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Transmission Fluid mistake and Transmission pan surprise. Need a little help.
Hello all Ram owners,
I just turned 150K on my 2004 Quad Cab 2WD with the Hemi.. I regularly change the oil and with 150K, I decided to do the Transmission and rear end fluids. Our town just got a new AutoZone, so I stopped in and got all the required filters and fluids and headed home for a long Friday night changing all of the fluids. Oil went fine, rear end was done at 100 K when I got the truck and back then the fluid smelled as bad as you could imagine, this time normal, just a bit of very small metal at the magnet, almost like graphite. So, I moved on to the transmission, I dropped the pan and got the usual mess and like a guy waiting for test results from the Doctor. I looked at the magnet and I see a bolt stuck to the magnet. Very little metal, again like graphite so the transmission looks really good except for the bolt standing up on the magnet. I triple blinked my eyes and took a really hard look and yes there is a clean bolt standing up from the magnet (See PiX)( It looks like it’s from the valve body), but I don’t see any places it could go, so I place the bolt a side and button up the transmission and get ready to add the new fluid.
This is where the other issue came in. I pour in 3 Quarts of ATF fluid and I’m about halfway through the 4th when I notice the bottle says “ ATF Mercon “ not ATF 4, I slightly freak and stop pouring. I look at the empties and sure enough an additional Mercon empty quart. So total I added 8 quarts of ATF fluid, 1 !/2 Mercon quarts and 5 ½ quarts of ATF 4. Ok, in my defense the bottles are almost identical. (See PiX ) but what do I do now? I think the 545RFE transmission holds 12 quarts or more, so I will never be able to remove all of the 1 1/2quarts Mercon. I still have the issue with the bolt that needs to go back somewhere, so a fluid change again is possible any day. Any ideas about the fallen bolt and the Mercon in the transmission fluid?
I don’t post much, but refer to this site for everything concerning the truck and this site is a fantastic example of why the internet in so great. The grass roots nature of the community solving their own problems.
This is my first Dodge truck and it’s been fantastic, at 150k nothing is broken, runs super strong. It’s got power like a muscle car and pulls my trailer like it’s not even there. The breaks are the best I have ever had on any car or truck. It’s never pulled a code. The only issue is the mileage. Its fricken horrible, around 10 MPG maybe as good as 12 MPG but never better.
A few months ago the entire group from the Ram brand from Michigan was in the area working with all of the major magazines showing off the new model trucks and I got the opportunity to sit down and talk with the director of the Ram brand and get a good insiders look at the 2014 truck line. It was absolutely gorgeous and I really would like to go get a brand new Ram, but this truck runs so good and has so much life left in It, I decided to save myself 50 thousand dollars for a while longer and stay in this truck. The new ones are really nice but this old truck of mine Is a solid player and could seriously be around for a decade or more. I had a Ford for 15 years I just loved. I have had Chevy’s that tricky tacked me to death with this door handle or light switch are broken and the quality wasn’t there. This Ram Is a nice, big, strong truck that gets it done.
Thanks for all of your comments and insight in advanced,
Joe
Hello all Ram owners,
I just turned 150K on my 2004 Quad Cab 2WD with the Hemi.. I regularly change the oil and with 150K, I decided to do the Transmission and rear end fluids. Our town just got a new AutoZone, so I stopped in and got all the required filters and fluids and headed home for a long Friday night changing all of the fluids. Oil went fine, rear end was done at 100 K when I got the truck and back then the fluid smelled as bad as you could imagine, this time normal, just a bit of very small metal at the magnet, almost like graphite. So, I moved on to the transmission, I dropped the pan and got the usual mess and like a guy waiting for test results from the Doctor. I looked at the magnet and I see a bolt stuck to the magnet. Very little metal, again like graphite so the transmission looks really good except for the bolt standing up on the magnet. I triple blinked my eyes and took a really hard look and yes there is a clean bolt standing up from the magnet (See PiX)( It looks like it’s from the valve body), but I don’t see any places it could go, so I place the bolt a side and button up the transmission and get ready to add the new fluid.
This is where the other issue came in. I pour in 3 Quarts of ATF fluid and I’m about halfway through the 4th when I notice the bottle says “ ATF Mercon “ not ATF 4, I slightly freak and stop pouring. I look at the empties and sure enough an additional Mercon empty quart. So total I added 8 quarts of ATF fluid, 1 !/2 Mercon quarts and 5 ½ quarts of ATF 4. Ok, in my defense the bottles are almost identical. (See PiX ) but what do I do now? I think the 545RFE transmission holds 12 quarts or more, so I will never be able to remove all of the 1 1/2quarts Mercon. I still have the issue with the bolt that needs to go back somewhere, so a fluid change again is possible any day. Any ideas about the fallen bolt and the Mercon in the transmission fluid?
I don’t post much, but refer to this site for everything concerning the truck and this site is a fantastic example of why the internet in so great. The grass roots nature of the community solving their own problems.
This is my first Dodge truck and it’s been fantastic, at 150k nothing is broken, runs super strong. It’s got power like a muscle car and pulls my trailer like it’s not even there. The breaks are the best I have ever had on any car or truck. It’s never pulled a code. The only issue is the mileage. Its fricken horrible, around 10 MPG maybe as good as 12 MPG but never better.
A few months ago the entire group from the Ram brand from Michigan was in the area working with all of the major magazines showing off the new model trucks and I got the opportunity to sit down and talk with the director of the Ram brand and get a good insiders look at the 2014 truck line. It was absolutely gorgeous and I really would like to go get a brand new Ram, but this truck runs so good and has so much life left in It, I decided to save myself 50 thousand dollars for a while longer and stay in this truck. The new ones are really nice but this old truck of mine Is a solid player and could seriously be around for a decade or more. I had a Ford for 15 years I just loved. I have had Chevy’s that tricky tacked me to death with this door handle or light switch are broken and the quality wasn’t there. This Ram Is a nice, big, strong truck that gets it done.
Thanks for all of your comments and insight in advanced,
Joe
