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So, just to seperate it from the Motul Gear 300 thread, I did a little write up on my experience with changing the transaxle oil. Anyway, here it goes:
I bought my FiST new in April and while the car shifted ok, it was far from the nicest shifting transmission that I’d used. I’d been toying with the idea of swapping the transaxle fluid out for something a little more sporty and I’ve always had really great experiences with Red Line products, so I started looking through their catalog for something that met our weird Ford dual-clutch spec. Unfortunately, they didn’t have anything, but then at SEMA, I wandered past their booth and noticed a new product called DCTF. This seemed like it might be the ticket. I picked up the bottle, and found that it met a Ford/Getrag dual-clutch spec, though not ours specifically. I figured that it was worth a shot, so I got three bottles and arranged to have my buddy do the work at his shop while I took photos and avoided getting covered in gear oil.
The Fiesta ST is probably the easiest transmission/transaxle oil swap I’ve ever done/had done. Access is super easy for the drain and fill and they both use the same 8mm hex bolt. Both drain and fill plugs were in pretty tight, but this was the first time they’d been opened, all things considered it wasn’t that bad. I can recommend using some cardboard or form-a-funnel on the drain side as it will gush out, hit the control arm and go everywhere. After 11000 miles, the old fluid was a little dark, but not horrible, better than I was expecting. It was very thin, as you’d expect, but thicker than a true ATF (Dexron, etc).
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I bought the $10 fluid pump from O’Reilly and it worked like a champ. The pump wouldn’t screw onto the Red Line bottle but it wasn’t too big a deal. The FiST took a little over two quarts of fluid. While I had the car up in the air, I also changed out the lame-duck rear motor mount for the upgraded unit from COBB. The COBB mount is much beefier than the stock unit but because it’s still a rubber bushing, with voids, the vibration isn’t that much worse than stock. It’s noticeable, mostly at idle with the A/C on, but the benefits far outweigh the increase in NVH.
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The combination of the Red Line DCTF and COBB mount made my Fiesta shift like an absolute dream. It’s so slick and precise feeling now, with no more clunks or wheel hop under hard acceleration. The day after I changed everything out, I took the car for a track day at Streets of Willow at Willow Springs International Raceway. Even under those extreme track conditions, the car never gave me any problems, I was able to rip through gears and rev-matching my downshifts was easier. All in all, I couldn’t recommend this combination of mods highly enough. Keep in mind though that since the Red Line DCTF doesn’t meet our specific Ford spec, your mileage may vary.
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On the shakedown run which took me from Decker Canyon to Mulholland Hwy E to Stunt Rd to Saddle Ranch to Tuna Canyon (best road ever) to PCH. Living in SoCal definitely has its perks!
I bought my FiST new in April and while the car shifted ok, it was far from the nicest shifting transmission that I’d used. I’d been toying with the idea of swapping the transaxle fluid out for something a little more sporty and I’ve always had really great experiences with Red Line products, so I started looking through their catalog for something that met our weird Ford dual-clutch spec. Unfortunately, they didn’t have anything, but then at SEMA, I wandered past their booth and noticed a new product called DCTF. This seemed like it might be the ticket. I picked up the bottle, and found that it met a Ford/Getrag dual-clutch spec, though not ours specifically. I figured that it was worth a shot, so I got three bottles and arranged to have my buddy do the work at his shop while I took photos and avoided getting covered in gear oil.
The Fiesta ST is probably the easiest transmission/transaxle oil swap I’ve ever done/had done. Access is super easy for the drain and fill and they both use the same 8mm hex bolt. Both drain and fill plugs were in pretty tight, but this was the first time they’d been opened, all things considered it wasn’t that bad. I can recommend using some cardboard or form-a-funnel on the drain side as it will gush out, hit the control arm and go everywhere. After 11000 miles, the old fluid was a little dark, but not horrible, better than I was expecting. It was very thin, as you’d expect, but thicker than a true ATF (Dexron, etc).
I bought the $10 fluid pump from O’Reilly and it worked like a champ. The pump wouldn’t screw onto the Red Line bottle but it wasn’t too big a deal. The FiST took a little over two quarts of fluid. While I had the car up in the air, I also changed out the lame-duck rear motor mount for the upgraded unit from COBB. The COBB mount is much beefier than the stock unit but because it’s still a rubber bushing, with voids, the vibration isn’t that much worse than stock. It’s noticeable, mostly at idle with the A/C on, but the benefits far outweigh the increase in NVH.
The combination of the Red Line DCTF and COBB mount made my Fiesta shift like an absolute dream. It’s so slick and precise feeling now, with no more clunks or wheel hop under hard acceleration. The day after I changed everything out, I took the car for a track day at Streets of Willow at Willow Springs International Raceway. Even under those extreme track conditions, the car never gave me any problems, I was able to rip through gears and rev-matching my downshifts was easier. All in all, I couldn’t recommend this combination of mods highly enough. Keep in mind though that since the Red Line DCTF doesn’t meet our specific Ford spec, your mileage may vary.
On the shakedown run which took me from Decker Canyon to Mulholland Hwy E to Stunt Rd to Saddle Ranch to Tuna Canyon (best road ever) to PCH. Living in SoCal definitely has its perks!
