What's the consensus on fluid change for 8 speed?

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R.L.K.

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Just curious, is there an aftermarket dipstick for the 8 sp? I've not seen one in my searching or even know if there's a provision in the case to put one.

I've been looking into this as my Ram has ~19K on it now, and like said above, would want to do it early @ 30-40K or so, then 60-70K from there on.

There are several good youtube instructional videos on how to do it.
Short answer is no ...
There's a 9+ step procedure to properly check the fluid level .
I recommend to read all post within this thread ....

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Wild one

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Just curious, is there an aftermarket dipstick for the 8 sp? I've not seen one in my searching or even know if there's a provision in the case to put one.

I've been looking into this as my Ram has ~19K on it now, and like said above, would want to do it early @ 30-40K or so, then 60-70K from there on.

There are several good youtube instructional videos on how to do it.

The majority of video's do miss one step,and that's the fact you need the tranny pan rail "level" front to rear and side to side,which entails jacking the rear of the truck up in the air a fair bit,other then that,they are pretty well spot on.
 

Gero

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I remember my old mk4 vw tdi had "lifetime" tranny fluid. It was bs. After changing it, the transmission shifted so much smoother and this was a manual. I cannot imagine the difference it would make on a zf8spd.
 

fljab

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Short answer is no ...
There's a 9+ step procedure to properly check the fluid level .
I recommend to read all post within this thread ....

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

The Q about a dipstick was musing more than anything. I have read all the posts in this thread and several others, plus watched several videos. I believe I have a grip on it, but there's nothing like actually doing it.
 

tap4154

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Just curious, is there an aftermarket dipstick for the 8 sp? I've not seen one in my searching or even know if there's a provision in the case to put one.

I've been looking into this as my Ram has ~19K on it now, and like said above, would want to do it early @ 30-40K or so, then 60-70K from there on.

There are several good youtube instructional videos on how to do it.

The dipstick is what led to my old F150 trans needing to be replaced at 145K miles. An oil change place apparently broke the dipstick tube bracket and didn't tell me when they flush/filled it. Then I drove a long time not knowing it was allowing the fluid to be contaminated, with some occasional leaking. After the new trans was installed I drove it up to 300K miles with the same fluid, however the dealer put a "magnafine" in-line fllter on it, then I changed that at about 70K on the trans. Trans was still fine when I got rid of it at 300K miles, and at every oil change the tech checked the trans fliud and said it looked fine (I checked as well, it looked and smelled fine).

So Like the idea of a closed system and may well just leave it alone forever. BTW I drive it easy in moderate year-round temps.
 

slacadjuster

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What's the general consensus on changing the 8 speed transmission fluid? Should you attempt to change it or just trust that the fluid lasts a really long time? I don't know how sold I am on the idea of it being "lifetime fluid."


Ever heard of an owner's manual??
 

chrisbh17

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Ever heard of an owner's manual??

The owners manual shows you never need to change the fluid.

Do you really believe a single fluid can last over 120K miles? Thats when the "maintenance schedule" in the owners manual ends. Are we then supposed to get rid of the truck because there is no maintenance schedule left to follow?
 

turkeybird56

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Wow, not sure on the lifetime. Think U could go maybe up to 100,000, but that would be a daily driver, no heavy-consistent towing. But if towing, somewhere between 30-60K, and if towing, best do that rear end diff also. All IMHO.... as there are numerous posts with recommendations and thoughts all over the place.....
 

chrisbh17

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Wow, not sure on the lifetime. Think U could go maybe up to 100,000, but that would be a daily driver, no heavy-consistent towing. But if towing, somewhere between 30-60K, and if towing, best do that rear end diff also. All IMHO.... as there are numerous posts with recommendations and thoughts all over the place.....

Exactly the point. I checked my manual just to be sure - every reference to changing automatic transmission fluid (even for severe duty like fleet, police/fire, etc) is asterisked with "six speed transmission only". All the way up to 120K miles which is where the schedule ends.

Im sorry, but "check your owners manual", at least in regards to the 8HP70 fluid, is a ridiculous suggestion (nevermind the fact it never actually says anything about the 8 speed)

It sounds cliche but "lifetime" in this case seems to be FCAs definition of lifetime, which is probably just long enough to get it out of warranty. I have MaxCare Lifetime, so technically it should never be an issue for me, but even *I* want to change the fluid at a normal interval (probably 60K miles), just to save the hassle of a busted trans and/or dealing with the extended warranty to get it all fixed.

Because of the MaxCare, I might pay the dealer to change the fluid so no one can claim it was my fault down the road if something happens. Thats going to be an expensive nut to crack but in the grand scheme of things it might be worth it.
 

turkeybird56

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To be honest, my old senile backside has no words of wisdom here. MY 19 is more a driveway ornament, as gets run 3 days a week. Did take a 4000 mile trip in August, only reason has miles on odometer. The trip BTW, was ok hand calc 22 mpg on stock Hemi, not bad.

But ne way, good luck on yer truck and research. If I find any info, I'll post. U might want to go on the transmission builders website, just a thought...
 

Kap1

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I cheaped out and only changed the fluid at around 60k and not the pan/filter. Hope it's fine until about 100k when I'm planning on changing I like again this time with the filter.
 

PoMansRam

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I cheaped out and only changed the fluid at around 60k and not the pan/filter. Hope it's fine until about 100k when I'm planning on changing I like again this time with the filter.

I would not sweat that at all. Those filters are like window screens. Main thing is to freshen up that fluid and remove any solids from the magnets on the pan.
 

miketx

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I doubt if mixing Red Line will cause a problem. Long story but short version.... as a temporary fix I mixed Valvoline Max Life full synthetic the original fluid left in the system when a pan leak drained the pan. I ran the mix for about 2,000 miles and I couldn't tell the difference shift wise. So when I got back to civilization and could replace the plastic pan I decided to stick with Valvoline Max Life because it is on the recommended list according to Valvoline, it works fine and there was more of it in the transmission than there was of the original fluid.

When the new pan was in place I used a weed sprayer to fill the trans, with the weed sprayer it only takes about 20 minutes to fill the transmission. About 24,000 on the Valvoline Max Life now, it shifts perfectly and my transmission temps are fine = typically 168 to 174, it even stays below 180 when towing my 7,500 lb travel trailer in mountains, cant say the same for engine oil, on long climbs the engine oil gets over 230 degrees. I should mention that my engine is Eco-D /W factory tow package so I'm not sure if Mopar has different T coolers or plumbing on different models.

Valvoline Maxlife is excellent trans fluid.....best on the market in my opinion, when you factor cost (you can buy it at Wally World). I've run it in multiple vehicle brands: Mazda, Ford, VW, Chevy, Toyota....all with excellent results. I even mixed it with Redline on my Toyota...worked great (eventually I flushed out the Redline...it was good fluid, but Valvoline shifted better and wayyy cheaper). If I didn't have Maxcare Life on the truck, I'd change my fluid (drain/fill...no filter change or pan drop) every 30-40k miles.
 
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