2007 Ram 1500 4x4 with auto trans.

Picked the truck up with 51,00km.
The manual says it's time to change the trans fluid.

So here we go.

I jacked up the truck and put her on a set of jack stands.

Purchased the replacement filter and gasket kit for about $15.00 at Advanced Auto Parts.






Got under the truck to survey what I needed to get started.
There are Fifteen 8mm bolts to remove to get the pan off.








I removed all the bolts but left 2 bolts in, one in the front and one in the rear of the pan.
I then took the dead blow hammer out and gave the pan a few taps until the pan seal was broken.
Then, using the two remaining bolts as pivot points, I tilted the pan to start draining the ATF.







This is what you'll see when the pan is dropped.The old filter and valve body.








To remove the old trans filter you'll need a T-25 Torx driver to remove the filter's mounting bolt.






A simple tug is all it takes to dislodge the filter from the filter seal.
I tried to remove the old filter seal with a pick, but it's a press fit. I ended up using a flat head screwdriver and hammer to drive the lip of the seal IN towards the center of the seal.
Then I could use the pick to remove it.







Warning that comes with the replacement filter.








This is the seal the instructions warn you about.







Here it is after cleaning the pan of old fluid and gasket material.
Don't forget to reinstall the debris magnet.






Threaded the mounting bolts into the new gasket.






All cleaned up and the debris magnet in place.







I have a seal seating tool but no dies small enough for this seal.
I just used the handle of the seal seating tool to drive the new seal in place.

Be careful, you can easily distort the new seal and or mar up the aluminum sealing surface in the pump if you drive it in crooked.







The new filter installed.
You just push the new filter up into the new seal and use the T-25 Torx bolt to secure it in place.






Little did I know at the time, but there is also a sump filter that needs to be changed.

I had already resealed and filled the pan up by the time I discovered this...so It didn't get changed.
I hope it won't come back to bite me in the @ss.








After wire-wheeling all the bolts and chasing the threads in the trans., I reinstalled the pan.







I refilled the trans pan with 6.6 qrt's of ATF+4 as per recommendation in the owner's manual.


Took the truck for a short drive to get things up to temperature and then checked for leaks.
I didn't find any so I went in the house and congratulated myself with a nice cold beer.


Hope this helps anyone who may want to change their own trans filter.




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Good Article

 

Nice writeup. Did it smoke like a b*tch when all the fluid burned off the exhaust pipe?

 

nice job, great pics thanks!!

 

Thanks for the post, great pictures! I'm going to be changing the fluid on my 07 very soon. This helped me out because I have never done it.

 

Nice showing. How tight did you get the pan bolts I understand if you get them too tight they will brake off. Again you did a wounderful job of showing how its done

 

The pan filter screw spec is 40 in/lbs for torque. This is ~3 1/3 ft/lbs.

The pan bolts are 105 in/lbs. This is approximately 8.75 ft/lbs.

So be careful, its very easy to over torque. My 1/4" drive torque wrench only goes down to 20 inch pounds and its got a +/- accuracy of like 2 in/lbs. My 3/8" drive only goes down to like 10 ft/lbs.

 

Cleaned the exhaust pipes with a rag soaked in naphtha. Does a good job degreasing and evaporates quick enough.
I smelled a little smoke but it went away pretty quick.

 

I used my 1/4" drive and just hand tightened them.
The rubber gasket isn't bulged out anywhere so I should be o.k.

I have a in/lb torque wrench but I have done enough fluid changes to know you don't have to torque the pan bolts down that hard.