I'm running a Magnafine and a Trasko plumbed into the tranny cooler line. I can't remember exactly how I set it up right now and it's too cold outside to go have a look but it's been working fine like this since April of 2005.
A little info on my vehicle. I'm the original owner of my beloved 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan ES with the 3.8 motor. The vehicle now has 420K miles on it. Yes, 420k miles!! And that's on the original tranny and engine.
I can't believe it myself but after seeing that you have gotten well over 300K miles on your previous truck maybe me getting 420K miles on a family van that's driven almost all highway miles ins't such a big thing.
For years I had always wanted a bypass filter and finally, at 200K miles, I installed a Motor Guard bypass filter on the engine and for the transmission, I added the Magnafine and a Trasko spin on as a bypass filter. It was a bit of work, maybe even an obsession, but now, many miles later, I can tell you that it was worth all the time and effort to figure it out. And it was fun.
Well anyway, I hear what you are saying about the 16 bolts and I have the same issue with my van. I'm currently considering having a drain plug welded into the tranny pan so I can change out the fluid easier.
Since I installed the Magnafine and the Trasko over 220K miles ago, I haven't changed the factory trans filter. The last time I had the pan off it was still looking very clean.
I've been using toilet paper as the filtering media in the Trasko since it was installed. I try to change the tiolet paper in the Trasko about every 20K even if I don't do a pan drop. What I like about this setup is that I can take the Trasko apart and inspect the toilet paper to see if there is any debris in it.
And I can see how black it is from picking up clutch plate material, dirt, etc. It's usually very black, but the fluid always looks clean so I'm assuming that the Trasko is pulling a lot of junk out of the tranny fluid.
To replace the filter media in the Trasko, I have to cut down the size of normal toilet paper to make it work in the Trasko, but it's no big deal. I could buy the Trasko filter paper but it's about $10.00 per roll, toilet paper is cheap by comparison and then I can change the TP as ofetn as I like.
I've replaced the Magnafine about three or four times in 220K miles. The first one was cut apart after about 25K miles to see if I could see anything stuck to the magnet, but I really couldn't see much, nothing obvious like metal shavings. The next one I had on for about 75K miles and it's on the workbench waiting for me to cut it apart but I really don't feel I need to because I feel confident that it's working.
I probably didn't do a pan drop more than once every 50-75K miles for a while but lately, since I'm feeling like it can't be real that my tranny has lasted so long, I've been doing a pan drop about every 20K. I hope to be able to get to 500K miles on the original tranny. I know you probably think I'm nuts, but I never thought it would ever last as long as it has, I figured maybe 100K miles at best. I've been very pleased with this van to say the least. And I could go on...but I won't unless anyone wants to know. Again, I can't believe it myself.
So, in closing, I must give thanks to all on this forum because without the knowledge I've gained from all of you guys, I probably would not have been aware of the Magnafine or figured out how to do a bypass myself. All the miles on my vehicle are a testimony to the value of good filtration, good oil, proper care and all of the great info on this forum.
