Should I change my trans fluid?

I have a 2018 black express, 90k miles, had about half of those miles towing, driving on the beach or hauling crap in the bed. I don’t feel great about changing it myself with how crazy a process it is, any ideas how much a shop would charge to do it? Or should I just ride it out and hope it makes it to 200-300k with no problems?

Definitely change it by 100K with all that towing. My 2 cents.

I know the process is intimidating but maybe a friend can help for some confidence boosting.

If you're not comfortable, then it's money well spent. I would look around for a shop familiar with the process and ask questions. I'm sure you've watched videos or read threads.

Good luck!

And just for the record, I'm at 67K miles. I'll be changing mine at 100K. I don't tow. I do haul 1200 lbs or so in the bed every so often.

The process is so janky I often wonder if the shop who flushes it gets it right or cares too, and how in the world would you possibly know if the level was correct. Maybe it is a good transmission, but it truly is a horrible thing ram did to owners where they can't even check the fluid level without a 2 video series just to accomplish this. So there is zero chance I would ever trust anyone even the dealer to do this correctly, and eventhough I don't trust them you know for sure you cant trust them if they want less then a grand for this service. So yes I think you should change the fluid but I also suggest you buck up and dyi, maybe get a buddy to help you. Gte the filter and use valvoline maxlife multi vehicle fluid, it is way cheaper and is proven to be equal to mopar unicorn pizz they charge 30 bucks a quart for and also better then high performance fluids which the zf does not prefer. So get the pan and filter and that valvoline multi vehicle and follow the process step and step. Check out motor city mechanic video series on how to.

What is the rational for paying the 1200 to 1500 the dealer wants for this when a new transmission is 4500? It's not that 1200 isnt fair, when you consider what mopar sells that fluid for, the cost of the pan/filter and the labor it costs to do this right, that is in the ballpark of being "fair". If you think you will get all of this for 450 bucks or so, it simply isnt going to happen, nobody worth a spit would do that. It is a quagmire unless you can take on the job, then it is just a challenge. I just posted a dyi on the fords transmsion a similar task, and it was a 3 flashlight job, as in he used up 3 flashlights batteries just to record it for youtube.

Jtblackram said:

I have a 2018 black express, 90k miles, had about half of those miles towing, driving on the beach or hauling crap in the bed. I don’t feel great about changing it myself with how crazy a process it is, any ideas how much a shop would charge to do it? Or should I just ride it out and hope it makes it to 200-300k with no problems?

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The process isn't difficult.Jack the truck up till the transmission is level,unbolt the original pan/filter,replace it with the new pan/filter,put as much fluid in the transmission as you can,then it's just a matter of going through the gears,and rechecking the fluid level after. It seems intimidating,but after you read through these instructions a couple times,you'll see there's not much to it.
Step 1 and steps 5 to 14 are the only ones you need to worry about.Ideally you want to start with a cold transmission,that way you can get through the procedure before the transmission is at it's max checking temp of 122,apparently the ideal checking temp is between 110 and 115,with 122 being the max temp you can be at to get a proper fluid level

I agree with Burla if you have the means. Something I will definitely take on myself. At least it will be my fault (or my brother's lol) if we mess it up.

That's true. But shops and mechanics will generally take the easy way out even if it means skipping steps ...if they think they can. And most techs certainly don't like crawling under a hot pickup when they could be doing it on a hoist.

You(OP) might be better off contacting a good transmission shop and get an estimate from them...and make sure they are going to raise the rear end and do it the right way. They'll probably have to charge a little more for the process, but you only need to do it once (hopefully). And I would stand there the whole time and chaperone the process in their waiting room or whatever, and ensure the shop/tech does it the right way. If you wait till summer, shops usually have their bay doors open and you can just stand outside and watch. Bark out orders if you need to, the moment they start to cut corners.

If a shop says, they have a procedure where they can do it on the hoist, ask how they get the transmission level doing it that way. (best not to use that shop).

For the record, if the 8HP70 has been drained and a new pan/filter in place, how many qts of fluid should be added back in before starting the procedure to set the level? I’d sooner have fluid draining out once the proper temp is attained rather than be trying to pump in additional fluid with a hot trans and exhaust.

Thx,
RI

When I changed my 8sp, I drained out 5 qts and put back 5.5 quarts.

I had my dealer do it (8-speed) in March 2022 at 95,000 miles.
Total for everything, fluid/pan/filter/labor was $947.10.

That's one service most dealers provide free of charge.
They make it easy and affordable to take your business elsewhere.

Jeepwalker said:

That's true. But shops and mechanics will generally take the easy way out even if it means skipping steps ...if they think they can. And most techs certainly don't like crawling under a hot pickup when they could be doing it on a hoist.

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You guys are pretty harsh on the dealership techs. I used to be one in a previous life. The reason we were quick is cause no one would pay us to be slow. Working in a dealership, you see the same repairs over and over and learn to be fast and not waste time. That doesn't mean you're skipping steps. Also, I was a lot faster in my 20's and 30's before my body got beat up doing it. Now I'm old and slow, but it doesn't matter.

I'm sure the dealership techs have some tricks up their sleeves to level the tranny on a lift with longer lift pads in the rear, cause no one is going to get paid to do it on the floor. They certainly aren't shipping the trucks out short a qt of fluid, which would happen if they didn't level the transmission.

That said, I haven't been impressed with some of the work I've had done at dealerships these days, especially warranty work. It's a problem that starts at the top because no one is willing to pay for diagnosis, just parts replacement. I used to wonder why I changed my own oil still, but the Hyundai dealerships can't seem to change the oil in my Tucson without over filling it by more than a half quart. One would think they'd get that right, at least.

