Follow up to, Dealer said no to tranny fluid change.

[JJFW831]

I finally changed out to a new PPE transmission pan and Valvoline max life fluid a few weeks ago. All has been good since, smooth shifting and the get go has been excellent, the truck likes. I like to recheck the fluid level, make sure it doesn't need a little or a little removed. I understand I'll need to relevel tranny pan by lifting rear of the truck, my question, can I check while tranny is cold or do I get it up to the operating procedures again? Thank you all, John.

 

[Atcer2018]

I finally changed out to a new PPE transmission pan and Valvoline max life fluid a few weeks ago. All has been good since, smooth shifting and the get go has been excellent, the truck likes. I like to recheck the fluid level, make sure it doesn't need a little or a little removed. I understand I'll need to relevel tranny pan by lifting rear of the truck, my question, can I check while tranny is cold or do I get it up to the operating procedures again? Thank you all, John.

DO NOT check level while it is cold! The reason they want you to check fluid level between specific temperatures is two fold. Fluid expansion properties and so the torque converter is filled. If you pull the fill plug while the vehicle is not running you will have a huge gush of fluid come out as the torque converter has drained into the pan. Ask me how I know! LOL
As per the check instructions it has to be running so the torque converter fills. Between specific temps to account for fluid properties. After a specific sequence of steps to assure the valve body is properly pressurized.

 

[JJFW831]

Thank you.

 

[Wild one]

Thank you.

As long as the temp is above 86F and below 122F you'll be good.Apparently the ideal checking temp is between 105 and 110.

 

[Jeepwalker]

Expansion as mentioned makes a big difference. The valve body and filter hang down into the pan and take up a lot of room inside the pan. Therefore a little expansion can push the fluid up more where the volume is largely consumed by parts/pieces. And make a bigger difference between cold/hot. I don't know if I'm describing it clearly.

Kind of like if you filled a glass up with water, then took another glass slightly smaller and pushed it down inside the larger glass. Just pushing down a slight amount will raise the fluid level a LOT between the two glasses. I'm probably not making sense.... been a long day.

 

[JJFW831]

One more question, will I need to go through the gears again, to recheck my tranny fluid level? Jacked the rear up and placed my jack stands last night, plan to recheck today. It's been in the back of my mind, go through the gears or not or just reach the proper temp. and remove bolt and check. I just want to do what's proper, lots of summer driving coming up. Thank you.

 

[Wild one]

One more question, will I need to go through the gears again, to recheck my tranny fluid level? Jacked the rear up and placed my jack stands last night, plan to recheck today. It's been in the back of my mind, go through the gears or not or just reach the proper temp. and remove bolt and check. I just want to do what's proper, lots of summer driving coming up. Thank you.

Do the procedure again,which entails going through the gears,and check it as cold as you can,the 122 is "max" checking temp,if you can check it at 105 to 110 supposedly is the ideal checking temp

 

[Dusty]

If the engine is running the pump is ensuring the torque converter is full.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, 18” wheels. Build Date: 3 June 2018. Now at 110343 miles.

 

[JJFW831]

Done, Changed out everything at the beginning of the month, tranny wise. Today, nearly 3 weeks, recheck fluid level, nothing came out, took about, 2 oz, hardly any and the fluid came flowing. So now no worries, yesterday cleaned the throttle body out and new air filter placed, in about 1000 miles, oil change. 2016 1500 Ram is running very good, smooth.
Again, I Thank all for the advice on the tranny, John.

 

[Dusty]

My apologies if this is in the wrong place, but I wasn't sure this was valid for a new thread.

While changing the engine oil a while back i happen to notice a lot of garbage (road dust, sand, etc.) around the tailstock of the transmission. When I touched it I could see that oil seepage was causing stuff to stick to it. I've never seen any dripping or spots in my driveway to indicate anything was leaking.

I told the tranny tech. at the dealer about it and he confirmed a rear output shaft leak and ordered a new seal, the first one he's seen replaced on an 8HP ZF. A few days before my scheduled appointment I noticed at a stop that it felt like a slip into gear from neutral at launch. Anyway, I asked him to check the transmission fluid level and he added 3/4 of a quart of ATF. He also checked for codes and there were none.

Although this only happened once, I was a little surprised that just 3/4 quarts low might cause this.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, 18” wheels. Build Date: 3 June 2018. Now at 110455 miles.

 

[mikeru]

Although this only happened once, I was a little surprised that just 3/4 quarts low might cause this.

It's been a while since I've owned a vehicle with an auto trans that had a dipstick. But I seem to remember that the gradients on the dipstick were marked in pints, not quarts like an engine oil dipstick. So the low level mark meant you were 1 pint low. Or maybe I'm thinking of the power steering dipstick LOL. CRS is real!

 

[Wild one]

My apologies if this is in the wrong place, but I wasn't sure this was valid for a new thread.

While changing the engine oil a while back i happen to notice a lot of garbage (road dust, sand, etc.) around the tailstock of the transmission. When I touched it I could see that oil seepage was causing stuff to stick to it. I've never seen any dripping or spots in my driveway to indicate anything was leaking.

I told the tranny tech. at the dealer about it and he confirmed a rear output shaft leak and ordered a new seal, the first one he's seen replaced on an 8HP ZF. A few days before my scheduled appointment I noticed at a stop that it felt like a slip into gear from neutral at launch. Anyway, I asked him to check the transmission fluid level and he added 3/4 of a quart of ATF. He also checked for codes and there were none.

Although this only happened once, I was a little surprised that just 3/4 quarts low might cause this.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, 18” wheels. Build Date: 3 June 2018. Now at 110455 miles.

The 8 speeds seem to be very sensitive to fluid level,even a 1/2 quart low seems to affect them.