CarbonSteel
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
03 July 2023 - Edited to include all tools and steps needed on the first page.
Note: unless the pan is already leaking, you will not need a new pan gasket. I have had my pan on and off 3x now with no issues--it is reusable.
Tools and parts needed:
Here are the steps that I followed:
There is a timing element to this process and the transmission temperature range has to be between 86°F and 122°F and it does not take too long to go above 122°F (7-10 minutes maximum). If the temperature rises above 122°F, just allow things to cool before proceeding.
0. Park on a level surface, chock all wheels, set the hand brake (I would do this the night before).
1. Place drain pan beneath transmission and remove the fill plug.
2. Remove all pan bolts except the four corners.
3. Loosen the front two, then the rear two and loosen the rear a bit more than the front to allow the majority of the fluid to drain before dropping the pan.
4. Remove the filter nuts and toss the old filter and nuts.
5. Clean the pan and magnets with lint-free cloths (make sure they are lint free).
6. Install the new filter (snug hold down nuts and back off 1/2 round).
7. Lightly lube the o-ring on the new filter with new transmission fluid.
8. Reinstall the pan ensuring the filter inlet nozzle is inserted into the transmission properly.
9. Torque the pan bolts to 11 Newton Meters using the sequence in the attached PDF.
10. Shake the fluid bottles vigorously.
11. Fill the transmission with new fluid and try to overfill it as best that you can and reinsert the fill plug (snug, but do not tighten)
12. Have all other bottles of fluid ready to go and in your work location
13. Start the Jeep and when the transmission temperature hits 90°F and with the Jeep idling shift from P-->R-->N-->D-->M1-->M2 pausing 10 seconds between shifts
14. With the Jeep still idling and in Park, remove the fill plug and fill the transmission until it overflows.
15. Reinstall the fill plug and tighten.
16. Drive for about 15-20 minutes allowing the transmission to shift through as many gears as you can.
17. Return to the shop and park to allow the transmission to cool to 90°F.
18. With the Jeep idling and in Park (wheels chocked and hand brake set), remove the fill plug and fill the transmission until it overflows again.
You should be good at this point, but I always do one last check after 100 miles or so to ensure there was no trapped air in the system.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I changed the filter and fluid today and not a bad job aside from having to pull two of the three MC skid plates to get to the transmission and transfer case. Loosen the pan bolts all the way around and then loosen the back bolts a little more (towards the rear of the Jeep) to allow the fluid to drain and it will be less messy. I had to rotate the pan 90° to get it out from under the 3.6L exhaust pipe. A drain plug would have made the change a breeze.
I used a Mopar filter and ZF Lifeguard 8 fluid and it took a little over 5 QTs. The two magnets in the pan had a fair amount of metal "paste" on them, but nothing that I did not expect to see after 50K miles. Note the magnets are simply held in the pan via magnetic force and are not permanently attached which makes cleaning them a breeze. There was no debris in the pan which is a good indication the clutches are not shedding material.
FCA states to snug the filter nuts and then back off 1/2 round which I did (they are locking flange nuts and new ones are included with the filter). This is so the filter can move horizontally slightly to allow for alignment of the filter nozzle into the valve body housing. I lightly lubed the o-ring on the filter with new fluid and then mounted the pan.
ZF states the pan bolts should be 12nm and FCA states 10nm, so I split the difference and went with 11nm and followed the torque sequence in the attached PDF. Although I have a new gasket, I re-used the old one because it was in great shape. I used the process documented in the attached PDF to refill and check the fluid.
I plan to run it for about 5K miles and dump the fluid again. I sent two samples off to be tested--one virgin sample of LifeGuard 8 and one of the used fluid and I will share the results here.
With all of that said, the fluid was VERY dirty as compared to the new fluid (see pictures). I would not under any circumstances run the fluid and filter for 100K miles or "lifetime" as FCA states. I think that FCA is doing a serious disservice to owners when they say "lifetime" fill--which is complete and utter bovine scatology.
EDIT: Though I had bought a pump-up sprayer to install the new fluid, it was not needed. There was more than enough room to use a Flo-tool nozzle which fit the ZF bottles with no issues:
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000EH4UXM/
Enjoy!
Left pan magnet:
Right Pan Magnet:
Clean Pan and Magnets + New Filter:
Old Fluid in Drain Pan:
Old Fluid on White Paper Towels:
Comparison of New and Used Fluid:
I did 3 dump and fills which leaves me about 10% old fluid remaining:
Note: unless the pan is already leaking, you will not need a new pan gasket. I have had my pan on and off 3x now with no issues--it is reusable.
