68RFE MagHyTech oil pan question

[Gonzo 1066]

I have vowed to keep my 2013 3500 STOCK, It is doing its towing job in spectacular fashion. More power than what I would have thought possible, better transmission (68RFE) than I had hoped for, better towing manners than I have ever had before. I have read that the HD aluminum oil pans for the trans helps stiffen the trans thus makes the trans tougher, I know that the extra trans oil can only be a good thing. Is it worth while to spend $380 on a aftermarket pan? I want to be good to the truck, however the payments are a bit of a bite so I have to be careful with funds.

 

[transe]

Personally, I would save your money. I doubt the aluminum pans do anything significant as far as adding stiffness to the case (additional stiffness is not really needed). For cooling benefit, if you are towing frequently in mountainous areas, I think adding an aftermarket trans cooler (with electric fan, so it cools at low speeds) would be a better use of your $$$ than an aluminum pan. Just my opinion... .

 

[Jim W]

I can't speak for the 4th gen trucks too much but I do run a Mag-Hytec pan on my 68RFE for the 08. When I did not have the pan on; just the stock pan and a transmission temperature gage mounted on the output line with the ACU-Temp adapter. I would see temps anywhere from 220 to 240 when towing my trailer in the mountains and 200F on the highway. I also once saw 260F when using the exhaust brake and transmission on the Needles Highway in SD in Custer State Park. I was going slow and driving down the mountain (no trailer attached) using the exhaust brake and lower gears to keep the tuck at the speed limit. Per Geno's Garage the Acu-Temp has a 30F lower reading than the oil in the pan.

I have since installed the Mag-Hytec pan and I have never seen transmission temps over 200F from the oil in the pan. Probe is mounted in the pan and I use a total of 9. 5 quarts of Tran's oil. One nice feature of the pan is the magnetic drain plug this alone makes it worth buying the Mag-Hytec pan. I no longer get an oil bath when changing the transmission oil just drain through the plug and then remove the pan to replace filters.

Jim W.

 

[DonFitzwater]

As Jim W says, the drain plug is great. It's almost worth it simply for that.

 

[Cummins12V98]

I changed out to AMZ/OIL and MagHytec at around 4K. One or both did make a difference. My temps are always well under 200 with over 28K combined.

 

[JR]

FYI a drain plug can be had for a stock pan for a few dollars

The easy route is a bulk head type fitting (which have been tried and proven on many different applications) or you can TIG a bung to the bottom of the pan

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

For some reason, Ram doesn't specify as early a fluid change interval for the 68RFE as for the Aisin. However, I think I would prefer to change the fluid and filter on the 68 at about 30K also. That is a good time to go to the excellent Mag Hytec pan.

 

[Bob V]

I went through the same thoughts on my 2011. I found a used Mag-Hytec pan for $150 so I went ahead and got one. But like was said before, the aftermarket cooler would do more for reducing temps. I did not see a big difference between with and without the pan, but I never seen a problem before I put the cover on.