Transmission pan and fluid change questions

[joesstripclub]

Well, I just have a 3 ton harbor freight floor jack and some small 4 ton stands.

Guess I'm going to see how high I can get it before I even think about draining it. lol
Thanks for the help guys.

You will be fine with this, thats basically what I used. Set the rear axle on the jack stands high enough that the wheels are off the ground. Do all the things where the truck needs to be running with the truck on the jack stands for safety. Jack the truck as high as your floor jack will go when you do the final fill and you will be close enough. My transmission wasn't totally level but it was close enough, and I haven't had any issues in over a year.

 

[EdGs]

I'm an Albertan,so i'm more Redneck then anything "eh" ,lol

Hillbilly and Redneck are practically interchangeable, IMO, and a country boy can survive.

 

[EdGs]

My 6 ton jackstands, according to the box anyway, max out at 23 3/4". Hopefully that's enough.

Should be plenty good.

@BlownGP, yours should be good, too.

May you all have smooth repairs.

 

[BlownGP]

So in case anybody cares.

Changed the fluid out yesterday and I was definitely over thinking how to get the truck level part. lol
I forget once you start jacking up the diff, the suspension will go up with it. So I had plenty of lift from my floor jack to get the tires off the ground and trans level.

I got it pretty close to level, the bubble was just a little closer to the line on one side, but If I want up one more notch on my jack stands it would have been too high.

About those jack stands. So I happy I went and bought some 6 ton stands. My punny 2 tons would need a lot of wood to sit on to reach the axle and that would be scary when getting the truck into 2nd gear. Thanks @Wild one and @EdGs.

Adding fluid with a hot exhaust sucks!!!! Like why the *** is the fill port right where both exhaust meet? I burned myself twice. lol
Next time I will wear some burn sleeves.

Took a little over 5qts but I think I accidently went into 4th gear when doing the 2nd gear procedure, the truck spun so easy with the tires off the ground. Never done that before so it felt weird. hahaah

But it shifts a little smoother especially when going from PRND. Still have the bump thing, but just going to live with it.

Going to just drain and fill the fluid maybe after Christmas and should be good for while since I don't tow very often.

Thanks again guys for the help and confidence. Also helped having a few buddies around to make things go faster.

 

[EdGs]

I have a piece of Nomex felt that I laid over the exhaust pipe while I was doing everything, and it worked really, really well. That is, until 30 seconds before I was done just got everything cleaned up, removed the felt, and introduced the back of my hand to the exhaust crossover. Only for a second, but that's all it took, and I have fast reflexes.....lol. Also added a couple words to the English language as well.

Very glad you got it done.

I was planning on doing mine a 2nd time not too long after I did the first one but unfortunately never did. Perhaps on this go-around I will. I am still debating whether or not to give the Valvoline Max life a try, it seems really good from what I've read here on this site, from members that have used it.

 

[Wild one]

So in case anybody cares.

Changed the fluid out yesterday and I was definitely over thinking how to get the truck level part. lol
I forget once you start jacking up the diff, the suspension will go up with it. So I had plenty of lift from my floor jack to get the tires off the ground and trans level.

I got it pretty close to level, the bubble was just a little closer to the line on one side, but If I want up one more notch on my jack stands it would have been too high.

About those jack stands. So I happy I went and bought some 6 ton stands. My punny 2 tons would need a lot of wood to sit on to reach the axle and that would be scary when getting the truck into 2nd gear. Thanks @Wild one and @EdGs.

Adding fluid with a hot exhaust sucks!!!! Like why the *** is the fill port right where both exhaust meet? I burned myself twice. lol
Next time I will wear some burn sleeves.

Took a little over 5qts but I think I accidently went into 4th gear when doing the 2nd gear procedure, the truck spun so easy with the tires off the ground. Never done that before so it felt weird. hahaah

But it shifts a little smoother especially when going from PRND. Still have the bump thing, but just going to live with it.

Going to just drain and fill the fluid maybe after Christmas and should be good for while since I don't tow very often.

Thanks again guys for the help and confidence. Also helped having a few buddies around to make things go faster.

Glad you got it done,and it's working good for you. Wet rags draped over the exhaust help miniumize the burn factor,but you're right the fill plug is a b!atch to get at with the stock exhaust

 

[Wild one]

So in case anybody cares.

