Ram 1500 ATF Change

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Hi ( I am new member here!)

I have a 2009 ram 1500 with 160K'ish miles.
Last atf change was at 80k and I took it to a shop that used a machine exchanger, I was told.
I know not the wisest decision but it ran buttery smooth afterwards.

Is it possible to change out most if not all of the old fluid like the shop did?
But by myself, maybe multiple pan drains?

I have 12 quarts of Dodge ATF+4 (That is required by the manual)
Paid a lot though $70/12 quarts

Thanks for any information
 
Why would the fluid exchange machine not be a wise decision? This is what it was designed for, and is probably stated in the service manual from RAM.

Yes, you can do multiple pan drops (with miles between) to get the same result. Personally, I'd pony up the cash and just let the shop take care of it for you with the machine.
 
Originally Posted By: Tool_Guy_John
Hi ( I am new member here!)

I have a 2009 ram 1500 with 160K'ish miles.
Last atf change was at 80k and I took it to a shop that used a machine exchanger, I was told.
I know not the wisest decision but it ran buttery smooth afterwards.
Is it possible to change out most if not all of the old fluid like the shop did?
But by myself, maybe multiple pan drains?
I have 12 quarts of Dodge ATF+4 (That is required by the manual)
Paid a lot though $70/12 quarts
Thanks for any information

Yes it is possible, but why? With these multiple changes (5-10) to get rid of the old oil you'll spend more than the machine fluid exchange unless you have a torque converter drain plug than you only need to do 2 changes at the most.
 
Just change the two filters in the 65rfe, with the pan drop, refill, then disconnect the cooler return line and do a cooler line flush.

I would also add a B&M bulkhead drain when I have the pan off for future drains
 
I had mine done by an Indy Mechanic who used an 'exchanger' machine.
The Transmission (in my truck) pumped out the OLD and sucked in the NEW.
My biggest concern was that they used the correct fluid to put back in.
All went well.

Since then, I have installed a transmission pan with a drain plug.
Actually, I had a hex nut welded to exterior of pan and used a drain bolt.

Now once a year I just drain the pan and refill.
The fluid never really looks bad and I know what I'm putting back in.

Occasionally I will remove pan and change the filter.
 
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Some transmissions have a drain plug, and some don't. If yours doesn't, there may be an aftermarket transmission pan that does have one. The most popular one is Dorman. The drain plug will make future ATF changes much easier
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The best ATF+4 out there is called Red Line C+ (but it does cost more)
 
There's not a lot of reason to get uptight about a little fluid left behind.

If you study the service manuals for Allison heavy duty transmissions, they tell you flat out that you won't get all of the old out......
..... and to not worry about it.

Every 30,000 miles (I do a LOT of towing), I pull a cooler line and let it idle into a bucket until it blows bubbles, (5 quarts) and put 5 new quarts in. This works perfectly for my situation.

I also have a big Wix 51515 spin-on oil filter in the trans cooler line. The "filter" in the pan doesn't do much, it's more or less a coarse screen.
 
I would just drop the pan and change the filters and fluid. I have never liked fluid flushing machines just simply because you never know for sure all the fluid from the previous flush is out of the machine.

FYI I tried the Dorman pan and it wasn't formed right around where the spin on filter goes. Then I tried a B&M drain plug on the stock pan which ended up leaking. I'm pretty sure the only way these drain plugs don't leak would be to have it tack welded to the pan or maybe epoxied. I ended up buying the MagHytec pan and couldn't be happier with it. The magnet is built into the drain plug so when you do a drain and fill you can clean the magnet off. It has also lowered my trans temps by about 5-7*. Also as mentioned, Redline C+ is about the best ATF you can put in a RFE transmission. Castrol Transmax ATF+4 is also a great choice and can be found on Amazon for a decent price.
 
early last year I did a fluid exchange on my 2011 Ram 1500, which was the 5.7L with the 5454RFE. It was very simple. I unhooked the transmission cooler output line buy removing the E clip with needle nose pliers, hooking the line up to a segment of clear rubber hose and then using the engine to pump it out. Mine had remote start so it was a one man job. Remote start, watch the fluid pump out in a pail. Once the pump began to cavitate I would remote shut the engine down, then refill approx. 5 liters of fluid into the trans. I followed this sequence until the fluid being pumped out was bright red. I refilled and fiddled around to get the cold/hot level correct.

I also did the trans filters. Be warned. Without a drain plug there is still several liters of fluid left in the pan when trying to drop it. As well there is old RTV sealant that has to be scraped off.

As for fluid..... I took the path less travelled. I bought locally and used a Canadian product, Co-op ATF SL. Its a group 4 synthetic multi vehicle ATF. It says it meets/exceeds the specs for AtF+4. It was a bit more than buying Mopar or some other synthetic approved ATF+4 (about 1$ per liter more) but I did not have to drive 200km round trip to get any and the cold weather specs far exceed +4. It worked just fine. My trans continued to shift just fine and the trans did not self destruct when towing very heavy.
 
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