Tools and parts needed:
- 10mm socket for filter nuts
- 8mm hex (Allen style socket) for fill plug
- T40 Torx for pan bolts
- Torque wrench capable of 10-12nm
- Drain pan capable of holding at least 6 quarts of fluid--the wider the better (I used this one - $16 at Walmart)
- Nozzle for transmission fluid bottles to refill (I used this one)
- 6 Quarts of ZF Lifeguard 8 or Lifeguard 9 (9 is compatible if 8 is not available) OR Mopar 8&9 Transmission fluid
- Mopar Transmission filter (Part number 68417054AB)
- Lint free paper towels (I used Scott's)
Here are the steps that I followed:
There is a timing element to this process and the transmission temperature range has to be between 86°F and 122°F and it does not take too long to go above 122°F (7-10 minutes maximum). If the temperature rises above 122°F, just allow things to cool before proceeding.
0. Park on a level surface, chock all wheels, set the hand brake (I would do this the night before).
1. Place drain pan beneath transmission and remove the fill plug.
2. Remove all pan bolts except the four corners.
3. Loosen the front two, then the rear two and loosen the rear a bit more than the front to allow the majority of the fluid to drain before dropping the pan.
4. Remove the filter nuts and toss the old filter and nuts.
5. Clean the pan and magnets with lint-free cloths (make sure they are lint free).
6. Install the new filter (snug hold down nuts and back off 1/2 round).
7. Lightly lube the o-ring on the new filter with new transmission fluid.
8. Reinstall the pan ensuring the filter inlet nozzle is inserted into the transmission properly.
9. Torque the pan bolts to 11 Newton Meters using the sequence in the attached PDF.
10. Shake the fluid bottles vigorously.
11. Fill the transmission with new fluid and try to overfill it as best that you can and reinsert the fill plug (snug, but do not tighten)
12. Have all other bottles of fluid ready to go and in your work location
13. Start the Jeep and when the transmission temperature hits 90°F and with the Jeep idling shift from P-->R-->N-->D-->M1-->M2 pausing 10 seconds between shifts
14. With the Jeep still idling and in Park, remove the fill plug and fill the transmission until it overflows.
15. Reinstall the fill plug and tighten.
16. Drive for about 15-20 minutes allowing the transmission to shift through as many gears as you can.
17. Return to the shop and park to allow the transmission to cool to 90°F.
18. With the Jeep idling and in Park (wheels chocked and hand brake set), remove the fill plug and fill the transmission until it overflows again.
You should be good at this point, but I always do one last check after 100 miles or so to ensure there was no trapped air in the system.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I changed the filter and fluid today and not a bad job aside from having to pull two of the three MC skid plates to get to the transmission and transfer case. Loosen the pan bolts all the way around and then loosen the back bolts a little more (towards the rear of the Jeep) to allow the fluid to drain and it will be less messy. I had to rotate the pan 90° to get it out from under the 3.6L exhaust pipe. A drain plug would have made the change a breeze.
I used a Mopar filter and ZF Lifeguard 8 fluid and it took a little over 5 QTs. The two magnets in the pan had a fair amount of metal "paste" on them, but nothing that I did not expect to see after 50K miles. Note the magnets are simply held in the pan via magnetic force and are not permanently attached which makes cleaning them a breeze. There was no debris in the pan which is a good indication the clutches are not shedding material.
FCA states to snug the filter nuts and then back off 1/2 round which I did (they are locking flange nuts and new ones are included with the filter). This is so the filter can move horizontally slightly to allow for alignment of the filter nozzle into the valve body housing. I lightly lubed the o-ring on the filter with new fluid and then mounted the pan.
ZF states the pan bolts should be 12nm and FCA states 10nm, so I split the difference and went with 11nm and followed the torque sequence in the attached PDF. Although I have a new gasket, I re-used the old one because it was in great shape. I used the process documented in the attached PDF to refill and check the fluid.
I plan to run it for about 5K miles and dump the fluid again. I sent two samples off to be tested--one virgin sample of LifeGuard 8 and one of the used fluid and I will share the results here.
With all of that said, the fluid was VERY dirty as compared to the new fluid (see pictures). I would not under any circumstances run the fluid and filter for 100K miles or "lifetime" as FCA states. I think that FCA is doing a serious disservice to owners when they say "lifetime" fill--which is complete and utter bovine scatology.
EDIT: Though I had bought a pump-up sprayer to install the new fluid, it was not needed. There was more than enough room to use a Flo-tool nozzle which fit the ZF bottles with no issues:
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000EH4UXM/
Enjoy!
Left pan magnet:
Right Pan Magnet:
Clean Pan and Magnets + New Filter:
Old Fluid in Drain Pan:
Old Fluid on White Paper Towels:
Comparison of New and Used Fluid:
I did 3 dump and fills which leaves me about 10% old fluid remaining:
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Last edited:
