tfeni52355
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2014
- Posts
- 250
- Reaction score
- 362
- Location
- Indian Land, SC
- Ram Year
- 2016 Longhorn
- Engine
- 5.7 Hemi, 4x4, Air Suspension
Today I changed out my ZF8 transmission fluid and installed a new PPE Pan and Mopar gasket. I have been running Redline D6 for the past 10K miles after a pan and fluid changeout and after starting out OK the transmission seemed to slip from time to time, especially on the 2nd to 3rd shift. The transmission also seemed to be "dumping" down through the gears and would drop from 2nd to 1st at stoplights with a lurch. The truck has 74K miles on it and is driven mostly empty with some light hauling of building supplies etc.
I have wanted to change out to a PPE pan for some time now so since I did not like the performance of the fluid/tranny with Redline, I decided to go with Valvoline MaxLife. A lot of folks seem to be running it and I haven't heard of issues with it. Beside the cost simply can't be beat. 3 Gallons for about $50 from Walmart delivered!
So here were the steps I took:
1) Raise the level to Off-Road 2 on the air suspension. Makes working under the truck much nicer.
2) Dropped the drain plug on the pan and let the fluid drain
3) Removed the bolts around the pan from back to front to allow the pan to continue to drain
4) Removed the pan and carefully tilted it so the remaining fluid in the pan could drain.
5) Examined the magnets in the pan and found they had little buildup of material after 10 K miles
6) Smelled the D6 tranny fluid and it smelled and looked brand new.
One thing I noticed was the D6 fluid was amazingly slippery on my gloves and wrenches. It was very difficult to get a grip on anything once the D6 coated it. Perhaps the D6 was too slippery for my trans? I am not an oil guy so I will have to let others weigh in.
I prepped the PPE pan by taking the filter out that comes with it and set it aside. I then removed the silver metal sleeves/guides from the old plastic pan and installed them in the PPE pan. This took a little doing with a file to allow for a snug fit. I felt the sleeves would keep the pan aligned and aid in keeping the gasket in place around the bolt holes. It seemed to work well as the gasket fit nicely once the pan was cleaned and filter put back in after the sleeves were installed. I used a Mopar OEM gasket. Pic attached with part number.
After installing the gasket I installed the pan under the transmission without much trouble. There was plenty of room between the exhaust crossover and the transmission valve body so it wasn't an issue. I pulled the torque specs and tightening sequence down from this forum and buttoned it up.
I then jacked up the truck to level the transmission and put jack stands under the rear axle and wheel chocks under the front wheels. Back under I went to fill the transmission while cold. After filling the transmission cold I then started the truck and finished the fill using the method documented in the forum and YouTube.
One thing I did learn the first time through (last year) was to use wet towels on the exhaust crossover and Y piping so you can insert the transmission fill plug without getting burned. Search my other posts for the tips on filling and not getting burned. I got away today with one small patch on my left arm about the size of a quarter. Last time I burned my whole left forearm before I learned my lesson and starting using wet towels.
Took the truck out for a drive and I must say the shifts are much nicer with the Valvoline Maxlife. After a warm up I did a couple of WOT from 2nd gear and the truck shifted great. I'll put 100 miles on it tomorrow so that will be a better test.
Please take the time to fill out the poll. We are curious if anyone else has had issues with aftermarket tranmission fluids.
I have wanted to change out to a PPE pan for some time now so since I did not like the performance of the fluid/tranny with Redline, I decided to go with Valvoline MaxLife. A lot of folks seem to be running it and I haven't heard of issues with it. Beside the cost simply can't be beat. 3 Gallons for about $50 from Walmart delivered!
So here were the steps I took:
1) Raise the level to Off-Road 2 on the air suspension. Makes working under the truck much nicer.
2) Dropped the drain plug on the pan and let the fluid drain
3) Removed the bolts around the pan from back to front to allow the pan to continue to drain
4) Removed the pan and carefully tilted it so the remaining fluid in the pan could drain.
5) Examined the magnets in the pan and found they had little buildup of material after 10 K miles
6) Smelled the D6 tranny fluid and it smelled and looked brand new.
One thing I noticed was the D6 fluid was amazingly slippery on my gloves and wrenches. It was very difficult to get a grip on anything once the D6 coated it. Perhaps the D6 was too slippery for my trans? I am not an oil guy so I will have to let others weigh in.
I prepped the PPE pan by taking the filter out that comes with it and set it aside. I then removed the silver metal sleeves/guides from the old plastic pan and installed them in the PPE pan. This took a little doing with a file to allow for a snug fit. I felt the sleeves would keep the pan aligned and aid in keeping the gasket in place around the bolt holes. It seemed to work well as the gasket fit nicely once the pan was cleaned and filter put back in after the sleeves were installed. I used a Mopar OEM gasket. Pic attached with part number.
After installing the gasket I installed the pan under the transmission without much trouble. There was plenty of room between the exhaust crossover and the transmission valve body so it wasn't an issue. I pulled the torque specs and tightening sequence down from this forum and buttoned it up.
I then jacked up the truck to level the transmission and put jack stands under the rear axle and wheel chocks under the front wheels. Back under I went to fill the transmission while cold. After filling the transmission cold I then started the truck and finished the fill using the method documented in the forum and YouTube.
One thing I did learn the first time through (last year) was to use wet towels on the exhaust crossover and Y piping so you can insert the transmission fill plug without getting burned. Search my other posts for the tips on filling and not getting burned. I got away today with one small patch on my left arm about the size of a quarter. Last time I burned my whole left forearm before I learned my lesson and starting using wet towels.
Took the truck out for a drive and I must say the shifts are much nicer with the Valvoline Maxlife. After a warm up I did a couple of WOT from 2nd gear and the truck shifted great. I'll put 100 miles on it tomorrow so that will be a better test.
Please take the time to fill out the poll. We are curious if anyone else has had issues with aftermarket tranmission fluids.
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