That guy you talked to is special. The cherokees and 200s have a 9 speed transmission, not the rams.

 

Right. Your truck would be an 8-speed, not a 9-speed. The 9-speeds are for FWD-based vehicles.

Both the 8- and 9-speeds are "fill for life" transmissions, which means there is no recommended fluid change interval. But if you really want to change it, feel free. It won't hurt anything (other than your wallet).

The 8-speed filter is built into the (plastic) oil pan, so to replace the filter you have to replace the whole pan, which can be expensive. In addition, the 8- and 9-speeds use a special fluid (Mopar ZF 8&9 Speed ATF, or Shell L12108 ATF), and since most owners don't ever change the fluid, demand for it is fairly low (meaning the price is high). So be prepared for sticker shock.

 

So sounds like I'll be OK to not change the fluid.


I am OK with that, just want to make sure I'll doing the right thing for the truck.


Need it to last as long as possible.


Let me know what you think, let it ride as is?

 

So sounds like I'll be OK to not change the fluid.

I am OK with that, just want to make sure I'll doing the right thing for the truck. Need it to last as long as possible.

Let me know what you think, let it ride as is?

Yes, I wouldn't bother changing the fluid.

But if you want your trans to last as long as possible, the single biggest factor is not how often you change the fluid. It's how you drive. Driving GENTLY will greatly increase your trans life.

 

I beg to differ on the "fill for life" statement made by the manufacturer. Claiming is one thing, reality is wear still occurs no matter what type of transmission you have. ZF multi-speed trannies can be found in a multitude of vehicles and they do service them for the most part. FCA's position here is a bit overconfident, to put it mildly. I would call this simply irresponsible from their part.

It is true that the maintenance cost is higher ($300-400 if done yourself, $1000 approx. by dealer) but if you make a habit of performing regular maintenance on your vehicle, that particular one cannot be overlooked. I did mine last year @ 125000 km, intent on repeating @ 250K and so on. The process is a bit more convoluted than regular transmissions but not overly difficult. Youtube provides plenty of videos showing the procedure, along with useful tips. A quick search will provide from some valuable information, either here or on the web. See here for a post on that topic:

http://www.ramforumz.com/showthread.php?t=220635

 

That guy is an idiot. Though the owner's manual doesn't specify a change interval, ZF, who designed (and in some cases) manufactures the transmissions does.

The 9 speed 9HP is a transaxle, not a transmission, and is used in the 200, Pacifica, Cherokee, and other front wheel drive vehicles. Honda uses it too. You have an 845RFE which is a version of the ZF 8HP45 slightly modified to be stronger and with a deeper pan.

Changing fluids doesn't damage transmissions, plain and simple. That's a ridiculous claim, and people who are that afraid of electronics have no place working on vehicles made after OBDII came out. The transmission is designed to allow the fluid to be changed, that's why there's a drain hole in the pan and a fill hole in the side of the case.

The reason people have problems changing trans fluid for the first time at 180,000 miles or whatever is because they've gone so far past the recommended interval and life of the fluid that it lost its lubricating quality, and adding new fluid that provides lubricity allows worn out parts to slide over each other. The cause of that problem is not doing changes often enough

I did my first change at 66,232 miles:

http://www.ramforumz.com/showthread.php?t=231321

Another member posted today that he has a 2014 with 370,000+ miles on the original transmission. He changes the fluid with Valvoline maxlife every 100,000 or so.