I came across this service notice yesterday and didn't realize there were two filters in the 45RFE.

Apparently there is a spin on oil filter type filter as well as the regular sump filter that there usually is.

I assume this is true for my '04 Dakota with the 4.7 and Auto, pretty sure I have the 45RFE. Was just surprised to see that, never seen that before on any Auto trans. Except for Saturn's that used to have a spin on filter on the outside of the trans and a drain plug on the pan, changing the ATF on those was a breeze, wish more manufacturers were that smart.

Is it best to go with a Mopar filter from the dealer, or it doesn't matter?

 

Yes, use mopar filters and you will 7 to 10 qts of atf fluid.

 

yes two filters and i advise to get 7-8 quarts. i got the 545fre and its the same deal

 

yep just did my 2003 trans the other day. i wish they had a drain plug. what a mess. once you drop the pan screw on filter and a regular filter. i want to say mine took 8 quarts to refill. and you use rtv to reseal the pan. i had changed the trans fluid 34k before that and my fluid was still nice and red and no smells or grit. knock on wood i have heard because the 45rfe and 545fre use 2 filters the trans really holds up better than some of dodges other trans as long as proper maintance is done.

 

I really want to change my fluid and filters really bad BUT I don't know if the previous owner kept up on the transmission service. He was a rich fella so I would assume that he had. What are the consequences of doing this and the previous owner not keeping up?

 

Pretty sure that's all a myth, that if someone never changed the fluid and then they do, it ruins the tranny.

I think that came about because people would never change their fluid, then start to have a tranny issue, and then change the fluid, and the problem they already had, that was already gonna get worse anyway did and they blamed it on the fluid change.

sl2racer....you have to use rtv to re-seal it?? The kit I got for the filter came with a rubber pan gasket, figured that's all I needed to use. Do you use RTV in addition in some spots or do you only use RTV to seal it and not use a gasket?

 

if your kit came with a gasket use it. the kit i got said factory recommends rtv to reseal or something like that. it had an original paper gasket on the pan that the last place i had do my flush just reused. guess i figured out why the pan had a drip or two. rtv and she is sealed up good now. shifts nice too.

 

Damn you get 8qts just out of dropping the pan and filters on this tranny?? Is that almost all of it or is there still a lot up in the torque converter?

I've usually only ever gotten like 4qts out of any of my other tranny's when I changed the fluid, but the TC was holding probably another 3.

This is a much bigger tranny then I've ever had before though. I assume there's another 3-5qts up in the TC even after getting that 8qts out of the pan huh?

 

There was actually an old Ford vehicle that it was best to not change the trans fluid if the maintenance hadn't been kept up with, and somehow I think that one vehicle managed to create a myth that it is always better to not change trans fluid if the maintenance hasn't been kept up with.

As for the filters, I can speak from experience, that you should definately spend the extra cash to get Mopar replacements. The insides of the pancake filter are not the same. The Mopar filter is a proprietary fiber type filter, whereas the NAPA version and others are paper and you risk having them collapse and clog, or in my case the seal they provided let just enough air in to stop the pump from being able to pull up fluid.

The canister filter looks the same from NAPA and Mopar, but I wouldn't risk it. INternally they may be different also.