I just recently purchased a 1999 Dodge Dakota R/T with a 5.9L 360 engine from one of my cousins. Over the past three months I've had to change the water pump, fan clutch, brake booster, pads, serpentine belt, spark plugs and I gave it a oil change. Just recently my co-worker suggested that I change out the transmission fluid as well. The truck is at 175k on miles and I'm not all to sure how consistent my cousin was with the fluid changes. The tranny isn't slipping or shifting hard but there is a very slight delay. Would it be a good idea to do the change or just leave it as is?

 

You could drop the pan and do a fluid/filter change. But, if the fluid is pink and there are no transmission issues, I would not fix what is not broken.

 

Well the only reason it occurred to me to do a transmission fluid change is because when I did the oil change, the oil was beyond gone. Like it was blacker than my Mexican *** 😂 but all jokes aside I just don't believe my cousin maintained his truck like it should have been.

 

Yeah, the best time to change it is before you start having problems, so NOW! Replace fluid at least twice (driving in between) and also the ATF filter. Also, when you drop the pan, install an aftermarket drain plug and drain and fill every 30K thereafter, without having to drop the pan.