I'll admit candymancan, I thought the same thing when I saw it at first glance. However I think dodgeram07 hit the nail on the head with this one. If something did punch through that pan, i think the op would be having a lot of problems.

I still wonder today if my pan really was blown. Expecially when I look at yours dodgeram07. Heres what mine looked like @ 120k




Just used walmart carb cleaner and the inside cleaned itself



I never had any ping problems. I gave into peer pressure :P and change it becuase I was getting up there in miles. Looks like it was just starting too by looking at the pan, but still think most of it came from the pcv valve.

p.s. dodgeram07, is that a test light? Pretty damn nice idea.

 

I really think your wrong about this dodger. How is that the intake runner when that is behind the pan... Your showing me pictures of nothing and your not explaining anything. Am i suppose to guess here ?

His picture is with the intake manifold still attached to his engine.. You wouldnt be able to see those without taking it off.. His pan is cracked and i bet ya a 12 Pack when he takes his manifold off he'll find out the pan is cracked.

 

No, the runners are on the inside..... in the pic right above your post, have a look at where the pan bolts on, and where the runners are, then, bear in mind that the pic in question is looking down thru the holes for the throttle body.

 

Edit: ok

Oh ok i see what your saying now I had it all upside down, the shadow of the runners from the top reflecting down on the pan. Anyway that doesnt look like a shadow to me, i still think its cracked and its being exposed to the oil inside

 

We will have to wait for the pics when he actually has it off.

 

Btw would you guys giving me your opinion on how clean/dirty this looks to you all ? This is after 2-3k miles after the intake manifold was cleaned inside and out. Since we are talking about this anyway i dont want to make another thread. Oh and the first pic looks darkish because of the lighting. It was hard holding a big flash light in one hand and keeping the throttle wide open and taking a picture lol

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...n/HPIM1754.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...n/HPIM1749.jpg

 

Definitely no crack...



Got everything apart today and will be cleaning everything tonight to put it back together tomorrow. A new thermostat came in the gasket kit, but there was a little white o-ring in the bag with the thermostat. I got it at Napa, is it supposed to go on the bottom of the thermostat maybe?


Also am doing a transmission service in this process. Took the pan off and the fluid was kind of chocolaty maroon color, not what it should be. Is there a way I can get more fluid out of the system than draining from the pan. I'm putting as drain in the pan and plan on maybe changing it a couple more times over the next month or so to get rid of the crap fluid. I've seen a few posts on putting in a drain and they don't seem to be consistent on where to locate the drain plug anyone done it and have a good place to put it?

You can kind of see the color of the fluid in this pic:

 

Ok i admit defeat on the pan lol... Glad it isnt cracked.

The transmission, only way to get it all out is to flush it, or run the engine with a cooler line unhooked while you pour fresh fluid in, itll basicly chug out all the oil through the cooler line until it turns into a clean color. You just gatta make sure it fills up as fast your draining it if you do this. Since you took the cover off already, then the only way i know off is to jack up the front of the car and more fluid will come out. Do the same for the rear after the front. You can put the cover back on and fill it up and drive it around and once its all mixed you can take the cover off again and drain it once more. Thatll get more of it out. However doing it like that costs alot because you need to refill it again

 

Do not flush the transmission. Flushing these transmissions causes more problems then it solves.

Also, when you are refilling, make sure you check the fluid level in neutral, not park.

 

that dark color is clutch material suspended in the fluid. Was the magnet in the pan coated with a sludgey substance and lots of it? It probably couldn't attract any more and it just floated thru the fluid and loaded down filter.

You can jack up the front and back to get more fluid out. You can also break the seal on the valve body and let more flow out by loosening the 7/16th bolts around the VB and pulling down lightly on the VB. Just be sure to retorque them to 100 inch/lbs. Do not do this if you're just going to "gutentight" it.

Measure all the fluid you drained and buy that many quarts plus 1 (for any spillage) and refill the trans (minus the last 3 quarts) and start slowly adding while checking the level. Do not fill to that absolute top of the OK line as trans fluid will expand a bit when hot, aim for the lower side of the middle range if it's cold.

Get as much fluid out as you can and then refill and change the filter in a year, after that, service every 2 years/24,000 miles.

I put a drain plug in the rear passenger corner facing rear, never face down as you could catch it on something and rip the plug out.