transmission

[spikepuller]

I have replaced all my fluids except tranny. anybody tell me when I drop my pan how many quarts will it take to fill it back up with stock pan. does trans pan have a gasket that I need to replace or not. and how difficult is it to tighten the bands.

[diesel4life]

I don't think dropping the pan will get you much over 5 quarts. Disconnect the cold side trans cooler line at the rad, put on a short piece of 1/2" hose on the barb at the radiator and stick it in a bucket. Set the park brake or chalk the wheels, start the engine and shift the trans into neutral. This will push the fluid into the bucket. As soon as the flow of trans fluid starts to slow, shut the truck off. Probably easier and quicker to have an assistant in the truck while you watch the bucket that way they can shut the truck down quickly. This method will generally drain 10 to 12 quarts, and the majority of the fluid in the pan will be gone making it easier and less messy to drop. You can simply drop the pan and replace what you drain, but that is only a fraction of the fluid thats in there. Kind of like only changing half your engine oil.

[sngsht]

Dropping the pan on mine ('06) took about 7 1/4 qts. to refill, you should have a reusable gasket and as long as it's in good shape I'd use it. No leaking or issues after reusing mine. Here's a link to a basic how-to on your bands. http://forum.mopar1973man.com/threads/8025-Replacing-Governor-pressure-solenoid-and-pressure-transducer-adjust-bands-in-a-48RE

[millco]

After all I read about not messing with the bands, I opted to not touch them if they are still operating good.Only thing I would add to above is: I like to drop the pan, drain, change filter, and refill. Then I unhook the line as above and start the truck. It is helpful to have someone pouring in new oil as it pumps it out. You will see a sudden change in the fluid from the old to the new. At this point shut it off and hook the line back up. Now you can restart it and fill it up the rest of the way. This way you get most of the old fluid out of there!!

[sngsht]

That's a good way to get more fluid out,similar to how the Quik lube shops do it. Adjusting bands isn't hard at all, it's just something you shouldn't do haphazardly and just wing it . Keeping them in spec will help your transmission live a long life, and if you wait till they're not working properly (slipping), the damage is probably done .