Parts required for Dodge diesel - transmission service

psuce wrote:

ib516 wrote:

They are to be checked and adjusted as necessary each time the trans is serviced.

Correct. OP - your truck should have the 48RE. Here are the specs on what to do to adjust the bands:

X2
Nice post with image.

C Schomer wrote:
You could catch it in a clean pan and reuse it but I wouldn't. You don't loose ALL the trans fluid by dropping the pan. My 42re's loose about 1/2 of it,..about 4-5 qts. adding new fluid would help to dilute down the old fluid the trans shop probably left in there. Craig

Thanks for the tips, Craig. Appreciate it! That sounds like the way I should go.

You could catch it in a clean pan and reuse it but I wouldn't. You don't loose ALL the trans fluid by dropping the pan. My 42re's loose about 1/2 of it,..about 4-5 qts. adding new fluid would help to dilute down the old fluid the trans shop probably left in there. Craig

I'm going to insert a related question into this thread. I have a 2004.5 Ram diesel with the auto trans. I bought it a year ago, and was immediately going on a long towing trip with it, so I had the trans fluid and filter changed. I did not learn until a few months later as I educated myself about my truck, that the bands should have been adjusted, but the shop I used did me a disservice and did not.

I want to adjust the bands now, but the new fluid only has 7,000 miles on it, so I hate to throw it out and replace it. So my question is, is there a way to save the trans fluid when dropping the pan to get to the rear band adjustment? And if so, is it advisable to put that relatively new fluid back in the transmission when finished?

Those 48re instructions look the same as for my Jeep 42re's. The bands are EASY to adjust and they need to be, especially the rear band has always needed it the worst. you need a in/lb tq wrench and whatever sockets. My Jeep took a 1/4" hex for the rear and a torks for the front band. I was easier to peel the carpet back, holesaw a hole and patch it to get to the front band adjustment. ATF4 is a Mopar thing... 100k mile fluid but I never run it that long. I also always put in a drain plug while the pan is off. Craig

All AFT+4 is the same although some are convinced one brand is better than the other. ATF+4 is a trademark of Chrysler and they specify everything that goes into from the color down the the additive package. The only way you can use use the name on a bottle is to have your product tested by Chrysler's lab. I would steer clear of universal ATF. They may say that they are compatible with ATF+4, but that's never been verified with Chrysler or else they would have a license.

Find the cheapest ATF+4 and use that. The cheapest I've ever been able to find locally was Walmart's SuperTech brand at around $4 something a quart. I have about 60,000 miles (mostly heavy traffic) on their fluids without issue.

Cummins12V98 wrote:
For the money I would go with AMZ/OIL Universal Synthetic ATF. Do a complete fluid exchange. Don't half AZZ the job and change only 1/2 if you are lucky.

Adjust the inside and outside bands.

This. ^^
And not sure the question on the hard parts. Go to any auto parts store and tell them you want a filter and pan gasket for xxxx.

Well worth the little bit of extra time to adjust the bands.I did my own,turned a sloppy shifting trans into a real nice trans shifting up and down smooth and quickly .

For the money I would go with AMZ/OIL Universal Synthetic ATF. Do a complete fluid exchange. Don't half AZZ the job and change only 1/2 if you are lucky.

Adjust the inside and outside bands.

ib516 wrote:

They are to be checked and adjusted as necessary each time the trans is serviced.

Correct. OP - your truck should have the 48RE. Here are the specs on what to do to adjust the bands: