PPE Pan Install Issue

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afate45

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Long time lurker, first time poster! I have a question about the PPE pan install on a 2014 Ram 1500 with the 5.7.

I'm at the point where it's time to install the PPE pan and the exhaust crossover isn't giving me the clearance to install the pan.

My question...I unbolted the cross member, raised it up just before the 3 bolts come out of the holes for the cross member, but I still don't have the clearance needed...if I go ahead and jack the rear of the transmission up another 1/2in where those three bolts clear the bolt holes in the crossmember, am I going to have a nightmare getting them to drop back into the holes?

Ive read just about every thread here about the pan install. I see in older threads people talked about needing to unbolt the exhaust from the manifolds, but I'm really trying to avoid that headache since the driver side isn't easily accessible from under the truck...I just don't want to hose myself by creating another issue where the 3 cross member bolts won't go back into their holes when I lower the transmission back down.

Thanks for any advice you can provide!!!


EDIT: 4/7/23

I was finally able to install the PPE pan. It seems that the fit was much tighter on my truck than other accounts around the internet. I had to unbolt the rear transmission mount and raise it substantially....at least 2 inches (the bolts for the mount were well clear of the cross member)...and even then it was a tight fit. All in all, I wouldn't say it was difficult, just a learning experience that made it difficult. As with most mods/service on a vehicle, the first time around takes 5x as long as it should...next time will be a breeze.

A few other notable highlights...
- When I unbolted and raised the rear transmission mount, my fear of the bolts not lining back up when I lowered it actually did come true. Luckily it wasn't nearly the same nightmare as I've had with other vehicles in the past. I took a ratchet strap, fed it through the passenger side of the mount, and looped it around the frame...I just had to pull the mount over about 1/4in to get the bolts to line back up. A minor inconvenience, but still worth noting.
- Don't be stupid like me and forget to disengage the parking break before doing your fill process...I was wondering why the tires weren't spinning with ESC disabled.
- Check the drain plug on your PPE pan before wrapping things up. Mine wasn't loose, but it was definitely not tight enough for my comfort (I went to 25ft lbs...seemed good enough, but don't quote me on that)
- The pesky transmission pan bolt that is right above the exhaust crossover pipe can be easily accessed if you lift the rear transmission mount as high as I did.

So far I'm very happy with the results, the truck seems to shift really smooth. Not that it had problems before, but it does feel a bit smoother. Perhaps it's all in my head, but I'm satisfied with the result.
 
Last edited:

caulk04

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Perhaps something is different on your truck, but I didn't have to move anything to get my PPE pan in. It's close, but it went in.
 
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afate45

afate45

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Hey, thanks for the reply!!!

Here are a few pics of what I'm working with. Stock truck, no exhaust mods. It's that little piece of plastic under the solenoids that's blocking me, and here's a pic of the crossmember bolts showing how close they are to being lifted out of the crossmember.

Am I going to create a bigger headache if I lift it another half inch and push those bolts above the holes? If I should just send it, I'll do it...just wanted to tap into the wisdom of this forum before I create a bigger headache.

I'm just a bit paranoid because I had a similar issue years ago (different truck) with misalignment with the crossmber bolts...took a lot of persuasion to get them back where they belonged. Lol.
 

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Wild one

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Hey, thanks for the reply!!!

Here are a few pics of what I'm working with. Stock truck, no exhaust mods. It's that little piece of plastic under the solenoids that's blocking me, and here's a pic of the crossmember bolts showing how close they are to being lifted out of the crossmember.

Am I going to create a bigger headache if I lift it another half inch and push those bolts above the holes? If I should just send it, I'll do it...just wanted to tap into the wisdom of this forum before I create a bigger headache.

I'm just a bit paranoid because I had a similar issue years ago (different truck) with misalignment with the crossmber bolts...took a lot of persuasion to get them back where they belonged. Lol.
I've had those bolts unbolted several times,along with having the crossmember completely removed,and have never had any issues with re-installing everything.
 
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afate45

afate45

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I've had those bolts unbolted several times,along with having the crossmember completely removed,and have never had any issues with re-installing everything.
Fantastic, this is what I was hoping to hear. Thank you very much. Hopefully I'll be able to report back later today or tomorrow once I get around to wrapping up the install and fill procedure.

