Tranny design is stupid

[Racerb0y]

Why in hell would Ram engineers design the 8 spd transmission plastic ABS? pan whereas the drain bolt is blocked by the exhaust crossover pipe? I had to create tool to just drain it to alleviate the big mess coming.
I am able to fish out the pan and to make matters even far worse, the fill hole is practically impossible to get too. I had to buy a vacuum pump to add fluid. removing the torx bolts, two were blocked had to create a tool for that!! Also, I'll have the most non corrosive power steering module on the planet. every oil change keeps it lubricated..

 

[SpeedyV]

Why in hell would Ram engineers design the 8 spd transmission plastic ABS? pan whereas the drain bolt is blocked by the exhaust crossover pipe? I had to create tool to just drain it to alleviate the big mess coming.
I am able to fish out the pan and to make matters even far worse, the fill hole is practically impossible to get too. I had to buy a vacuum pump to add fluid. removing the torx bolts, two were blocked had to create a tool for that!! Also, I'll have the most non corrosive power steering module on the planet. every oil change keeps it lubricated..

How many miles are on your 5th-gen Ram 1500? The transmission fluid doesn't need to be changed until you hit 15 years / 150,000 miles under normal conditions.

 

[GKIII]

How many miles are on your 5th-gen Ram 1500? The transmission fluid doesn't need to be changed until you hit 15 years / 150,000 miles under normal conditions.

ZF actually recommends 150,000 km (~93,206 miles) even though they acknowledge OEM manufacturers say "lifetime".

 

[SpeedyV]

ZF actually recommends 150,000 km (~93,206 miles) even though they acknowledge OEM manufacturers say "lifetime".

View attachment 100762

I was just going by the owner’s manual, which doesn’t include any transmission maintenance for 15/150. But coming from HD trucks, that feels like a very long time!

 

[popcenator]

It's really not as bad as you're making it. Changing the oil is far more inconvenient than adding transmission fluid. Is it a pain? A little, but it's not the ordeal you're making it out to be.

Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk

 

[soSincerious]

Shots fired!

 

[IvoryHemi]

Why in hell would Ram engineers design the 8 spd transmission plastic ABS? pan whereas the drain bolt is blocked by the exhaust crossover pipe?

Ram did not design the transmission. They purchase it (8HP75) from ZF

 

[2020GraniteBH]

Anybody know of any DIY vids or walkthroughs of this yet?

 

[UnloosedChewtoy]

While the 8HP75 is a newer/revised design, the 8HP70 in the 4th gens is very similar, and there are some videos of that one on Youtube.

Be glad that it only costs a couple hundred to change fluid/filter in these now. Back when they first came out, for a few years or more it was almost $1000 to change it, before aftermarket caught up and the fluid came down in price. Then it was $500-ish, and now far less.

 

[Racerb0y]

Why in hell would Ram engineers design the 8 spd transmission plastic ABS? pan whereas the drain bolt is blocked by the exhaust crossover pipe? I had to create tool to just drain it to alleviate the big mess coming.
I am able to fish out the pan and to make matters even far worse, the fill hole is practically impossible to get too. I had to buy a vacuum pump to add fluid. removing the torx bolts, two were blocked had to create a tool for that!! Also, I'll have the most non corrosive power steering module on the planet. every oil change keeps it lubricated..

Well hell. Back to the dealership. Pan is dripping at the plastic *** drain bolt.

 

[Redfour5]

I was just going by the owner’s manual, which doesn’t include any transmission maintenance for 15/150. But coming from HD trucks, that feels like a very long time!

Go check the price on that stuff. It must be pretty high tech. I did do a change on my DS right at 70K miles just for PM purposes it cost like 700 bucks including flush and two thirds of it was the fluids. My "guy" said there is a cheaper "version" but he doesn't trust it... His crew are mostly former Dodge/Ram techs all still certified and he ran the local dealership shop until he got fed up with their ethics. Oh, then I traded it on my DT... But really had no choice.

 

[J-Cooz]

How many miles are on your Ram?

 

[SpeedyV]

Go check the price on that stuff. It must be pretty high tech. I did do a change on my DS right at 70K miles just for PM purposes it cost like 700 bucks including flush and two thirds of it was the fluids. My "guy" said there is a cheaper "version" but he doesn't trust it... His crew are mostly former Dodge/Ram techs all still certified and he ran the local dealership shop until he got fed up with their ethics. Oh, then I traded it on my DT... But really had no choice.

I switched my last two trucks over to (Castrol) TranSynd, as it has ridiculous fluid life. On the downside, it should be named “liquid rubies” ($$$).

 

[jedgar81]

They are always a pain to do, but for most people it is such a long service interval it isn’t a big deal. The one on the Jeep JK has NO drain plug at all and you have to undo the exhaust crossover to drop the pan that is 100% full of fluid.

 

[GKIII]

Go check the price on that stuff. It must be pretty high tech. I did do a change on my DS right at 70K miles just for PM purposes it cost like 700 bucks including flush and two thirds of it was the fluids. My "guy" said there is a cheaper "version" but he doesn't trust it... His crew are mostly former Dodge/Ram techs all still certified and he ran the local dealership shop until he got fed up with their ethics. Oh, then I traded it on my DT... But really had no choice.

You can buy the ZF Lifeguard Fluid 8 rather than the MOPAR trans fluid, it's the exact same thing (MOPAR just repackages it). However I do believe the price between the two are pretty much the same ($20/qt give or take a dollar depending on source).

 

[IvoryHemi]

Ravenol J1D2113-004 ATF is another option. Full synthetic vs the factory fill semi-synthetic

 

[Andymax]

I, and many others use Valvoline MaxLife. I had 225K miles on a Jeep Grand Cherokee with no issues, but that's nothing. There's a guy on ram1500diesel.com that does RV transport for Airstream...he's running a 1500 ecodiesel and his stock tranny has over 800K miles (and that's mostly towing!!!) and he uses Valvoline as well. It is WAY less pricey.