2016 1500 hemi transmission leak help

[1atom12]

All, I have a 2016 1500 hemi with only 32k miles on it. I have a small transmission leak. Does this look like a pan leak or is coming from somewhere else? Want to know if this is something I should tackle myself or just take to a shop and let them do a full tranny service on it. My guess is all the sitting around all these years was a contributor to this problem...

 

[Jeepwalker]

Hard to say from the pictures. How mechanically inclined are you?

Changing the fluid on your tranny, you have to put the rear up on jackstands and make the bottom of the tranny LEVEL. Plus a few other things. It's a lot more involved than the tranny's of old (and quite a bit more expensive for parts/fluid overall). Best might be to go to Y/T and watch some ZF tranny fluid/filter change videos.

If it's the O-ring for the lever, that would probably involve removing the valve body. But I haven't done it on that transmission. Hopefully someone else will chime in. Then again, it could be something else, or even a leak off the engine. See if there are any videos on ZF tranny leaks (not just on Rams). ZF transmissions are used in a lot of vehicles. Probably a lot easier to take it to the dealer.

 

[REDinAZ]

for starters try and get eyes on fluid that might be dripping to the ground, maybe sit a large piece of cardboard (if you can find it in white that would be preferable) directly under the next few times you park it overnight. any coloration of/amount of dripping might give you more info.

if there really isn't epic dripping activity on the cardboard I'd get under there with aerosol can of Gunk Engine Degreaser "Original" formula and spray that whole area you don't like the look of (when the truck is dead cold, and please wear eye pro under there for your sake) and let soak a few minutes, pull yard hose under and spray it all off (and don't do it somewhere you don't want used degreaser landing on the ground), and then take it for a quick 5 min spin to dry it out. and over following time make obs of if/when/how much that stain returns.

 

[Jeepwalker]

...with a can of Gunk Engine Degreaser "Original" formula and spray that whole area..

Great suggestion (esp "Original Formula"). We think alike there. Let the degreaser sit for 10-15, 20 min, (keep it wet with degreaser). Let your garden hose sit in the sun a while so you're rinsing it off with hot water. Hot sun shouldn't be a problem there in Atlanta, lol.

 

[Wild one]

The O-rings on the transfer tubes have been known to leak.Mopar offers upgraded transfer tubes that do away with the O-rings. These are what the updated transfer tubes look like,they're a rubber encapsulated tube

 

[RamInfo]

for starters try and get eyes on fluid that might be dripping to the ground, maybe sit a large piece of cardboard (if you can find it in white that would be preferable) directly under the next few times you park it overnight. any coloration of/amount of dripping might give you more info.

if there really isn't epic dripping activity on the cardboard I'd get under there with aerosol can of Gunk Engine Degreaser "Original" formula and spray that whole area you don't like the look of (when the truck is dead cold, and please wear eye pro under there for your sake) and let soak a few minutes, pull yard hose under and spray it all off (and don't do it somewhere you don't want used degreaser landing on the ground), and then take it for a quick 5 min spin to dry it out. and over following time make obs of if/when/how much that stain returns.

Yes, but before driving it let the area dry thoroughly then dust it with talcum powder. The talc will clearly identify any seep/weep areas and will also show the path of travel as the oil migrates. I’d make that a moderately paced drive and bring the trans up to full operating temp.

best,
DG

 

[REDinAZ]

Great suggestion (esp "Original Formula"). We think alike there. Let the degreaser sit for 10-15, 20 min, (keep it wet with degreaser). Let your garden hose sit in the sun a while so you're rinsing it off with hot water. Hot sun shouldn't be a problem there in Atlanta, lol.

yes JW, I've always been impressed with that "Original" stuff, the ONLY one I'd ever use. it works fantastic and has never destroyed any surface finish I've sprayed it on (now, I don't think I'd go so far to spray it directly onto exterior paint however). relatively cheap, and 1 can will probably degrease 2 vehicle front end bottoms.

and honestly? it's a little oddball but I go out there with a moonbeam and do it all after dark. FWIW I usually go out at night and check most things under the hood the first time I think I got a problem. You can see a heck of a lot more clearly in and under the engine bay without the sunlight around.