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Discussion starter · #21 ·
Perhaps be gone until after Labor Day? :D Sorry Cap. I couldn't resist. :)

Labor Day ---- I really don't know one holiday from another. Was making sure my 50 ft. flagpole was up with the American Flag flying high and a spotlight on it for night while I am gone. Wife is worthless at putting up the flag while she stays here.

Now that you tell me it's Labor Day, I will not raise the flag. Thanks.

Got lots of tractor work to do in Georgia - food plots and brush hogging. Good chance to tow a bit and watch those temperatures.
 
Labor Day ---- I really don't know one holiday from another. Was making sure my 50 ft. flagpole was up with the American Flag flying high and a spotlight on it for night while I am gone. Wife is worthless at putting up the flag while she stays here.

Now that you tell me it's Labor Day, I will not raise the flag. Thanks.

Got lots of tractor work to do in Georgia - food plots and brush hogging. Good chance to tow a bit and watch those temperatures.
Labor Day is a flag holiday.
 
Ram says it's lifetime fluid. ZF the transmission designer says something to the affect of severe duty every 75k. A lot of folks change it at 100k. I did my first change at 100k with crazy amounts of towing and fwiw it still looked smelt & felt good. (I thought for green fluid compared to new fluid they had on hand) I was thinking every 100k but maybe every 75k after the initial 100 assuming you are only doing a pan drop as it only gets out like 6 quarts.

PS I agree fly her this weekend with pride be like motel 6 & leave the light on. You don't have to be there for others to see it and instill pride for what our country was built on. Beh one thought if your forecast is calling for rain & storms.. let you heart guide ya. I assume only one or two nights in GA.
 
Discussion starter · #25 ·
No real change in transmissiontemperatures.

In Georgia seeing giant bucks in game camera. Towed under 2k at 75 mph and more. Maybe 5 degree less temperatures than before. Basically little to no change. Ran 205 degrees most of the time.
 
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Discussion starter · #27 ·
No hogs here.

4 1/2 ft rattlesnake. All day today to remove injector pump from old Ford diesel tractor. Home tomorrow night. $600 to get new pump. Hope to find someone to put it in early October when I return. Worse removal I ever got involved in. New or old, Ford does not have a better idea.
 
If our trucks have a cooler bypass (not sure), then you'd need to drive and get trans up over 160 or so, so fluid will go thru the cooler. Then do cold check later. If you drove your truck after your fill/check procedure, this might explain why you need to add more fluid the next day.
 
Discussion starter · #30 ·
No idea. They use an Allen Key bolt. All I did was snug the darn things up. No issues 1,000 miles later.

What are the torque specs for fill bolt, drain bolt and pan bolts?

Thanks.
 
Kind of early on lifetime fluid to change that soon??

I was just reading about that and it says they recommend 80 to 120,000 km fluid changed I’m at 275,000 I wonder if I should think about it Lol
50,000mi = 80,467km, so he's within your range. Is it still too early? lol
 
Finally got around to Servicing the Transmission last weekend at 121K miles. The job was far easier than I expected. I used a 10$ 1gal lawn sprayer to pump the fluid. Modified it by taking off the nozzle and using a heat gun to bend the end of the wand a little past 45 degrees. Since the Pan came with a new plug..I super-glued a fitting onto the old one in anticipation of making it easier to take on and off during filling process..as it turned out there was plenty of room between the DPF..and it never really had the chance to get supper hot before I was done anyway. Whole thing was done in about 1.5 hours and I was not hurrying. Impact Driver Sped things up with the pan bolts - snug then hand tighten. I retired this truck as daily driver at 120K so it should be a while before this is needed again. I probably will just drain and refill in 50K.
 
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Update truck has 490,000 on it now. It also has both the GDE ECM and transmission tune. Trans fluid has been changed 5 times now 3 times with filter. When the truck was new it would occasionally under heavy load hitting a grade have a hard downshift into 5th also when I first added the trans tune to a well worked transmission it seemed like it needed a little time for the computer to relearn & or new shift patterns to wear in a bit but both minor annoyances are long gone. The trans shifts smooth quick and firm. Truck used factory fluid for first 100k Custom to spec blend Quantum Blue for the next 200k then the Valvolene since.
 
There are videos around and stories. None seem to answer the home-garage problems you will run into. This ZF transmission is hideous for both checking and changing. Bad design and here's why.

First you will need fluid and some way to get it in. You need to make this:

IMG_5956 by Larry Malinoski, on Flickr


Not the fluid pump, the 3/8" brass tube with 90 degree fixture on the end. I went to a local hardware store, bought the pieces, ground the plastic angle to fit and glued it into one end of the tube. The other end fit right into the fluid transfer pump line. Now I have an angled wand to insert in the tiny space between the DPF exhaust system and the fill hole. Without something like this - forget it.

