[Garc]

What supplier or pan brand did you purchase from out of curiosity?

ATP or Dorman are common aftermarket suppliers, some have reported issues with pinched gasket material causing leaks but that may be user error in torquing to spec. I presume you have the proper fill instructions?

 

[2015Tradesman4x4]

ZF is the manufacturer of these transmissions. The pan I ordered is ZF so it's OEM. It's the exact same pan you would get in a Mopar box for twice as much.

And, yes, I know the fill procedure thanks to several of you kind folks. 😉

 

[Garc]

But you unfortunately spent $100 for semisynthetic fluid 😬

Take a look at the side of your “ZF” pan, might say made in Taiwan.

2 gallons of full synthetic Maxlife ATF is under $40, better viscosity numbers and they durability test 260 degrees for 60k miles.

 

[2015Tradesman4x4]

Guess that's one way of looking at it. I'm more a glass half full kinda guy though. I paid about $16/qt for fluid that goes for $21+ everywhere else.

If the pan is not made in Germany by ZF, I'll just send it back.

Do you but I'll stick with the tranny manufacturer's recommendation. They've designed an excellent product and I trust their fluid to protect it. 😎

 

[Tred]

Welcome to Ramforumz! Glad to have you join us here. I think stalker is a bad choice in describing why you're here. LOL Maybe lurker would be better?

By the way, I moved your post to an area will it may get better attention.

Enjoy the forum!

 

[LoneStarHemi]

Subscribing 😁

 

[TruSoldier]

I've been stalking you guys for a couple years now and have learned a ton. I registered this morning because I am about to change the pan and fluid in my 8HP70 for the first time and found a great deal on the OEM ZF pan ($95) and 6 qts of ZF Lifeguard 8 fluid ($98) and wanted to share the links since it took a bit of research and I didn't see any recent posts with links to this stuff.

The cheapest "Mopar" (read: ZF pan, Mopar box) pan I found was $185, by the way. The Lifeguard 8 in Mopar bottles was $138/6 qts.

I placed the order last night. I'll be posting the links in the appropriate forum once the pan gets here and I verify it's the right one. If you'd like them before that let me know.

Thanks, y'all! 😀

CARiD.com

Product search and advanced product search options. Find the right Grill, Wood Grain, Spoiler, Car and Truck Accessories for your model, year and make.

www.carid.com

 

[oldgoat]

I have known people that have just changed the fluid and in no time, they had to get their trans rebuilt. On the new trucks, it might be different. Just remember, that there is still old fluid in the torque converter. That is why when it is time, I take my truck to the dealership to have the trans fluid change and go through the transmission. That way if anything goes wrong, it's on them. I don't remember seeing how many miles you have on your truck. If it is a lot and the trans fluid has never been changed, I would definitely take it to the dealership to have it done and ask them if they will use your new pan and fluid. Just what I would do, but it's not me.

 

[2015Tradesman4x4]

I have known people that have just changed the fluid and in no time, they had to get their trans rebuilt. On the new trucks, it might be different. Just remember, that there is still old fluid in the torque converter. That is why when it is time, I take my truck to the dealership to have the trans fluid change and go through the transmission. That way if anything goes wrong, it's on them. I don't remember seeing how many miles you have on your truck. If it is a lot and the trans fluid has never been changed, I would definitely take it to the dealership to have it done and ask them if they will use your new pan and fluid. Just what I would do, but it's not me.

Good advice! I've heard similar stories.

I bought the truck new in 2015 and have put 113k miles on it. Should I have changed my "lifetime" fluid 55k miles ago? Absolutely. But as they say, better late than never.

From all I've read and watched I expect to get 5-5 1/2 quarts out when I drop the pan. I figure that's got to be 1/2-3/4 of what the transmission holds. That is, admittedly, a wild guess though.

ZF's service procedure for these transmissions shows no more thorough flush than dropping the pan to drain the fluid and refilling as they specify (fill, shift through the gears, fill again, all below a specified temp to ensure a proper fill; screen shots of the actual procedure are posted on several threads here). By doing it myself I feel like I'll get the same (or better) service than the dealership would provide while saving a few hundred bucks (which I used to justify the purchase of a new aluminum jack, btw😁) and knowing it was done right.

Of course the trade-off, as you mentioned, is that I'm responsible if anything goes wrong. But the same goes for changing your own oil. Or adding washer fluid, for that matter.

Thanks again!

 

[oldgoat]

Good advice! I've heard similar stories.

I bought the truck new in 2015 and have put 113k miles on it. Should I have changed my "lifetime" fluid 55k miles ago? Absolutely. But as they say, better late than never.

From all I've read and watched I expect to get 5-5 1/2 quarts out when I drop the pan. I figure that's got to be 1/2-3/4 of what the transmission holds. That is, admittedly, a wild guess though.

