Has anyone done a service on the 8spd Transmission that comes with the Ram?? I understand there isn't a need for it to be serviced (according to the owners manual), but mine shifts out of gear at idle (it doesn't happen often, but it happens enough to annoy me). I want to change the fluid, to see if that is the cause. The dealership wants $1300.00 to change it, so I'm avoiding the dealership and see if i can do it myself.
Transmission 8HP70...
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Check and see if there is a recall or a TSB first. I believe the pan is made from composite, so be very careful not to damage. I would suspect you can use Mopar RTV gasket maker to reinstall. I would want to know the torque rating for any bolts. I have always dropped the pan, cleaned magnet, replaced filters and refilled with Mopar spec ATV+4 in my 545RFE and NAG 1's. 355,000 and 265,000 miles, no issues. Curious how they secure a magnet in the composite pan. $1,3000 haha. Just because BMW uses this transmission, doesn't mean Dodge owners are going to pay BMW prices!
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I just got back from my 20,000 mile oil change, got underneath to check out. There is an exhaust crossover pipe fairly close to the transmission pan. Looks to be a drain plug, just above the pipe. So , may be fairly easy to drain, but you'll need a special tool. Didn't make it easy.
so after doing a little research...this is what I found. https://www.zf.com/global/media/medien_mastersite/aftermarket/service_information/service_information_zf/transmission/cars_4/englisch_3/modelluebergreifend_1/ZF_SI_Oelwechselkit_8HP_50130_EN.pdf Looks like the ZF recommends servicing the transmission every 80k-120k km, or roughly 50k-75k miles.
oh yea... $30 a quart, and $150 for the oil pan assembly. I don't know what Ram was thinking when they decided to use this transmission.
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If you're shopping for fluid for the 8HP70, be aware that the Mopar ZF 8&9-Speed ATF (the factory fluid) may also be available as Shell L12108 fluid. Same fluid. So you might shop around for that and see if you can find a better price.
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Thunderhorse has a complete write up of how to do it and how much everything costs. I don't believe he paid more than $300 or so for all the stuff to do it including a new pan as the old one is not reuseable. Are you past the powertrain warranty period because a transmission problem should be covered.
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Thats interesting....Valvoline says MaxLife/MaxLife Import ATF meets the same spec, there are 2 Amsoil products that are equivalent, etc.
I dont mind spending money, but I would hazard a guess the Amsoil fluid(s) would probably be better than the Shell/ZF fluids, no?
OTOH, Ill probably only ever have to change the trans fluid once or twice while I have the truck, so I could just suck it up and buy the "real" stuff.
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It's a great transmission. I prefer the 8 speed over the 65RFE in every scenario; if it costs me more to maintain a better transmission, I'm willing to deal with that. The 8HP can handle more torque than the Ram has to offer; the 65RFE was at it's limits.
Look at the gearing in the two transmissions:
65RFE 3.00 1.67 1.50 1.00 0.75 0.67
8HP 4.71 3.14 2.10 1.67 1.29 1.00 0.84 0.67
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Uh...no, it costs less than $300 to change the fluid-I paid $355 but that includes a whole 12 quart case of the fluid that I bought and I think I only used 4 or 5 quarts.
The pan comes with a gasket, its rubber so you don't make one with RTV. Your dealer is trying to take advantage of you because people get hung up on this "lifetime fill" mystique and the fluid is proprietary. Its no less serviceable than any other transmission and you don't need special tools. Vern Diesel has over 370,000 miles on his 8HP70 and about half of that is towing. He changes with Valvoline MaxLife every 100,000 miles. I did mine around 66,000 miles-I don't buy into fluids that don't need changed.
I will challenge any of you to break one of the trans pans with anything short of a sledge once you pull it off the truck, they're pretty tough. They have four magnets in them.
http://www.ramforumz.com/showthread.php?t=235182
The pan comes with a gasket, its rubber so you don't make one with RTV. Your dealer is trying to take advantage of you because people get hung up on this "lifetime fill" mystique and the fluid is proprietary. Its no less serviceable than any other transmission and you don't need special tools. Vern Diesel has over 370,000 miles on his 8HP70 and about half of that is towing. He changes with Valvoline MaxLife every 100,000 miles. I did mine around 66,000 miles-I don't buy into fluids that don't need changed.
I will challenge any of you to break one of the trans pans with anything short of a sledge once you pull it off the truck, they're pretty tough. They have four magnets in them.
http://www.ramforumz.com/showthread.php?t=235182
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What's the prize?
:4-dontknow:
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An extra piece of transmission pan!
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Pride in being the guy to substantiate the often made and never prove claim that the plastic trans pans are a liability.
And a broken transmission pan that couldn't be reused anyway
I appreciate the feedback. I’ve purchased the parts already and I believe I paid roughly 300 bucks plus shipping (7 quarts of oil and the oil pan). I will be doing the oil change myself and doing so will be saving more money. Nothing wrong about the 8HP70 transmission, it’s just the dealership’s cost to do this fluid change is absurd.
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I'm glad this information has come out finally. I know when I had my 2013 and 2014 Ram's back in 2014/15 the transmission was still fairly new for us and we didn't have any real information on how to service this transmission.
It's good to see this info out and about as I will be servicing mine at 50k just for good measure along with the other drive line fluids.
It's good to see this info out and about as I will be servicing mine at 50k just for good measure along with the other drive line fluids.
No idea, but looks very much like Ram doesn't want our trucks to run for longer than they should, and so that we buy new trucks.
For same reason ram recommends to use very thin 5-20 oil, and not 5-30 which quiets down the engine and offers better protection. I'm ignoring the better mpg reason here ...
I had transmission food changes with oem fluid on my 2013 for a few hundred dollars at 50k miles. I wish that I also had the transmission fluid filter changed at that time just to do the entire job properly, but this should do for me until I change it fluid and filter again at around 100k
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When a product says lifetime then a lot of people assume it means their lifetime; in reality it could be the lifetime of the part or product-its not usually specified. In this case they could mean the life of the fluid itself. That wouldnt be much different from sealed for life wheel bearings that never get greased until they go bad.
Chrysler put out in a tech pub that the quantitative value for the "lifetime" fliud is 100,000 miles. These transmissions will last way longer than that.
This is nothing like using the wrong viscosity oil in your engine which can lead to starvation issues. Not a commensurate comparison since we are talking intervals with regards to one and fluid type in the other
Chrysler put out in a tech pub that the quantitative value for the "lifetime" fliud is 100,000 miles. These transmissions will last way longer than that.
This is nothing like using the wrong viscosity oil in your engine which can lead to starvation issues. Not a commensurate comparison since we are talking intervals with regards to one and fluid type in the other
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