easily after fitting the Thermal bypass valve. With the new Thermal Bypass valve fitted I was able to flush the new oil through the oil cooler pickup outlet on the transmission. I filled the transmission with new oil then just started the vehicle and pumped the new oil through the transmission and out the oil cooler pickup fitting on the transmission.
Refilled the transmission and then checked level which was easy as you don’t have to get transmission up to operating temperature with the Thermal Bypass valve fitted.
The true test was to take the Ranger for a drive to see the difference. Around town ambient temperature 35 degrees ATF used to run at 98 degrees now sits on 65 degrees. On a 100k trip in 38 degrees ambient temperature ATF now sits on 72 degrees instead of 95 to 100 degrees. Towing the van at 100kph ambient temperature 36 degrees ATF now sits on 79 degrees and engine coolant at 99 to 104 degrees. A huge improvement overall.
Very happy with results and wasn’t a hard job to do myself.

Cost
Oil Cooler Kit $695
Oil Pan $96.22
Oil Filter $43.95
Oil 20ltr Drum $245
Bypass Valve $95
Total $1175.17

Well done and an excellent source of info for all, thank you.

Thanks for the time you took to post all this info up, very helpful