The 8 speed oil change thread

[Wild one]

Hi Rick, I'm likely going to have to do this for my next transmission service, as I had to gingerly wrestle my PPE pan back in the first time, more than I was comfortable with around those valve solenoids. I've never done that before. What should I expect to encounter disconnecting and re-connecting the exhaust from the manifolds? I presume I'll need new gasket maker, and probably new bolts as well? Are snapped bolts a common problem there? Thanks for any heads-up.

Start soaking the studs and nuts several times a few days before removing the 4 nuts where the pipes bolt to the manifolds,and use a decent impact gun on them,and they should come apart with-out breaking the studs. When i put the manifolds and midpipes off the 1320 onto the 300,i just soaked the nuts and studs for a few days,using a mix of transmission fluid and acetone,and the nuts came right off,and the studs turned out pretty easily.The 300 was 10 years old with roughly 69,000 on it,and soaking them with my old school homemade penetrating oil mix,made it easy to take apart.
The secret is to let the penetrating oil do it's job for a few days,and use an impact gun.

 

[lAWROSA]

I had dodge do my trans fluid change @ 35K miles. When I put the t stat trans bypass in is when I decided to have it changed. That little bit of fluid that came out when I change that t stat wasnt nice and green and smelled rancid.

I bought the new pan and replaceble filter PPE pan here.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RJK9H2W?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

They gave me 10% off with dodge coupon from my local mo co and a %50 off coupon.. Was about $537 bucks plus tax. well worth it IMO.

I dont tow anymore as I sold the camper. Highest temps now I see is 150-160F

I probably will not change trans fluid till 100K miles or someone else can do it after I die.. whatever comes first.

 

[woodville]

I was looking for a thread to document my recent 8 speed oil change experience, where everyone can document their experience and discuss tips and tricks, special tools, procedures and oil/filter choices et cetera

I didn't readily find such a thread, so here it is!

I have been wanting to change the oil on my zf 8hp70 for a while now, but only started gathering tools and oil in the last month or so. like everyone says when they see the condition of the drained oil "why did i wait so long?"

2021 1500 classic warlock 5.7 112577km (69593 miles)

bought:
3 canuck gallons (5l jugs haha) of valvoline maxlife atf
a garden sprayer (made in usa nice!)
a 10mm allen key to sacrifice

already had 8mm allen key, floor jack and jack stands but had to call in my buddy with 7 ton Jack stands because 3t were no where close to being high enough to get the trans level
did not buy a filter/pan yet because ive going to do at least 2 drain/fill before changing filter

View attachment 547152View attachment 547153
so for starters needed almost 20 inches under the diff to get the trans level. didn't have a real bubble level but used phone app and eye. made one correction (higher!) and it was looking good

View attachment 547154

now for the special tool part. i goofed up on this one lol. i bought a nice new 10mm key to sacrifice (i seem to remember reading people shortening allen keys to make it work)
so i started shortening it on the small end only to realize that it was not going to work like that. so i took one of the parts i cut off (a bit under 1/2") and taped it in a 10mm wrench and it was perfect
so i could have just taken that off the long end of my allen key and saved the working end lol oh well

View attachment 547155View attachment 547156

the original oil as expected was definitely dirty, no extraordinary smell. transparent dirty green if you dipped your screwdriver in it and dark grey and murky looking in the tub

interestingly i only got 5 litres in and out. and i only measured at the end when i put the used oil in the container it was full to the brim and when i put the leftover fresh oil back in the second container it was full too.
admittedly i only let it drain for about 15 minutes. enough time to go get cold beer in the fridge and drink most of it haha
it was 30c 86f outside that afternoon. the fresh oil was sitting around outside all afternoon so it was already that hot when starting to fill. i got about 3.5l in motor off before it started flowing back out. put the plug back in and went and verified the trans temp before starting the level check procedure. 109f! holy ****! i had run the truck this morning but was parked at home before 11am and now its 3pm

so i said to my buddy well now its time for a break let that big girl cool down lol
he had errands to run in the next town over so we went and did that got back to my truck about 1.5h later
now 90ish degrees f so i said lets go!
put my buddy in the drivers seat and read him the green sheet instructions while i was standing next to him. as he was performing the procedure i told him once i jump under there keep it running until i say and give me a warning 10 degrees before 122
well as expected this was the most interesting part. it seems to take forever to pump the oil in when its running. the engine is pumping and the exhaust is rumbling and the temperature is steadily rising. it seems like youve been under there forever carefully holding the pump tube in the hole. now the exhaust is boiling hot and sweat is pouring off your forehead.
all of the sudden oil starts flowing back out the hole and you hear buddy yell something. keep pumping another 5 seconds as the oil continues to exit the fill hole. screw the plug in finger tight and crawl out from underneath
ask what the temp was when i crawled out. 120. alright we made it!
next time ill try to get cooler ambient temperatures, or keep the oil in the fridge or something lol