For a fill I would dump the drain plug first. 10mm hex socket is fine. Pull the plug and dump. Never touch the fill plug cold. NEVER, The proper fluid level is inches ABOVE that fill plug cold. Pull the fill plug and you get a mess. I know. I did that yesterday.

The fill plug is 8mm hex. You cannot use a socket as there's no clearance. You must get a conventional 8mm hex to fit between the DPF and transmission fill plug. Now add about 3 quarts through the fill plug after draining the whole pan. Then, put that plug back in loosely. Now comes the real pain. Dress in long-sleeved shirt and gloves. Practice screwing out and in the fill plug with those gloves on. You need the sleeves and gloves because you are soon to be touching one hot mama of a DPF, no matter how hard you try not to.

For both fill and check you now need a second person to make sure all brakes are on and stay on. Start the truck. Show that person how to read the temperature on the transmission fluid in the EVIC. Today I started at 89 degrees and was done when the fluid hit 110. If you mess around and get to 120 degrees, button up and quit. That's the top temperature. Your helper, or you, must take 5 seconds in reverse, shift to Drive for 5 seconds, shift to Neutral for 5 more and repeat that shift/5 second timing a second cycle. After the second cycle, shift to Park and leave the engine on.

Now, for checking or filling, open the fill plug. If checking, a teeny bit should flow out. If none, use that fill wand and pump some in till it does. Now screw the plug back in by hand (gloves mandatory) and once started, your helper can shut off the truck for you to tighten up.

Yesterday I filled to overfill cold and buttoned up. Only took 3 quarts. Today after the shift cycle, I opened the fill plug and was shocked when nothing came out. Started to fill and another full quart went in, then another and then after 2/3ds of the third, it started to dribble out. The transmission did take about 5 2/3 qts. total. My cold fill yesterday was at least 2 1/2 quarts low, even though it looked full.

Enough comments on the hideous design and fill/check technique. You have to do it this way and it's a real .... Having things level and not on a lift compounds the issue as you cannot raise the front on ramps as the truck will not be level. You need that angled hard wand I made as any plastic hose will flop around and burn through on the hot exhaust. I also thing it's best to have a full gallon container new fluid ready if hand pumping like I did. Put a couple quarts in cold, do the start and immediately pump from a gallon container so you are not stopping, dripping everywhere connecting another bottle, knocking apart the pump, dropping oil on the floor and dragging your hair through that oil. I made a mess changing bottles and missing my drip pan while crawling through things in a panic while the engine was running inches from my face. Wife had a summary comment when I came inside.

"You stink! Go take a shower and what's all over your hair and back?"

That fill plug is less than 2" above the drain plug. Look at the orange measure I stuck in the picture. The real full level is inches above the fill plug and must be checked with the transmission procedure above so that a few quarts are up in the transmission workings and not drained into the pan. Already said it was a hideous design. This is something I do not want to get into again.

One of our members is taking some of my old oil and sending it for analysis. That will be informative when all is done and I hope to get or see a report. Would sure be burned up if the old, hot oil was still good. But, better me burned up than the transmission.

Hi Capt Larry,

When you performed this fill procedure did you have the truck on jack stands so that the wheels were in the air. I read in our newly available (Thanks to Bat Koce) Service Manual that they want you to disable traction control, with the brakes applied place the transmission in reverse and hold for 5 seconds, Place in drive and hold for 5 seconds, release the brakes, slowly accelerate to 2nd gear and hold for 5 seconds. Apply brakes and place the transmission in Neutral. Raise the engine speed to 2000RPM for 5 seconds. Return the engine to idle and place the transmission in park. Remove the fill plug and allow excess fluid to drain from the fill hole or add fluid as necessary.

Here it is:
1. Raise and support the vehicle on a level hoist . Refer to HOISTING,
STANDARD PROCEDURE .
2. Start the engine. The engine must continue to run for the entire test.
3. Using a scan tool or the vehicle information center, verify that the
transmission fluid temperature is below 30°C (86°F).
4. Disable traction control (ESC).
5. Remove the fill plug from the right rear of the transmission case.
6. Add transmission fluid until it trickles from the fill opening.
7. Install the fill plug.
8. Lower the vehicle for access to inside of the vehicle, leaving the tires at least
8 inches off the ground.
9. With the brakes applied, place the transmission in Reverse and hold for 5
seconds.
10. Place the transmission in Drive and hold for 5 seconds.
11. Release the brakes, slowly accelerate to 2nd gear and hold for 5 seconds.
12. Apply the brakes and place the transmission in Neutral.
13. Raise the engine speed to 2000 RPM for 5 seconds.
14. Return the engine to idle and place the transmission in Park.
15. Remove the fill plug and allow excess fluid to drain from fill hole or add
fluid as necessary.
16. Install the fill plug.
17. Using a scan tool, clear any DTCs.
STANDARD PROCEDURE - TRANSMISSION FILL AFTER SERVICE
NOTE: A full transmission will have fluid at the fill hole with
the transmission between 30°C (86°F) and 50°C (122°
F). Do not over fill.
 
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