I posted this over on dak-dur also. I changed the transmission fluid & filter *not a flush, just a change*, and my rear end fluid this morning. I figured id share my experience and I have a couple interesting pics for you all. I ended up leaving the bands in the transmission alone because i couldnt find my damn inch/pounds torque wrench. I think someone stole it. anyhow, i just found out as long as its shifting fine, you dont need to adjust the bands.

First, i dropped the trans pan and right away i noticed it was already leaking a little around the gasket before i even dropped it. plus, the one corner of the pan where the magnet sits was like rusted and corroded away quite a bit, but not all the way through. I ended up sanding it down so it was smooth again and then repainted that corner with some black spraypaint to try and keep it from rusting more. Here's a pic of what it looked like before I painted it.



Also, I found a HUGE surprise stuck to the magnet in the pan, a large piece of what looks like to be a clutch or something. seen here:

kjkjkjk.jpg

I have pretty big hands too so thats not like a tiny piece or anything. I can easily palm an NBA basketball. If anyone knows what it is, i'd like to know too. Whatever it is, it must not be too important because the trans shifts just like it did brand new, especially now that i changed the fluid. I filled it up with valvoline ATF mostly. but then i realized i needed more and had to buy the cheap advanced auto ATF4 because napa wasnt open. so theres 4 quarts of valvoline ATF4 and 2 quarts of "advanced auto ATF4" in there and i guess around 4 quarts of the original fluid that came from the factory. hopefully that advanced auto fluid isnt crap. Changing the filter was a piece of cake. overall, it went pretty smoothly.

Next, I did the rear end fluid. It was pretty easy. I popped the cover off, let the fluid drain out, cleaned off the gasket and cleaned out the bottom of the axle. There was some metal shards, and a couple bigger pieces of metal (like the size of a girl's pinky nail). i know thats a crappy example but its the best i can come up with. Then I put the cover back on with a new gasket and put in 2 bottles of valvoline 75w90 fully synthetic gear oil, and called it quits. The whole ordeal took me 4 hours, with some help from my dad.

 

I got similar looking pieces out of my transmission the times I did a flush. Well, mine was mostly silver-looking with some copper-looking parts. I showed my grandpa is he said it looked like thrust washers.
To let you know: I bought my truck with 86,000 miles. First trans service (that I did) at 91,000 miles. Second at 105,000. There were these pieces both times.
I replaced the trans at ~110,000, but it was still working good (but with getting those pieces out of it, I didn't want to find out for how long)

 

yea, it must not be too important whatever it is. the thing was actually silver looking but it was just covered in crap thats why it looks black. if it is a thrust washer, i wonder what happened to the other piece(s) of it. this is the first time the trans pan and rear end have ever been opened and it just hit 60k. hopefully i can get at least a few more years out of it. if I cant, thats just an excuse for a 360/727 swap.

 

Looks to me like a piece of a snap ring for a clutch pack too. In other words, kinda important, but if it's only a piece, as long as the snap ring is still holding, I don't see any concern.

It also could be a thrust washer, but be careful about that. They prevent excessive side to side or front to back movement on the input and output shafts.

 

Yours looks just like mine
durangopanpiece.jpg

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...ned-again.html

It's a clutch pack snap ring.

 

well, i see im not the only one this has happened to. is this something we should be worrying about? i havent noticed any poor performance with the trans at all, it seems like its been since the day it was brand new. the only reason i changed the fluid was because I hit 60k miles and i figured its time to do it.

This makes me want to drop my engine oil pan and see if i find anything in there. i think i may have diagnosed a knock in the lower end somewhere, although i cant really tell. it could be a leaking exhaust flange or something for all i know.

 

Yeah hes right, clutch pack snap ring. Same thing happened on mine, had to have it rebuilt soon after...

Oh and they also said it was common on dodge trannys so that leads me to believe its probably the same thing. Mine as well didn't seem to have anything wrong for a while but then i started having problems... im guessing once the snap ring finally came out.

 

BTW, the trans has to come out and be disassembled to get to that snap ring. Mine was fixed with the Dodge powertrain warranty.
However, if I had no warranty and was not taking any trips and only driving back and forth to work and grocery store, then I would have driven it til it broke or I had time to pull the trans out, whichever came first.
If you ever drop the valve body to do a shift kit, you may find another broken piece like I did. The OD wave snap ring. It's just amazing that these snap rings break.

 

Yeah man, if the snap ring completely breaks or comes out, there won't be anything holding the clutch pack in place, so when fluid pressure tried to engage the clutch pack, you won't have anything to push against, and you won't have whatever gear that pack engages.

May I ask what transmission you have? Curious if I have to look forward to the same thing...

 

If its a 3.9 its has a 42re. You either have a 42 or 44re.