did a small 10 minute test drive last night and a bigger 30 min one today. everything is great. seems to shift even more smoothly and confidently than usual but it was already great, no complaints at all about its operation. im sure it will get even nicer again with another spill n fill and a filter and some miles on the fresh fluid.

all in all i would highly recommend this job to anyone that has previously changed transmission oil on another vehicle or a previous ram with rfe transmission. its literally as easy as jacking up the rear high enough and having a way to pump in the oil.
a little grinding of an Allen key and a buddy to stay in the drivers seat while you go under. as long as one of you can read English youre good to go!

View attachment 547215View attachment 547216

oh and bonus pic of the nice plastic debris i found in the bottom of my new pump! that long curly piece and a bunch of plastic sawdust. i flushed it out with some old atf+4 i had lying around.
also changed my transfer case oil first to get used to pump. used new atf+4 but thats another thread haha

hopefully this information will be useful to someone, happy wrenching!

Don't use valvoline maxlife atf you will mess up your zf 8speed trans really bad and it won't last long the only fluid you can put in the trans is the mopar 8&9 speed trans fluid or the zf lifeguard trans fluid. Don't use anything else trust me. And as for the pump to get the fluid into the trans they make and pump like a soap bottle that comes with the a little hose. If you need links to everything and we're I ordered my stuff at let me know

 

[MOPAR TECH]

THERE IS A DRAIN PLUG IN THE 8 SPEED TRANS BUT JUST TO LET U KNOW THE 8 SPEED TRANS IS A FILL FOR LIFE FLUID AND YOUR NOT TO MESS WITH IT UNTILL U HAVE A SHIFT CONSERN AND THE FLITER IS BUILT INTO THE TRANS COVER

 

[woodville]

Don't use anything other the this fluid or the zf lifegaurd. I can get you the link. And I got my pan from A1auto and it was only 56$ and it only took me like a hour. But if you valvoline maxlife atf you will mess up your transmission I have family and friends that work at shops and they just had a trans that was locked up because of wrong fluid

 

[woodville]

Don't use anything other the this fluid or the zf lifegaurd. I can get you the link. And I got my pan from A1auto and it was only 56$ and it only took me like a hour. But if you valvoline maxlife atf you will mess up your transmission I have family and friends that work at shops and they just had a trans that was locked up because of wrong

THERE IS A DRAIN PLUG IN THE 8 SPEED TRANS BUT JUST TO LET U KNOW THE 8 SPEED TRANS IS A FILL FOR LIFE FLUID AND YOUR NOT TO MESS WITH IT UNTILL U HAVE A SHIFT CONSERN AND THE FLITER IS BUILT INTO THE TRANS COVER

That's not what zf says on the web site they tell you to do a fluid change and filter change go look it up

 

[Atcer2018]

Delete

 

[CanuckRam1313]

Okay, I'm just going to come out and say it:
@MOPAR TECH - this is a fully serviceable part of the vehicle, and no one single fluid will last the life of any vehicle, especially the hot operating transmission that breaks down the fluid, like ours is known for.

As long as the transmission service is done properly there is zero issue in doing it.
Preventative and predictive maintenance is key to the reliable operation of this critical component of our trucks.
Many here on our forum do it themselves, successfully.
The benefits in changing the fluid and filter are a proven metric.

@woodville - with all due respect, I see you're new here, and perhaps you're not fully versed on the in's and out's of our 8-speed transmissions.

Yes, OEM MOPAR fluid is what is touted to be the fluid recommended for use in the 8-speed transmission.

However, one look at all the archived information in the forum database regarding the other transmission fluids used with success will confirm one can use them with no issues.

 

[woodville]

Okay, I'm just going to come out and say it:
@MOPAR TECH - this is a fully serviceable part of the vehicle, and no one single fluid will last the life of any vehicle, especially the hot operating transmission that breaks down the fluid, like ours is known for.

As long as the transmission service is done properly there is zero issue in doing it.
Preventative and predictive maintenance is key to the reliable operation of this critical component of our trucks.
Many here on our forum do it themselves, successfully.
The benefits in changing the fluid and filter are a proven metric.

