Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) To change or not to change my transmission fluid?

[Silver Bullet Ram]

I have always heard if you change it then your transmission will go out. Mine fluid has a brown tint and smells burnt. Whats you guys take, should i roll the dice and change it or let it go?



Gary

 

[snowracer69]

Um, yes, change it. But, do it right and drop the pan and change the filter. Don't do the power flush change at your local grease monkey or whatever.



I hope changing the fluid doesn't destroy your transmission. I've changed mine every 10k for the past 45k miles and an extra three times for other reasons. Cheap insurance to drop the pan and change the fluid.

 

[bgilbert]

I heard the same thing recently and thought I was gonna have to slap the guy for saying such a stupid thing. Change it!! Tip: when filling with new fluid, make sure you check the fluid level with transmission in neutral.

 

[patcarman]

yes i just had mine serviced at 25000, the book says 30 but i wanted to put my mag hytek pan on and temp gauge so after servicing they put it on for free, or should i say instead of the factory one, but let me tell u, the problem is when they do the flush,they push all the crap that is in the lines and hiding all thru the transmission and let me tell u ... . it is not good, i gaurantee u that if u flush u might as well do a rebuild, cause it wont last long. my dads best friend is a transmission man and has had his own business for 3o yrs and he said he will not do it... hope this helps

 

[delliott]

FYI

Here is a quote from TSB 21-004-04 regarding ATF+4 (which is what you should have in a 2001):



"... the red dye used in ATF+4T is not permanent; as the fluid ages it may become darker or appear brown in color. ATF+4T also has a unique odor that may change with age. With ATF+4T fluid, color and odor are no longer indicators of fluid condition and do not support a fluid change. "



That said, more frequent fluid changes are not a bad thing, just something to keep in mind when checking the fluid.



Here is a link to the full TSB on dodgeram.org

 

[BarryG]

As others have stated changing the fluid is not going to ruin your transmission. I have never had fluid turn from red to dark without it being burnt as well but that is me personally. You are much worse off leaving burnt fluid in there. It is easy to change. As mentioned above also do not use the power flush method as that does not change the filter and clean fluid with a dirty or clogged filter does not do you much good.



There are many threads on the best way to accomplish the task. To do it yourself the short version is:

Get a good sized diameter catch pan, loosen the transmission pan bolts start on one end and remove them than work your way forward the pan will be tilted and fluid will be drain out around the sides of the pan. Once you have them all out except the last few on one end take them out but be careful there is still fluid in the pan and a mess is in the making if you drop the pan. Remove the filter, two screws. If you want more fluid out just loosen the vavle body bolts no need to take them out just loosen let sit for a bit and you will get another couple quarts. Tighten the valve body bolts back up to I think 18ft lbs. Put your new filter on resuing the original 2 screws. Check the pan gasket if it is the rigid rubber type you can probably reuse or use the one that came with the new filter. Replace the pan bolts just like you would a tire (cant rememebr the torque spec on the pan bolts but it is not much). Fill with fluid check with truck running and in nuetral after shifting through the gears a few times. Once full take it for a test drive and recheck the fluid level. Also a good time to add a drain plug or a new pan with a drain plug in it such as Mag hytec, PML etc. The drain plug takes all the mess out and makes future changes much easier and faster. The above method will get 8-10 qts out.

 

[dclassens]

I have changed my atf 2 times in 38,600 miles and will probably do it shortly after reading this post. Anything I can do to maintain the health of my trans I will do. I agree with the others in saying do not flush with a power machine. Just drop the pan, change the filter and refill with proper fluid. Good luck and I hope it works out for you.

 

[jtwcummins]

Service the trans. When mine sarts to shudder or if driven alot in city traffic I get service done. What kills auto durning service is incompetence at the shop in most cases. They drain everything including the TC and start the engine w/little or no fluid. Kills pump and TC. If you don't have one get a trans temp gauge. It will be a rude awakening when you see how fast the fluid heats up in traffic. The only time I have high temps is in traffic so I go to neutral when stopped to get fluid flow thru the coolers.