Only use Motorcraft Mercon, Nissan Matic "D" or an equivalent fluid in the Mercury Villager. Mercury doesn't recommend periodic automatic transmission fluid replacement if you drive the van under normal service. If you drive it under severe service, you should change the transmission fluid every 30,000 or 24 months, whichever comes first. The following covers Mercury Villager models from 1993 through 2000.
Drive the car or let it run for 15 minutes to warm the engine and transmission. Turn the engine off, raise and support the front of the van with jack stands. Remove the splash shields for the transmission and engine.
Clean the area around the drain plug on the transmission. Position a large drain pan beneath the drain plug. Use a wrench to loosen the drain plug. Push in the plug while you unscrew it to prevent fluid from escaping until you fully remove it.
Wait for the fluid to finish draining. Clean the drain plug and inspect it for damage. If you need to replace it, do so. Otherwise, dry it with a clean lint free cloth and reinstall it onto the transmission.
Use a socket wrench to remove the transmission fluid pan retaining bolts and remove the pan from the transmission. Clean the pan and the magnets inside with a safe solvent. Replace the magnets in their original locations and set the pan and magnets aside to air dry. Remove the bolts that hold on the fluid filter, take off the filter and filter gasket and discard them.
Install a new filter, filter gasket and tighten the filter bolts to 62 to 79 inch pounds with a torque wrench. Position a new gasket onto the fluid pan, making sure the bolt holes line up. Reinstall the pan onto the transmission, installing the bolts finger tight. Use a wrench to tighten the bolts a little tighter, tightening every other bolt until you tightened each one. Finally, torque the bolts to 62 to 79 inch pounds.
Reinstall the splash shields and return the Villager to level ground. Remove the transmission dipstick from beneath the hood and replace it with a funnel. Measure the amount of fluid that you drained from the transmission and pour the same amount of new fluid into the transmission through the funnel into the filler tube.
Take the funnel out of the filler tube. Start the engine and check the fluid level with the dipstick. If needed, add more automatic transmission fluid to bring the level to the proper position on the dipstick. Replace the dipstick, shut the hood and turn off the engine.