To the OP, yes you should get your transmission serviced. It's not rocket science, but you need to do it the right way or bad things will happen.

Curmudgeon said:

I had my dealer do it (8-speed) in March 2022 at 95,000 miles.
Total for everything, fluid/pan/filter/labor was $947.10.

That's one service most dealers provide free of charge.
They make it easy and affordable to take your business elsewhere.

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$947 - Never in my life!

Valvoline maxlife, ZF pan / filter: total like $220 (this is the correct pan even though it says doesn’t fit ram 1500 for some reason… check the comments and I’ve personally got it on my truck.) I went with amsoil fluid and it was still ~ $300.

Absolutely nothing about this job is worth $647! It’s super easy.

Jack the back up by about 8” to get the pan level. BIG drain pan cause the drain bolt is right under the exhaust cross pipe (who the hell designed that?).

I filled the pan with my transfer pump routed from behind the trans cross frame to avoid the exhaust. Left it in while I started the truck and did the procedure (went back under the truck at the min temp). needed to add about another 1/2 quart.. done.

Tighten fill plug, spray with degreaser and wipe down.

Black1500Ram said:

$947 - Never in my life!

Valvoline maxlife, ZF pan / filter: total like $220 (this is the correct pan even though it says doesn’t fit ram 1500 for some reason… check the comments and I’ve personally got it on my truck.) I went with amsoil fluid and it was still ~ $300.

Absolutely nothing about this job is worth $647! It’s super easy.

Jack the back up by about 8” to get the pan level. BIG drain pan cause the drain bolt is right under the exhaust cross pipe (who the hell designed that?).

I filled the pan with my transfer pump routed from behind the trans cross frame to avoid the exhaust. Left it in while I started the truck and did the procedure (went back under the truck at the min temp). needed to add about another 1/2 quart.. done.

Tighten fill plug, spray with degreaser and wipe down.

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I built some ramps out of 2 x 6's that someone on the forum posted. I stacked them on a driveway with a bit of an incline. I tried a few combinations to back the truck up and got the trans pan level and marked the ground as to where to place the stacked ramp. Then it got cold out. In the spring, I plan on doing the shifter dance in the street and backing up the ramp to check and then change the fluid. I think Wild One posted a green flow chart for checking a changing the fluid.

mdc1990zr1 said:

I built some ramps out of 2 x 6's that someone on the forum posted. I stacked them on a driveway with a bit of an incline. I tried a few combinations to back the truck up and got the trans pan level and marked the ground as to where to place the stacked ramp. Then it got cold out. In the spring, I plan on doing the shifter dance in the street and backing up the ramp to check and then change the fluid. I think Wild One posted a green flow chart for checking a changing the fluid.

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Ideally the rear tires should be in the air. To go through the procedure properly,the truck has to be able to shift into 2nd gear with the wheels off the ground. #9 on the sheet.

I feel old, and I'll be 67 soon. I'm retired and don't move around like I did when working. On top of that poor excuse I have allowed my tool collection to dwindle.
Consider step one, jack the truck... I'd have to buy a jack, and jack stands to be safe. Or ramps. I'd buy wood and build my own, but I'd have to buy a saw.

Considering I drive about 5,000 - 6,000 miles a year, tops, I may never have to do this again. And it sucks to me too because I used to do all this kind of thing myself, and saved a ton of cash over the decades.

That said, all the suggestions really are greatly appreciated. I posted that info largely as a warning for those who CAN do it for themselves.
I think I saved money and spent money thanks to this forum. And what I've spent has been a good investment, and improvement over what I was doing prior.

keep it up. Chumps like me need all the help we can get!

Wild one said:

Ideally the rear tires should be in the air. To go through the procedure properly,the truck has to be able to shift into 2nd gear with the wheels off the ground. #9 on the sheet.

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I still think you can do #9 on the ground. Anyway, I can still do the "full" check starting from cold the next day to see where I'm at. When it warms up, I'll post the results.

mdc1990zr1 said:

I still think you can do #9 on the ground. Anyway, I can still do the "full" check starting from cold the next day to see where I'm at. When it warms up, I'll post the results.

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How would you accelerate slowly to 2nd gear with the wheels on the ground?

The procedure looks worse than it is. I had to go out and buy some TALL jackstands and a garden sprayer (to transfer the tranny fluid.) 8mm and 10mm Allen wrenches I had on hand. I cut a piece off of the 10mm, just shy of 1/2" long to use to access the drain plug on the tranny pan.

I also picked up some welding gloves to protect my hands/wrists while re-installing the transmission fill plug. The exhaust pipe will be hot and it's right there where you're working.

Crack the fill port plug loose before starting the procedure to ensure it is removable before you drain the fluid. DO NOT remove the fill plug w/o the engine running with the truck tail end elevated otherwise you'll lose a bunch of ATF out of the fill port.

Once you've done it, you'll see how easy it really is.

I have put about 11,000 miles on the truck since that trans service was done, and it has been quiet and smooth as when I first bought it. It never gets above about 185F. I've never towed and only haul a bed full of seasoned firewood a short distance once/year. So far so good?

At the rate I'm driving, another service won't be due for at least 10 - 15 years, although I know I could actually do it at any time.

Given everything I would have to buy, including a tool capable of cutting the tool I need to do the job, it would probably make more sense for me to pre-purchase the Maxlife/pan/filter and find a shop I can trust to follow the green sheet procedure.

If you're still reading, does anyone know the max number of years before the fluid/pan/filter should be replaced again?

T. Anders said:

How would you accelerate slowly to 2nd gear with the wheels on the ground?

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Long driveway? Turbo creeper?