@woodville - with all due respect, I see you're new here, and perhaps you're not fully versed on the in's and out's of our 8-speed transmissions.

Yes, OEM MOPAR fluid is what is touted to be the fluid recommended for use in the 8-speed transmission.

However, one look at all the archived information in the forum database regarding the other transmission fluids used with success will confirm one can use them with no issues.

I know I am new to this group but not new to working on cars and trucks and I have personally seen transmissions with the wrong fluid in them break down. And I have several master mechanics in the family and a few the are both diesel and gas master certs so you use what you want. And see what breaks down faster the trans fluid made by zf for the trans you run or something else

 

[Atcer2018]

I know I am new to this group but not new to working on cars and trucks and I have personally seen transmissions with the wrong fluid in them break down. And I have several master mechanics in the family and a few the are both diesel and gas master certs so you use what you want. And see what breaks down faster the trans fluid made by zf for the trans you run or something else

I appreciate the knowledge and experience the members of your family have to offer but I’d like to ask why the Valvoline ATF isn’t compatible with the ZF transmission? I attempted to ask in a previous post but deleted the comment. I’m not a fluids engineer and my small understanding of the specific values between the two fluids appears minuscule. Both are ultra low viscosity fluids with very similar specs while the Valvoline is a synthetic and the ZF fluid is a semi-synthetic. As anecdotal as personal usage may be there are many members here that have been using the Valvoline ATF without issue for years. I personally use it in lieu of Ford Mercon ULV and Hyundai spec4. While I’m skeptical of a one size fits all fluid the Valvoline MaxLife sure does seem to fill the role of a modern multiuse ATF. Please share your experiences that point to specific failures with the Valvoline fluid.

 

[jh90731]

There are other brands of fluids out there specifically for the ZF 8 speed. I personally prefer Pentosin available from Rock Auto at $17.94/liter. I’ve been using this brand in my 2014 since I had the original pan and fluid changed at 70k. I use an electronic suction pump with a flexible hose to suck out 4 qrts at least once per year and replace it with the Pentosin. We tow a small travel trailer and the fluid temps going uphill in the summer here in the Sierras sometimes reach 210F. It’s got a 124k miles on it now and it still shifts like new. Pentosin is widely used in Europe in these transmissions.

 

[DILLIGAF]

Don't use valvoline maxlife atf you will mess up your zf 8speed trans really bad

Yeah ok there buds ...lol. You have no clue and it shows.

 

[jr27236]

So I don't want to jump on the fluid train but why use anything else but what was in it originally? Is it a money saving decision? Is it a performance improvement? I personally do not want to go to bed wondering IF something is going to happen down the road because I went with a different brand oil other than what was in it (Mopar), but on the other hand do not want to pay for this over priced fluid at the dealer. So I guess when I do this service I will be searching for the best price.

 

[JHoward]

So I don't want to jump on the fluid train but why use anything else but what was in it originally? Is it a money saving decision? Is it a performance improvement? I personally do not want to go to bed wondering IF something is going to happen down the road because I went with a different brand oil other than what was in it (Mopar), but on the other hand do not want to pay for this over priced fluid at the dealer. So I guess when I do this service I will be searching for the best price.

I recently purchased(couple of months ago)eight quarts MOPAR 8/9 Speed transmission fluid from my local dealership discounted @ $31.45 a quart. It's not a matter of cost for me, it's a matter of putting the same **** back in.

I have a new PPE transmission pan/filter and haven't done the tranny drain /refill yet, but it's on the very near future "to do" list.

 

[BenchTest]

I'm guessing the juniors have bowed out of this conversation. I chatted with a Valvoline person (from their corporate) about their fluid meeting ZF Spec prior to making the swap. If they say it's good to go, I'm not going to disagree with them. They've been doing this for a LONG time and have enough lube nerds on staff to shame anybody who's spewing "my uncle's cousin's friend's neighbors long time buddy said...". I've ran MaxLife in several Toyotas without issue as well (as it meets WS spec). I trust it enough that I'll be putting it in my wife's Lexus when the time comes, and that vehicle gets the Delux Cream Puff Platinum everything when it gets serviced. If Valvoline says it's good to go, I roll with their recommendation. If money isn't a thing for you, go get that Purple Lizard Extract for $97.50/qt and be happy.

