Fluid change

[Roberfems]

So I recently bought a 2015 ram 1500 with 75k miles on it. It now has 79k. To my knowledge it has never had any of the fluids (trans, transfer case, differentials) changed by the previous owner. I will be doing a decent amount of towing with this truck. I have an appointment scheduled to get the trans, transfer case, and differential fluids serviced. I have read if you don't do this service at 60k miles then don't do it. Is this true? Is it bad getting these changed at 79k? Sorry if been asked i'm new to this and not super mechanically inclined.

 

[rotts4u]

You posted this in a section of the board about detailing so it may not get many replies. Try posting again in a more suitable forum and I bet you will get a lot more responses. And no it is not bad doing them at 79K. The differentials and center transfer case will yield a complete drain and fill but depending on how they do the transmission it may not get drained all the way and require a second flush to get most all of the old fluid out.

 

[PoMansRam]

Your 2014 has the pentastar V6? That being the case, it's got the 8hp45 version of the ZF8 and the BW44-44 transfer case. Just those two alone could cost you over $600 or more for a fluid change depending on who's doing it and what products they're using.

It is wise to change fluids at this time and mileage for sure, just do your homework. All of it I would do myself with aftermarket parts and fluids and save probably 75% the cost of what a dealer would charge.

 

[kurek]

I have read if you don't do this service at 60k miles then don't do it. Is this true? Is it bad getting these changed at 79k? Sorry if been asked i'm new to this and not super mechanically inclined.

Heh, I wonder how many vehicles that bit of "advice" has killed..

Go on and change the fluid, it's a good idea and no harm will come of it only extra miles of service.

I think the bunk advice to not change it either came from some automaker hoping you will be shopping for a new car in the near future or from somebody whose transmission clutches were already worn down to bare metal and the only thing providing grip was all the powdered clutch material suspended in the fluid.

 

[mtofell]

79K is nowhere near the point where you should ride out old fluid - Sure, with 150K on an old tranny maybe you'd just run with it but even that is questionable advice. At your mileage I say change and swap fluid at will.

 

[Burla]

Like PoMan said, it is a quagmire you are in. Not so much "if" you should change the fluid, but the no doubt sticker shock that will be headed your way, and the fluid swap on the zf is no picnic even for everyday mechanics. To make it worse, you can't even easily check the fluid level after the service, so if the level is off the trans can fail. As far as the transmission goes, there is no easy answer. Due to past experiences in my life I just can't trust anyone to do this service properly, so for me I'd either learn it and dyi, or pass on it. If you dyi, lifeguard 8 is a cheaper version of mopar zf fluid, same stuff.

The rest of the items, have those done. Diffs are not closed, those should always get new fluid every 30k, and very easy dyi.

 

[Burla]

Amazon has packages for rams, pan/filer and zf fluids. Yeah it is 230 bucks to dyi, lol. Some flushes are over 1500 bucks, no joke. Yeah 1490 plus tax in some spots. Those zf transmissions operate a solid 30f hotter then other transmissions, so no such thing as lifetime fluid. If you are ever over the 225f mark for any reason, it should be changed. Should be changed anyhow, but really should be changed if you run it hot for towing or hills whatever.

They build **** on the edge of breaking anymore. By design, get people to constantly buy new stuff.

 

[MRFREEZE57]

I changed the transfer case and both diff's with redline which is less than half the cost of the mopar stuff. just received a 12 quart case of redline D6 atf, bought on amazon for 126 bucks and am planning on using on the transmission when hits 50k. dealer quoted 29 bucks a quart for the mopar atf, the case of redline comes out to above 10 and a half bucks a quart.

 

[kurek]

They build **** on the edge of breaking anymore. By design, get people to constantly buy new stuff.

I remember in one of the official engineer q&a sessions Jeep used to have, one of the company representatives said something to the effect of they engineer everything to kind of reach the end of its life around the same time - they were really diplomatic about it but the bottom line on it was if you put a car in the junkyard with 200k miles, and there's something on it that could have gone twice that long it means they missed opportunities to make that part sh**tier (er, I mean, save manufacturing cost on that item)

From their perspective I get it.. they're in the business to sell vehicles with maximum profit margin. But I'm in the business of not wasting my money buying new stuff all the time + there's nothing environmentally responsible about filling landfills with broken things that could have been built better... so I guess our businesses are in conflict

 

[Roberfems]

You posted this in a section of the board about detailing so it may not get many replies. Try posting again in a more suitable forum and I bet you will get a lot more responses. And no it is not bad doing them at 79K. The differentials and center transfer case will yield a complete drain and fill but depending on how they do the transmission it may not get drained all the way and require a second flush to get most all of the old fluid out.

Okay, next time ill try