I just need a half inch of clearance and everything should slide together nicely.

At least next time this job will be a lot quicker since I'll kinda know what I'm doing.
 
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afate45

afate45

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Updated the original post with an update. Pan installed, everything was a success. Thanks for everyone's help!

One final note - whoever designed the exhaust crossover to be so close under the transmission pan should be fired. lol.
 

Wild one

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Updated the original post with an update. Pan installed, everything was a success. Thanks for everyone's help!

One final note - whoever designed the exhaust crossover to be so close under the transmission pan should be fired. lol.
It doesn't hurt to header wrap or use a heat shield on the cross over where it passes under the pan,as aluminium will also absorb radiated heat,like you might encounter in slow moving rush hour traffic
 

Midknight

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Just to add, I have a 2014 and had to do the same thing by unbolting and jacking the trans to clear. Same plastic internals interfering when trying to install.
 

MRFREEZE57

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Perhaps something is different on your truck, but I didn't have to move anything to get my PPE pan in. It's close, but it went in.
Same with my 2016, the PPE slipped right under the exhaust and has plenty of clearance.
 

billygg420

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Hey Guys, Nice write up here. I am in the middle of tackling this and had an issue. couldn't get the pan out. I have a 14 with the crossover and the pan is stuck on the pipe. I attempted to jack up the trans, but it wouldn't budge??? I took the 3 cross-member bolts to trans mount out. Used a floor jack and jacked up on the trans right where it meets the block. The entire truck was lifting :(. I then moved the jack back behind the trans and did a slight lift on the drive shaft. I didn't put a ton of pressure there as I didn't want to damage anything, but, i wanted to see if it was my jack point. Again, the entire truck started to lift. I'm not sure why my trans is not lifting off the member with those bolts out.
 

Gmantwo

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Semo
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Long time lurker, first time poster! I have a question about the PPE pan install on a 2014 Ram 1500 with the 5.7.

I'm at the point where it's time to install the PPE pan and the exhaust crossover isn't giving me the clearance to install the pan.

My question...I unbolted the cross member, raised it up just before the 3 bolts come out of the holes for the cross member, but I still don't have the clearance needed...if I go ahead and jack the rear of the transmission up another 1/2in where those three bolts clear the bolt holes in the crossmember, am I going to have a nightmare getting them to drop back into the holes?

Ive read just about every thread here about the pan install. I see in older threads people talked about needing to unbolt the exhaust from the manifolds, but I'm really trying to avoid that headache since the driver side isn't easily accessible from under the truck...I just don't want to hose myself by creating another issue where the 3 cross member bolts won't go back into their holes when I lower the transmission back down.

Thanks for any advice you can provide!!!


EDIT: 4/7/23

I was finally able to install the PPE pan. It seems that the fit was much tighter on my truck than other accounts around the internet. I had to unbolt the rear transmission mount and raise it substantially....at least 2 inches (the bolts for the mount were well clear of the cross member)...and even then it was a tight fit. All in all, I wouldn't say it was difficult, just a learning experience that made it difficult. As with most mods/service on a vehicle, the first time around takes 5x as long as it should...next time will be a breeze.

A few other notable highlights...
- When I unbolted and raised the rear transmission mount, my fear of the bolts not lining back up when I lowered it actually did come true. Luckily it wasn't nearly the same nightmare as I've had with other vehicles in the past. I took a ratchet strap, fed it through the passenger side of the mount, and looped it around the frame...I just had to pull the mount over about 1/4in to get the bolts to line back up. A minor inconvenience, but still worth noting.
- Don't be stupid like me and forget to disengage the parking break before doing your fill process...I was wondering why the tires weren't spinning with ESC disabled.
- Check the drain plug on your PPE pan before wrapping things up. Mine wasn't loose, but it was definitely not tight enough for my comfort (I went to 25ft lbs...seemed good enough, but don't quote me on that)
- The pesky transmission pan bolt that is right above the exhaust crossover pipe can be easily accessed if you lift the rear transmission mount as high as I did.

So far I'm very happy with the results, the truck seems to shift really smooth. Not that it had problems before, but it does feel a bit smoother. Perhaps it's all in my head, but I'm satisfied with the result.
When I tried the rear trans mount relief, the engine, and the exhaust, just went up with it. Didn’t help at all
 
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