Changed the fluid out yesterday and I was definitely over thinking how to get the truck level part. lol
I forget once you start jacking up the diff, the suspension will go up with it. So I had plenty of lift from my floor jack to get the tires off the ground and trans level.

I got it pretty close to level, the bubble was just a little closer to the line on one side, but If I want up one more notch on my jack stands it would have been too high.

About those jack stands. So I happy I went and bought some 6 ton stands. My punny 2 tons would need a lot of wood to sit on to reach the axle and that would be scary when getting the truck into 2nd gear. Thanks @Wild one and @EdGs.

Adding fluid with a hot exhaust sucks!!!! Like why the *** is the fill port right where both exhaust meet? I burned myself twice. lol
Next time I will wear some burn sleeves.

Took a little over 5qts but I think I accidently went into 4th gear when doing the 2nd gear procedure, the truck spun so easy with the tires off the ground. Never done that before so it felt weird. hahaah

But it shifts a little smoother especially when going from PRND. Still have the bump thing, but just going to live with it.

Going to just drain and fill the fluid maybe after Christmas and should be good for while since I don't tow very often.

Thanks again guys for the help and confidence. Also helped having a few buddies around to make things go faster.

If your truck has the 2 piece driveshaft,some guys have discovered the slip joint can cause a bump issue,and pulling it apart and lubing the splines with a graphite based anti-seaze to help miniumize the bump. It might not be your issue,but it never hurts to lube the slip joint splines every once in awhile anyways.Years ago trucks with 2 piece shafts had a zerk fitting,so you could actually grease the splines.

 

[BlownGP]

I have a piece of Nomex felt that I laid over the exhaust pipe while I was doing everything, and it worked really, really well. That is, until 30 seconds before I was done just got everything cleaned up, removed the felt, and introduced the back of my hand to the exhaust crossover. Only for a second, but that's all it took, and I have fast reflexes.....lol. Also added a couple words to the English language as well.

Very glad you got it done.

I was planning on doing mine a 2nd time not too long after I did the first one but unfortunately never did. Perhaps on this go-around I will. I am still debating whether or not to give the Valvoline Max life a try, it seems really good from what I've read here on this site, from members that have used it.

Yeah, I thought I had my arm away from it, but was watching the fill hole for fluid and then sizzzzzle for a sec. lol

I used Max life in mine and from what I read on here. It works great. Can't beat it for the price.

Glad you got it done,and it's working good for you. Wet rags draped over the exhaust help miniumize the burn factor,but you're right the fill plug is a b!atch to get at with the stock exhaust

You know, I remember now you saying that in one of these transmission post. lol.. I just didn't remember Sunday. I remember next time.

If your truck has the 2 piece driveshaft,some guys have discovered the slip joint can cause a bump issue,and pulling it apart and lubing the splines with a graphite based anti-seaze to help miniumize the bump. It might not be your issue,but it never hurts to lube the slip joint splines every once in awhile anyways.Years ago trucks with 2 piece shafts had a zerk fitting,so you could actually grease the splines.

I think mines a one piece. I don't recall. I will have to check.

 

[Gmantwo]

So I loosened my three transmission bolts in the back, but when I lift the back of the transmission, the engine goes up as well. Which raises the exhaust and doesn’t give me any more clearance to get the factory pan out. What did you guys do about that?

 

[Gero]

For those who switched to maxlife, did you do another drain and fill or several drain and remove the old zf fluid by dilution?

I did the switch with the ppe but have done any drain and fills yet.

 

[joesstripclub]

For those who switched to maxlife, did you do another drain and fill or several drain and remove the old zf fluid by dilution?

I did the switch with the ppe but have done any drain and fills yet.

I did two drain and fills within a couple weeks, that gets most of the old stuff out.

 

[joesstripclub]

So I loosened my three transmission bolts in the back, but when I lift the back of the transmission, the engine goes up as well. Which raises the exhaust and doesn’t give me any more clearance to get the factory pan out. What did you guys do about that?

You dont need to jack up the transmission at all. Jack up the truck from the rear diff, you need the wheels off the ground anyway.

 

[Gmantwo]

Yep, I was talking about getting the pan swapped out. Not enough clearance because of the exhaust crossover