Transmission service question

[TimboRam77]

My dealer is totally hip regarding common sense with transmission fluid drain & fill. I just got it serviced at 40k.
On the other hand the YouTube guy (Truck Central) has over 250k with zero tranny service on a 2019 limited 1500. There is a crown vic or gran marquis with 1000000 miles on the orginal fluid. The thought is if you wait too long the clutch material is suspended in the fluid and if changed on a high mileage vehicle then you are draining out your clutch. Who knows. Just stating the facts, maybe...

 

[Seedog]

Take the Green sheet to them,and make sure you specify the "transmission" needs to be "level" not the truck.If they do it on a lift odds are they'll just pick it up,and not lift the rearend high enough to actually get the transmission level.
Leveling the transmission is mucho important,as it's the very first step in the procedure,and ZF highlighted it enough you can't miss it.
BTW these are the instructions that come with a "brand new" truck specific 8 speed when you buy the transmission through your local dealer,and supersede any generic instructions your local shop will have access to.
Ram trucks are a total oddball,as they're the only application that uses the ZF 8 speed and points it downhill,pretty well every other application that uses the same transmission,whether it be Audi or Rolls Royce or a Challenger/Charger has the transmission basically sitting level in the chassis

Personally I think it’s all BS as far as ‘level’ the trans is never level moving about the highways and driveways. Up, down, sideways. Does it go bad at those times? NO! Get it close and send it!

 

[Tonysr]

I have a 2015 ram 1500 bighorn w/5.7 hemi 4x4 with aprox 170,000 mi and 8 speed trans, back around 90,000 i had the transmission serviced so today i started looking into having it done again. I called a Ram dealer and the service department told me that being a sealed transmission they didn’t recommend having it done, puzzling to me, so I called another dealership Same answer, with that i called at least 5 different transmission shops, most would do it but several again said they didn’t recommend it, what gives here I thought this was something that should be done every 100k give or so. Should I have it done or not and also should i have the Pan/Filter replaced also ? They are asking anywhere from $850. To 1200. Thanks

That transmission is a ZF transmission designed by ZF and build by Chrysler with license from them. ZF requires oil and filter change at 60 t0 70,000 max miles and not a lifetime service. If you want to preserve that transmission, find a place that knows how to service it because it takes special transmission fluid which is about $30 a quart and takes 7 quarts. There is also a special procedure when servicing it and never get a transmission flush om this transmission unless you want to pay for a $6500 repair bill on it. There are several U tube videos on how to service this transmission. Some dealers don't want to do it because of the time involved and some don't have the experienced mechanics to do it.

 

[RamDiver]

Personally I think it’s all BS as far as ‘level’ the trans is never level moving about the highways and driveways. Up, down, sideways. Does it go bad at those times? NO! Get it close and send it!

Have you ever seen the insides of a ZF 8-speed transmission? I've only seen closeup pictures.
They're quite an amazing piece of engineering.

The transmission is no different from any other automotive device other than it likely has more moving parts and more tiny passageways to distribute the fluid.

It's not like the engineers at ZF got together and said, let's have some fun and invent the story that this device requires to have x% of the internal volume filled with this specialized Unicorn oil.

I'm not sure what the relative position has to do with anything, it's a sealed cavity.

I'm quite confident that the majority of operational time is spent with the tranny in a level position.

Being being a sealed cavity that's filled with a lubricant, a few deviations from level can't be that big of a deal.

Spend some time researching and you will find stories of fluid changes where multiple followup level checks with additional fluid added have corrected poor shifting performance.

This isn't rocket science.
Have they been wrong about automotive design for a century?

.

 

[Wild one]

Personally I think it’s all BS as far as ‘level’ the trans is never level moving about the highways and driveways. Up, down, sideways. Does it go bad at those times? NO! Get it close and send it!

If that was the case,why would ZF specifically make "leveling" the transmission the very first step in the instructions they send with a "brand new" truck specific 8 speed,and they've high lighted it to the point you'd have to be blind to miss it. Don't take this wrong,but your head is up somewhere that the sun doesn't shine,if you think you know more then ZF does
Read these instructions,especially the very first highlighted part.