ZF's service procedure for these transmissions shows no more thorough flush than dropping the pan to drain the fluid and refilling as they specify (fill, shift through the gears, fill again, all below a specified temp to ensure a proper fill; screen shots of the actual procedure are posted on several threads here). By doing it myself I feel like I'll get the same (or better) service than the dealership would provide while saving a few hundred bucks (which I used to justify the purchase of a new aluminum jack, btw😁) and knowing it was done right.

Of course the trade-off, as you mentioned, is that I'm responsible if anything goes wrong. But the same goes for changing your own oil. Or adding washer fluid, for that matter.

Thanks again!

I agree, I do my oil and diesel filters myself and change my oil and rotate my tires myself. I have put air bags on myself on my 2017 2500. In fact, I do everything on our vehicles except the trans. When it is time to have the trans serviced, I will take it to the dealership. Like you said, you know that it is done right when you do it yourself, but when it comes to the trans, that is one part of our vehicles that I don't touch. I don't have the knowledge and that I may do more harm than good. My hat is off to all of y'all that are able to work on the transmissions.

 

[2015Tradesman4x4]

Don't get me wrong. Anything having to do with the transmission beyond draining and dropping the pan and refilling the fluid is beyond what I'm capable of. And the only reason I'm confident enough to tackle that is all the folks here, on other forums, and on YouTube who did it and were kind enough to document it, post pics of ZF's service procedure, etc.

 

[2015Tradesman4x4]

Well, I hate to admit this but my Lifeguard fluid came in....and it's Lifeguard 6. There are two very similar listings on Amazon; 6 liters of Lifeguard 6 for $98 and 6 liters of Lifeguard 8 for $138. Obviously I bought the wrong one. LG6 is not compatible (or maybe recommended is the term they use) with 8 speed transmissions per ZF.

The good news is that the seller will refund it minus 8 bucks shipping. That's way better than me having to stare at it for the rest of my life even though I have absolutely no use for it because I PAID GOOD MONEY FOR THAT [email protected]#&$*T!

I did find and reorder the right fluid here:

ZF® S671 090 312 - LifeGuardFluid 8™ Automatic Transmission Fluid

LifeGuardFluid 8™ Automatic Transmission Fluid - Part Number S671 090 312 (S671090312) by ZF. Oil Base: Full Synthetic. Volume: 1 Liter. Quantity: 1 Bottle. Parts.

www.carid.com

It worked out to about $18/liter after shipping which is a decent discount from most of the other places I saw, albeit a boatload of money for ATF. If you happen to order it there, you'll have to enter your vehicle make and model to add it to your cart, and they will tell you it does not match your vehicle. It does (If you have a ZF 8 speed, that is). I have a PDF from ZF listing all the transmissions they make and the names and part numbers of the fluids for each one but don't know how to post it here.

Note: I changed the title of this thread to better reflect the content.

 

[Cvillechopper]

Welcome!

 

[2015Tradesman4x4]

I finally got around to changing the fluid and pan over the weekend and figured I'd update this in case anybody is interested.

I found a listing for a ZF pan on Amazon for $95. There was no vehicle fitment list in the ad and Amazon's "Verify Fitment" tool wasn't available for it either but it looked identical to mine (same shape, 13 bolts, etc.) from what I could see in the picture. I also found a couple reviews that stated it would work on a 4th gen 1500 so I pulled the trigger.

When I unboxed it a saw that it was a genuine ZF part (made in Poland, though) and that it looked identical to what I remembered mine looking like, I was downright giddy about getting around giving Mopar their $100+ cut. When I crawled under the truck with it a few days later I did notice a couple minor differences. It was the same size and shape and I am sure it would have bolted up fine but the depth of the new pan on the shallow side was about 3/16" shallower than my stock pan.

Having never changed the fluid before and not knowing what to expect (and honestly my lack of motivation that day played a pretty big part), I decided to return it. In hindsight, I'm almost certain it would've been fine. If anything the transmission might've taken a few ounces less fluid.

I did find the Mopar pan on partsgeek.com for $132 without bolts or around $200 with bolts. I was hesitant to order from them since I haven't dealt with them before and I read several bad reviews a couple weeks ago when I started all this research. But I was a month in to this project and I still lacked getting started. I couldn't fathom paying $70ish for 13 bolts so I ordered the pan without them. It came to $151 after tax and shipping and, surprisingly, it showed up on my porch in 2 days. It was a USA made Filtran pan/filter in a Mopar box and identical in size and shape to stock but without the drain plug (that you can't really use anyway because of the exhaust).

The install itself was way easier than the wild goose chase I went on trying to save a few bucks. I'd detail it here but others already have, and much better than I'd be able to. I'll be happy to answer any questions though.

All said it cost about $260 plus my labor. $280 if I count return shipping on the Lifeguard 6 and first pan I ordered. Or about $36,000 if I count the hours of research I put in. Next time I'll probably just throw PPE's aluminum pan on to save ever having to do this again. 😕