I've got an '08 Ram 4x4 Hemi with 65k on it and I scheduled to have the tranny fluid flushed this Saturday, but after reading through a couple of older threads on this subject, I'm seriously thinking about just dropping the pan and changing the filter myself.

The questions I have are: Am I voiding my warranty at all by doing this myself and am I doing more harm than good by not doing the flush?

Any help is appreciated.

 

It seems to me like most cases where i've seen anyone doing a pressurized transmission "flush" ends up with problems. Personally (and this is something I will be doing soon as well as I'm do) I would just drop the pan and drain out the old and put in the new. Maybe do it a few times (after shifting through the gears each time) if your fluid is looking dirty.

 

If you only drop the pan and do the filter your not getting everything out, you still have all the fluid in the torque converter. I had mine flushed 10k miles ago because of getting water in the transmission from getting stuck. I have not had any problems after having it done. I paid $250 to have it done and i stood there well they did it. Jiffy lube is the only place around here other than the dealer that has the machine.

 

If the fluid looks dirty, it's long past shot. The S/M specifically says that color of the fluid is no indicator of the status. Repeating this "a few times" will be an incredibly messy job.

As for warranty, if your transmission fails and it's learned you DIY'd, eyebrows will climb, even if you did the job perfectly. It's up to you to accept the risk.

Skip the flush, do a drop 'n' drain and replace both filters. Make sure you get the right flat filter. They're different between 4x2 and 4x4. It'll take about eleven quarts.

 

Yeow! I wouldn't let Jiffy Lube put air in my tires.

 

You can easily change all 17 +/- quarts of oil and the filters yourself

 

Thanks for help.

I think I'm going to drop the pan and change the filter myself. The maintenance schedule in the owners manual says to change the tranny fluid every 60k, but I had a couple of places (not dealerships) tell me that it's supposed to be change every 30k. I guess I should've looked at that before.

Mike, you said to change both filters. I'm assuming they're both inside the pan...is that right?

 

Yep. Both are in the pan

 

Good deal. Thanks again for the help.

Nice ride you got there by the way.

 

weed how are you getting it out of the torque converter?