 

[JHoward]

I'm guessing the juniors have bowed out of this conversation. I chatted with a Valvoline person (from their corporate) about their fluid meeting ZF Spec prior to making the swap. If they say it's good to go, I'm not going to disagree with them. They've been doing this for a LONG time and have enough lube nerds on staff to shame anybody who's spewing "my uncle's cousin's friend's neighbors long time buddy said...". I've ran MaxLife in several Toyotas without issue as well (as it meets WS spec). I trust it enough that I'll be putting it in my wife's Lexus when the time comes, and that vehicle gets the Delux Cream Puff Platinum everything when it gets serviced. If Valvoline says it's good to go, I roll with their recommendation. If money isn't a thing for you, go get that Purple Lizard Extract for $97.50/qt and be happy.

Lol, right on brother.

 

[Xsen]

I went with a small cheat last time I was changing the oil in my 8HP70. My drain plug was stuck and if I tried to force in open I could feel the plastic giving in. So as I had the new pan with the filter right there, I just drilled a small hole in the right rear corner of the old pan to get the fluid out.


It's amazing how not messy can this job be, when the pan is really empty. I left the exhaust on and still not a drop on the floor.

Basically, all you have to do is find a sharp drill preferably with a pointed tip (I think these are for wood) and make sure you don't push it in, just very light pressure as it goes. Maybe even put some electric tape on the drill to act as a stopper and eliminate even remote chances of the drill contacting the transmission internals.

The pan is discarded each time, anyway.

 

[Sherman Bird]

I was looking for a thread to document my recent 8 speed oil change experience, where everyone can document their experience and discuss tips and tricks, special tools, procedures and oil/filter choices et cetera

I didn't readily find such a thread, so here it is!

I have been wanting to change the oil on my zf 8hp70 for a while now, but only started gathering tools and oil in the last month or so. like everyone says when they see the condition of the drained oil "why did i wait so long?"

2021 1500 classic warlock 5.7 112577km (69593 miles)

bought:
3 canuck gallons (5l jugs haha) of valvoline maxlife atf
a garden sprayer (made in usa nice!)
a 10mm allen key to sacrifice

already had 8mm allen key, floor jack and jack stands but had to call in my buddy with 7 ton Jack stands because 3t were no where close to being high enough to get the trans level
did not buy a filter/pan yet because ive going to do at least 2 drain/fill before changing filter

View attachment 547152View attachment 547153
so for starters needed almost 20 inches under the diff to get the trans level. didn't have a real bubble level but used phone app and eye. made one correction (higher!) and it was looking good

View attachment 547154

now for the special tool part. i goofed up on this one lol. i bought a nice new 10mm key to sacrifice (i seem to remember reading people shortening allen keys to make it work)
so i started shortening it on the small end only to realize that it was not going to work like that. so i took one of the parts i cut off (a bit under 1/2") and taped it in a 10mm wrench and it was perfect
so i could have just taken that off the long end of my allen key and saved the working end lol oh well

View attachment 547155View attachment 547156

the original oil as expected was definitely dirty, no extraordinary smell. transparent dirty green if you dipped your screwdriver in it and dark grey and murky looking in the tub

interestingly i only got 5 litres in and out. and i only measured at the end when i put the used oil in the container it was full to the brim and when i put the leftover fresh oil back in the second container it was full too.
admittedly i only let it drain for about 15 minutes. enough time to go get cold beer in the fridge and drink most of it haha
it was 30c 86f outside that afternoon. the fresh oil was sitting around outside all afternoon so it was already that hot when starting to fill. i got about 3.5l in motor off before it started flowing back out. put the plug back in and went and verified the trans temp before starting the level check procedure. 109f! holy ****! i had run the truck this morning but was parked at home before 11am and now its 3pm

so i said to my buddy well now its time for a break let that big girl cool down lol
he had errands to run in the next town over so we went and did that got back to my truck about 1.5h later
now 90ish degrees f so i said lets go!
put my buddy in the drivers seat and read him the green sheet instructions while i was standing next to him. as he was performing the procedure i told him once i jump under there keep it running until i say and give me a warning 10 degrees before 122
well as expected this was the most interesting part. it seems to take forever to pump the oil in when its running. the engine is pumping and the exhaust is rumbling and the temperature is steadily rising. it seems like youve been under there forever carefully holding the pump tube in the hole. now the exhaust is boiling hot and sweat is pouring off your forehead.
all of the sudden oil starts flowing back out the hole and you hear buddy yell something. keep pumping another 5 seconds as the oil continues to exit the fill hole. screw the plug in finger tight and crawl out from underneath
ask what the temp was when i crawled out. 120. alright we made it!
next time ill try to get cooler ambient temperatures, or keep the oil in the fridge or something lol

did a small 10 minute test drive last night and a bigger 30 min one today. everything is great. seems to shift even more smoothly and confidently than usual but it was already great, no complaints at all about its operation. im sure it will get even nicer again with another spill n fill and a filter and some miles on the fresh fluid.

