Ford 6F50

Transmission general data

The family of 6-speed automatic transmissions Ford 6F50 / 6F55 was designed jointly with GM for FWD and AWD vehicles Ford with engines capacity up to 3.5 liters. This transmission is used for powerful Explorer and Taurus with gasoline engines (3.5 liters) and diesel engines (2.5 liters) and intended for a maximum torque equal to 380 Nm. In two years more advanced modification 6F55 was released for the torque equal to 407 Nm and engine V6 (3.5 liters). The list of cars with transmissions of this family is constantly growing. Over the last years these transmissions found application on Mazda Tribute and CX-9, Mercury Mariner, Milan etc. 6F50 is also classified as 6T70 by GM.

Technical issues and repair guidelines

The 6T70 unit is considered to be more problematic in comparison with Ford modification. 6T70 had many problems related to electrics and transmission components. In 2012 several significant updates were introduced with addition of wavelike rings in packs and performance optimization of solenoids plate and the valve body.

The 6F50 / 6F55 (GM 6T70 / 6T75) transmissions found application on rare American vehicles. For rare overhauls specialists usually order the filter with the pan gasket, which should be replaced with ATF after 50-80 thousand kilometers.It should be taken into account that for this class of automatic transmissions it is crucial to monitor the ATF state (DEXRON-VI - GM or Mercon 5 - Ford) and its temperature. The quantity of fluid required for full change is approx. equal to 9.5 liters. It is advisable to repair the torque converter and clean the valve body when having problems with shifting and operation of the valve body with solenoids.

A quick failure of the torque converter caused by contaminated fluid may be considered as a soft spot of this transmission. This problem leads to oil starvation or increased pressure and cranking of bushings. The valve body is repaired by replacement of worn valves with enlarged valves from Sonnax. Problems of this transmission often start with the wear-out of rings and bushings. Contaminated fluid from the torque converter speeds up the wear-out of these seals and damages solenoids.This transmission rarely gets in repair services as well as cars with this good automatic transmission produced by Ford.