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dan
Dodge Dakota
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10/22/2004
19:30:09
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 Subject: service transmission, please help?
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Hey guys, I have an 2002 quad cab 4x4 4.7, 45rfe with 30,000 miles and I want to get my trans fluid changed.I went to two places, the first place Level 10 transmissions said they would drop the pan, change both filters and put in about 5 to 6 quarts of new fluid.The stealership said they can flush the entire trans including the filters without dropping the pan and replace all of the fuid(16 quarts?) Level 10 does not recommend pressure flushing.I have heard pros and cons on both.Any help would be greatly appreciated.Thanks!!!!
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jsst
Dodge Dakota
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10/22/2004
22:29:15
|  RE: service transmission, please help?
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I just had my tranny fluid and both filters changed friday after 46,500 miles. The automotive shop I use is very reputable and the only shop I let touch my '01 dak, $125 buks . Tranny is much more responsive. And by the way mercon III trany fluid was used in my and will work fine, so maybe you can save some buks instead of paying the dodge stealership for thier special mopar 3 fluid at about $10 a quart.
hope tis helps,
jeff,
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.boB
Dodge Dakota
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10/22/2004
23:32:11
| RE: service transmission, please help?
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You can't change fluid without changing the filters, what would be the point? And you can't change the filters without dropping the pan. Simply back flushing the lines under pressure to blow the crap out of the filters is an absurd idea. Never go back there again.
Find a reputable trans shop who will do both. Drop the pan, clean it out, change the filters, and then flush the trans. There's a lot of oil in the trans, lines, coolers, and TC. If you just drain and replace, you leave all that dirty oil in there. You're only changing half the oil. That's OK, and we've been doing it that way for decades. But you have to do it twice as often. Your choice.
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dan
Dodge Dakota
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10/23/2004
08:49:18
| RE: service transmission, please help?
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Sorry about the double post.I think I`m going with just dropping the pan and filters way.That high pressure back flush seems a bit crazy,plus it is the first service and there is nothing wrong with the trans.Thanks for all the info.
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Ranger
Dodge Dakota
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10/24/2004
12:29:47
|  RE: service transmission, please help?
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JSST,
Mercon III will not work fine in your Chrysler transmission, if its a 99 or newer 45RFE or 545RFE. That transmission was designed to work with ATF +4 only, which is not the same formulation as Mercon or Dexron of any spec. Based on watching others use Dex or Mercon in their transmissions, with or without a 3rd party additive package supposedly designed to bring Dexron or Mercon up to ATF+4 specs, they usually lasted from 1 to 3 months before their transmissions failed completely. Just because it's shifting right now does not mean it's running correctly. The (5)45RFE transmission measures the slippage and volume electronically and adjusts many times per second. The other transmission fluids are "grabbier" than ATF+4 and will cause clutch material burnout in your transmission - usually accompanied by first symptoms of slipping.
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ranger
Dodge Dakota
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10/24/2004
12:45:25
| RE: service transmission, please help?
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JSST,
For more information on why ATF+4 is required, look at this link.
http://www.allpar.com/fix/trans.html
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Lurkin
Dodge Dakota
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10/25/2004
06:03:25
| RE: service transmission, please help?
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Definitely many viewpoints on this subject. I'm actually a bit surprised the discussion has stayed civil (so far anyway...).
On my 02 QC AWD at 25K, I dropped the pan, replaced both filters and filled up the tranny. I will not pressure flush the tranny as I do not trust how it is done.
Had I been terribly concerned about doing a complete fluid replacement, I would have removed the tranny cooler line and let it pump itself out. But, since I plan on doing the pan drop and filter replacement every 25K, I don't mind mixing the new and old fluid.
The tranny fluid is not subject to the same stresses as the engine since the tranny fluid is not exposed to combustion (hopefully). Since it is not, the filter catches much of the contaminates.
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Figols
Dodge Dakota
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10/25/2004
10:16:22
| RE: service transmission, please help?
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Just to correct "Ranger", the '00 45rfe requires ATF+3, but you can replace it with ATF+4 if you are doing a complete flush. The way I understand it from Valvoline is ATF+3 is dino oil and ATF+4 is synthetic. I know Dodge changed the required tranny fluid in '01 to ATF+4. I'm not sure about '99 models. I know for sure about the '00 models because that's what I own and ATF+3 is what the owners manual and the factory service manual suggests.
Valvoline does make ATF+4, but you may need to special order it as most stores do not carry it. I did some research on it a couple of years ago because I wanted to "upgrade" to ATF+4, but did not want to pay Dodge $9.00 a quart. At the time Valvoline ATF+4 was less than $3.00 a quart.
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ZenDak
Dodge Dakota
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10/25/2004
11:31:38
| RE: service transmission, please help?
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Use ATF4 -for your trans sake... I had a place mistakenly put ATF3 in mine (45RFE -'01),,,truck drove about 1-2 miles and tranny was slipping bad. I drove back to the place immediately, and it barely made in the drive way - chewed their asses for it. Now I've got some odd-ball promise of free repairs if it did any damage later....riiiiight.
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ranger
Dodge Dakota
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10/25/2004
20:56:14
| RE: service transmission, please help?
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For my 02 model 45RFE, the factory service manual specifies ATF+4. ATF+3 is dino based, ATF+4 is a synthetic and petroleum blend. I too looked for quite a while for an alternate source of ATF+4, but it seems Chrysler hasn't released the formulation for ATF+4 and is being sued by the Independent Lubricant suppliers for that. I don't comprehrend how a synthetic tranny fluid can be a direct substitute for Mercon, Dexron III and ATF+4 without compromising some performance specification, but I suppose its possible. I'll let someone else test it and report back in 80 to 100K miles on how well Chryslers 45RFE series hold up. At any rate, with a 100K mile warranty on the powertrain, it wasn't worth it to me to use non-spec fluid. ATF+3 is available via 3rd party however. Not long after I changed the fluid, Chrylser dropped the ATF+4 price almost in half. I also own Japanese vehicles with similar proprietary requirements for tranny fluid, power steering and anti-freeze. Seems manufacter's like specifying their own proprietary lubricants.
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