When to do transmission service ?

[Logan3426!]

got a 21 with the 5.7 dealer told me transmission fluid is lifetime but the book says 60k it should be changed have about 73k on it now and I don’t tow anything should I change it soon or just leave it alone ?

 

[SD Rebel]

Dealership lifetime essentially means 100K, or about as far as most extended warranties will support the powertain. Longevity of your transmission after warranty is something they don't care about, it works against their interest.

I would follow ZFs recommendations, I think it's 50K-75K or so, good idea to have an independent shop that knows ZF8s do the service. I would also call other dealerships if you want to go that route, while one may not want to do the service, others may even offer specials on them. Compare prices and reputation of shop before you commit to them.

 

[JF19Longhorn]

I bought the PPE(?) pan with replaceable filter around 55k, but didn't end up doing it till closer to 65k. Fluid still looked ok.

Plan to drain and refill the pan @ my next oil change, which will be at 75k.

 

[SD Rebel]

I plan on doing mine by the recommended 8th year if I don't hit the recommended mileage.

 

[DeanM2]

Well I am no expert. But over the years, I have been told by several automatic transmission mechanics, that if you just change your fluid every 60K miles, you will probably never have a problem.

 

[PurpleRT]

Dealership lifetime essentially means 100K, or about as far as most extended warranties will support the powertain. Longevity of your transmission after warranty is something they don't care about, it works against their interest.

I would follow ZFs recommendations, I think it's 50K-75K or so, good idea to have an independent shop that knows ZF8s do the service. I would also call other dealerships if you want to go that route, while one may not want to do the service, others may even offer specials on them. Compare prices and reputation of shop before you commit to them.

This. Lifetime doesn’t really mean lifetime more like for how ever long you would typically keep said vehicle before you trade it for the next. 60-70k is probably a good start if your doing it yourself the price isn’t really unreasonable now if your paying thr dealer… it could be pricey learn to do it yourself.


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[kldake.kd]

I bought the PPE(?) pan with replaceable filter around 55k, but didn't end up doing it till closer to 65k. Fluid still looked ok.

Plan to drain and refill the pan @ my next oil change, which will be at 75k.

Did you perform it yourself?
If self perform did you have to drop the exhaust to get clearance from the transmission valving?

 

[PurpleRT]

You can just lower the front crossover enough to remove and reattach the pan. You don’t have to deal w/ crossover then.

https://www.blauparts.com/blog/how-to-change-ram-1500-transmission-fluid-8-speed.html

Probably the best tutorial out there.


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[LITTLEREBEL]

Well I am no expert. But over the years, I have been told by several automatic transmission mechanics, that if you just change your fluid every 60K miles, you will probably never have a problem.

And I was told to not touch it unless theirs an issue.

 

[PurpleRT]

It’s a trans fluid flush that tends to get a bad rep that may or may not point out underlying issues. A pan drop and filter swap isn’t going to mess up your transmission if you use the right fluid and filter.


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[Mr.Grid]

My truck is going 100k miles and then replaced. I do plan on changing the transmission fluid myself at 60k miles, but I’m only doing a drain and refill, no filter replacement. Honestly one could easily use this method several times for 120k miles without problems. In my 2011 Hemi Ram with 545 RFE I used this method, but had to use an oil sucker to remove the trans fluid (no drain plug) and it was easy. I went to 132K miles prior to changing the filter in that trans, but exchanged fluid multiple times with excellent results.

 

[Grape_Ape]

Just had mine completed at 65k miles with the blauparts kit. Was going to do it myself but the fill plug gave me fits. Found a transmission shop with great reviews near me who charged $150 for labor. Immediately scheduled an appointment and took my truck down off my stands lol.

 

[JF19Longhorn]

Did you perform it yourself?
If self perform did you have to drop the exhaust to get clearance from the transmission valving?

Yes, I did it myself the first time when replacing the pan. Followed many of the suggestions and videos linked on this site.

This time I just plan to drain the pan and refil. Not swapping the filter this time as it's only been 10k miles.

 

[sep1006]

And I was told to not touch it unless theirs an issue.

THIS !!!!!!!

Never on any vehicle that I or my father has owned has the transmission fluid been changed. I had a 95 Z-71 4 X 4 Chevy that I put 296,000 miles on and it still had the original transmission fluid in it when I sold it. Never had one issue.

 

[RebelliousGt]

My truck is going 100k miles and then replaced. I do plan on changing the transmission fluid myself at 60k miles, but I’m only doing a drain and refill, no filter replacement. Honestly one could easily use this method several times for 120k miles without problems. In my 2011 Hemi Ram with 545 RFE I used this method, but had to use an oil sucker to remove the trans fluid (no drain plug) and it was easy. I went to 132K miles prior to changing the filter in that trans, but exchanged fluid multiple times with excellent results.

My last ram 1500 4x4 was an 05’ just sold it last year with just over 500,000 km on her, powertrain was running perfectly smooth. The transmission and transfer case fluids were still from factory. That tells you something, I did have a transmission cooler from factory as it was part of a tow package.