 

[Wild one]

That transmission is a ZF transmission designed by ZF and build by Chrysler with license from them. ZF requires oil and filter change at 60 t0 70,000 max miles and not a lifetime service. If you want to preserve that transmission, find a place that knows how to service it because it takes special transmission fluid which is about $30 a quart and takes 7 quarts. There is also a special procedure when servicing it and never get a transmission flush om this transmission unless you want to pay for a $6500 repair bill on it. There are several U tube videos on how to service this transmission. Some dealers don't want to do it because of the time involved and some don't have the experienced mechanics to do it.

Chrysler only builds the little 850RE 8 speed ,the one used behind the little 3.6, ZF still builds the 8HP70's / 8HP75's / 8HP90's / 8HP95's that are used behind the Hemi's

 

[Gary Hill22]

I had a solenoid stick in my 2500 Ram transmission, My local transmission shop charged $380 for the solenoid, filter, and change of fluid. Your $1,000 sounds way out of line.

 

[Rustypipes12]

As much as I would prefer that the pan have a drain plug, I roll my eyes when I watch videos where they ignore the drain because they're ditching the pan.

Are you not a bit concerned about introducing particulates into the transmission sump?

.

 

[Rustypipes12]

As much as I would prefer that the pan have a drain plug, I roll my eyes when I watch videos where they ignore the drain because they're ditching the pan.

Are you not a bit concerned about introducing particulates into the transmission sump?

.

 

[Rustypipes12]

No, when I drill it's to drain then drop and discard the the pan and filter. I plan on installing a new PPE pan that I bought that comes with the filter, has a drain plug ( magnetic I think) and holds two extra qts. of fluid.

 

[dks5276]

Im lost myself, my issue is this, Ive searched forums, reddit, ect. , I have a 2018 Ram 1500 Express 97k miles with 5.7 and TorqueFlite 8HP70 which im told is the ZF 8 speed, Im going to have someone change the trans fluid but Ive been told by Dobbs, Local Trans Shop, Valvoline Instant Oil, and Rams Dealership that no dont change the filter just do the fluid flush BUT manufacturer says YES change the filter. I have taken very good care of this truck and plan on driving it til I die or it dies lol, so how many of you just flush the fluid and how many do the new pan and filter?

 

[Rustypipes12]

I sold my 2009 TRX4 with 159k on it. I live up north and the salt was finally catching up. That truck ran great, I changed my oil every 3-4k, changed my diff. fluids @ 70k, flushed the cooling system and installed a 180 degree thermostat ( apparently not recommended on the newer ones)@70k, and changed my transmission fluid and filter without flushing it. My fluid looked brand new in the diff.s and transmission so I wasn't worried about flushing. Either way make sure you buy the right filter for your pan. Mine had a deep sump filter in addition to a spin on but it wasn't a ZF and was 9 years older than yours. BTW it's normal to see some clutch dust in the bottom of the pan, just not a huge pile... and no chunks!

 

[Wild one]

I had a solenoid stick in my 2500 Ram transmission, My local transmission shop charged $380 for the solenoid, filter, and change of fluid. Your $1,000 sounds way out of line.

Totally differant transmissions.The 8 speed requires you to buy a brand new transmission pan if you want to change the filter.The filter is part of the pan.

 

[star_deceiver]

I had a solenoid stick in my 2500 Ram transmission, My local transmission shop charged $380 for the solenoid, filter, and change of fluid. Your $1,000 sounds way out of line.

They’re going to bill you $40/L for 6 litres of fluid. $300 for the pan. $200/hr labour and take 3 hours. And a bunch of shop and hoist fees. You do the math.

 

[Rustypipes12]

They’re going to bill you $40/L for 6 litres of fluid. $300 for the pan. $200/hr labour and take 3 hours. And a bunch of shop and hoist fees. You do the math.
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I already bought a PPE pan for my 2500. At 24 k I plan on drilling the plastic pan to drain it then changing all my drivetrain fluids with Amsoil. No flush though.

 

[tangocash001]

Do you know that he followed the ZF protocols on the green sheet, and that the pan was levelled instead of the truck?

It sounds like you found a sensible mechanic. IIRC, the dealership wanted about $1200 for the job, so $850 in Canadastan might be OK.

What was the mileage and use?
Any towing or frequent heavy loads?

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I know he leveled it because I joked about trying to do it myself as I do other maintenance myself and he commented " too many people try and DYI this job and get it wrong especially not leveling the pan" lol Mileage was 180 000 km but I rarely tow and when I do, its not very heavy. I'm about 50-50 city / highway and honestly should not have bought a diesel because I don't need it, but that's another story.