all in all i would highly recommend this job to anyone that has previously changed transmission oil on another vehicle or a previous ram with rfe transmission. its literally as easy as jacking up the rear high enough and having a way to pump in the oil.
a little grinding of an Allen key and a buddy to stay in the drivers seat while you go under. as long as one of you can read English youre good to go!

View attachment 547215View attachment 547216

oh and bonus pic of the nice plastic debris i found in the bottom of my new pump! that long curly piece and a bunch of plastic sawdust. i flushed it out with some old atf+4 i had lying around.
also changed my transfer case oil first to get used to pump. used new atf+4 but thats another thread haha

hopefully this information will be useful to someone, happy wrenching!

A 3 ton jack should be plenty adequate to lift the truck however "high" you need to obtain level. PLEASE be careful of Chinese made jacks and jack stands. These are budget friendly, but not necessarily good for your longevity/ good health. I've had several Chinese jacks suddenly fail and drop a vehicle very fast, over the almost 5 decades I've been a professional mechanic. The jack stands you show in the photos scare the hell out of me, frankly. I've been damned lucky. I have had a few instances where I worked under a vehicle and got out from underneath to go do something, and, while I was out from under the car, the jack stands suddenly failed and dropped the load (vehicle). I bought several of the floor jacks from Sam's and they all failed prematurely. One mercifully just stopped being able to lift a car. Two were far more ominous, though. They got a little age on them and would suddenly fail hydraulically and drop a vehicle while jacking.

Those cheap jacks and stands are made in one of many locations in the South China Sea. They are the ilk of the ones that Harbor Freight sells/sold when that poor design/quality failed and dropped loads (cars/trucks). One poor guy was egregiously hurt when those jack stands dropped his truck on him. That, among several other incidents became highly publicized and forced Harbor freight to issue a recall.

I now own 2 of the 3 ton Hein Werner floor jacks. Model #HW93652. These are NOT budget friendly, but, then, I figure that my life and welfare are worth the expense, and I justify the expense by NOT getting hurt! .

I bought a pair of Gray tool company jack stands Model 3TF; also NOT budget friendly, but, ditto my thoughts above! They are located in St. Joseph, Mo. 1-800-821-7320 (Grayusa.com) These products are made right here in the USA.
These jack stands absolutely put to shame ANY of the ones sold from big box store. THEY ARE NOT CHEAP! But, anytime I'm going to crawl under a big heavy truck like yours, these jack stands get their due work out.

After reading about the failures of jack stands all over the internet, and given my experiences and close calls over the years, I invested in myself. Now, when I perform a hazardous task such as jacking a vehicle and supporting that 6,000+ pound beast, I know I am much safer than when I used the budget friendly jacking and supporting equipment.

 

[Lysergic]

There are other brands of fluids out there specifically for the ZF 8 speed. I personally prefer Pentosin available from Rock Auto at $17.94/liter.

For anyone out there shopping, Rockauto also carries the genuine ZF Lifeguard Fluid 8 for $13.62/liter.

Link: https://tinyurl.com/ZF8-Fluid

Such a deal!

 

[BenchTest]

I went with a small cheat last time I was changing the oil in my 8HP70. My drain plug was stuck and if I tried to force in open I could feel the plastic giving in. So as I had the new pan with the filter right there, I just drilled a small hole in the right rear corner of the old pan to get the fluid out.
View attachment 548100

It's amazing how not messy can this job be, when the pan is really empty. I left the exhaust on and still not a drop on the floor.

Basically, all you have to do is find a sharp drill preferably with a pointed tip (I think these are for wood) and make sure you don't push it in, just very light pressure as it goes. Maybe even put some electric tape on the drill to act as a stopper and eliminate even remote chances of the drill contacting the transmission internals.

The pan is discarded each time, anyway.

I thought about doing this on my last service as the "new and improved" Mopar pan has no drain. I couldn't bring myself to put a bit through the pan in fear of "what if I hit important parts on the other side?". I elected to just do incremental backing off of the bolts and let it drip.