Ford C6 Transmission Filter and Pan Gasket Kit 1975-1996

The C6 is Ford's heavy-duty three-speed automatic, and a fluid service is only done right if the filter comes out with the old fluid. That flat filter screen bolts to the bottom of the valve body and is the last thing standing between the pump and whatever clutch material and metal have collected in the pan. Leave a loaded screen in place and you starve the pump right when the transmission is working hardest, which on a loaded truck usually shows up as a delayed engagement or a slip on the 1-2 shift. This kit gives you the filter and the matching pan gasket so you pull the pan, drop the screen, and reseal it in one pass instead of wiping out the pan and buttoning it back onto a dirty filter.

It fits the 1975-1996 Ford C6, which is the later pan and filter pattern used in F-100, F-150, F-250 and F-350 trucks, the Bronco, E-series vans, and full-size cars behind the 351, 390, 429 and 460 engines and the 300 six. The C6 changed its filter and pan bolt layout partway through its run, so this is the wrong kit for a 1966-1974 C6 - those use the earlier-pattern filter. If your truck is a mid-70s crossover year, match the pan and filter to what is actually bolted up before you order.

On the bench or under the truck: drop the pan, unbolt the old filter, clean the pan and magnet, set the new filter, lay the gasket dry (no sealant needed on the C6 pan), and torque the pan bolts evenly to spec so the gasket seats without crushing. Do this every 30,000 miles on a truck that tows or plows, and every time you drop the pan chasing a leak or a shift complaint. A fresh screen and a clean gasket is cheap next to a C6 rebuild.