Transmission oil change with PPE aluminum oil pan

[AmosMoses]

Iam nearing 50k miles on my 21 jtr and I want to change the transmission fluid with a drain and fill with new filter and possibly the PPE extra capacity aluminum pan. This new pan from PPE will clear the exhaust although you have to loosen the exhaust to get it in.

Now Iam not entirely sold on the new aluminum pan keeping the transmission temps cooler with the exhaust pipe being so close. In my mind the aluminum pan will soak up more heat than the plastic pan unless you're on the highway perhaps getting alot of air movement. Iam thinking that some heat wrap could help with this if there's enough clearance for it. On the plus side, the pan has a built in drain which is nice and seems to be built well. Iam curious how many here have installed this pan or decided against it for various reasons. I plan on keeping this truck to well over 100k miles unless jeep does something cool like put a hemi in the gladiator.

I found this recent video of the install process posted not long ago:

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[Stan H]

Iam nearing 50k miles on my 21 jtr and I want to change the transmission fluid with a drain and fill with new filter and possibly the PPE extra capacity aluminum pan. This new pan from PPE will clear the exhaust although you have to loosen the exhaust to get it in.

Now Iam not entirely sold on the new aluminum pan keeping the transmission temps cooler with the exhaust pipe being so close. In my mind the aluminum pan will soak up more heat than the plastic pan unless you're on the highway perhaps getting alot of air movement. Iam thinking that some heat wrap could help with this if there's enough clearance for it. On the plus side, the pan has a built in drain which is nice and seems to be built well. Iam curious how many here have installed this pan or decided against it for various reasons. I plan on keeping this truck to well over 100k miles unless jeep does something cool like put a hemi in the gladiator.

I found this recent video of the install process posted not long ago:

Well ,I nearly have 119k and I am having a little trouble. Can't find anyone to rebuild it . I plan to buy another install it then take the original ,source all the parts and rebuild it myself. (Yes I have done older models)
The fins on the PPE are supposed to be what cools it quicker, now in slow rock crawling I seriously doubt it helps unless there is a breeze blowing . Also where the exhaust goes. Go online you-tube and you will see where a small amount of the fins in that very spot are ground down . If you do NOT grind those fins down and then squeeze that exhaust back up against it then one strick from something will crack that pan I imagine and you up poo poo creek without a paddle somewhere in BFE and it ain't gonna be pretty cause if it cracks then no fluid . This is my opinion. Stick with the factory metal pan and change fluid & filter every 30-40k after this change . The PPE pan also requires extra fluid and there is a process to adding that fluid that has to be followed also believe PPE outlines this on their site . Research it . I could be wrong but I think factory pan is best . Think about this. The entire case of the transmission is already aluminum.

 

[AmosMoses]

Well ,I nearly have 119k and I am having a little trouble. Can't find anyone to rebuild it . I plan to buy another install it then take the original ,source all the parts and rebuild it myself. (Yes I have done older models)
The fins on the PPE are supposed to be what cools it quicker, now in slow rock crawling I seriously doubt it helps unless there is a breeze blowing . Also where the exhaust goes. Go online you-tube and you will see where a small amount of the fins in that very spot are ground down . If you do NOT grind those fins down and then squeeze that exhaust back up against it then one strick from something will crack that pan I imagine and you up poo poo creek without a paddle somewhere in BFE and it ain't gonna be pretty cause if it cracks then no fluid . This is my opinion. Stick with the factory metal pan and change fluid & filter every 30-40k after this change . The PPE pan also requires extra fluid and there is a process to adding that fluid that has to be followed also believe PPE outlines this on their site . Research it . I could be wrong but I think factory pan is best . Think about this. The entire case of the transmission is already aluminum.

Did you do a fluid change? If so at what mileage? What issues were you having?

The old version of the PPE pan did require trimming the fins for the exhaust but the new version is already cleared. You can see the new version of the pan in the video I posted as well as on PPE's website. Amazon sells various heat wrap that should help with heat.

I thought the factory transmission pan was plastic?

 

[AmosMoses]

Here's a snapshot I took from the video showing the fin relief changes PPE made to the pan. Looks like enough room for heat wrap.

This is the factory pan:

 

[Stan H]

Did you do a fluid change? If so at what mileage? What issues were you having?

The old version of the PPE pan did require trimming the fins for the exhaust but the new version is already cleared. You can see the new version of the pan in the video I posted as well as on PPE's website. Amazon sells various heat wrap that should help with heat.

I thought the factory transmission pan was plastic?

On the JL they are plastic on the JT it is Stamped Steel sheet metal . Stick a magnetic on it . Yes I did a fluid and filter change at 89K and now at 119k it is very stiff and stubborn shifts abruptly into 4th (sometimes it don't) I usually start out in manual mode and shift it like a standard tranny letting off the gas each time till I reach 4th then stay in 4th for a couple miles then flip over to drive and it shifts up to 5th and onward after this it won't give me any trouble . Now if I arrive on site leave it sitting for hours and hours and then get backing it and wait for it to idle down it will do the same crap. And just recently it has started not wanting to go into reverse.
Some guys have said it is a shift solenoid is the problem . (I aint sure) but I do know that each gear does not slip it's just getting it to shift into those gears. 4th is the only gear thst there doesn't seem to be any lag at all between shifts even when that sucker is scalding hot like 190degrees. Where I am at cant find anyone who has revuilt them to even attempt a rebuild yet. On line I seen a video from WIT in Chicago and the guy says they are straight forward type rebuilds. That being said I also have found out that several components require special tools to remove a few things as it is tore down. I will aquire all that after I do a swap. Why ? Because this is a out and in kinda 2 day timeliness for me the nature of my job requires to me to be present M-F without fail. So I aint got time for a week long rebuild. I will aquire the parts ,specialty tools etc and do a few days here and a few days there until I have it complete then it will be ready to go shoild the swap fail. This is also going to allow me to KEEP my original transmission ( I hate the fact that they want my core when I buy a new one thats B
S.) This will ensure that I always have another ready to go . Yes and with a buddy or my brother swapping one in an all nighter is possible.

 

[Stan H]

I also did not know they are now selling a pre ground version. Thatvis whyvI stayed away from it in the first place ( who would want to fool with that anyhow) heat wraps are effective they work on motorcycle pipes

 

[AmosMoses]

I also did not know they are now selling a pre ground version. Thatvis whyvI stayed away from it in the first place ( who would want to fool with that anyhow) heat wraps are effective they work on motorcycle pipes

That sucks Stan. I hope you get it sorted out. The only issue I've had with my transmission is a slight whining sound when the transmission temperature get about 180 or so. Seems to operate normally though.

 

[Escape.idiocracy]

I have this pan…(deep version with 2 additional quarts)

Once the transmission is to temp, it is to temp…. The aluminum may? Marginally help bring it back down to temp, but the added capacity is just going to take it slightly more time to arrive at temp…. More fluid does benefit by allowing for more crap to suspend in the fluid and provide overall less breakdown of fluid due to increased volume between intervals vs factory capacity.
There is still a fluid “warmer” in the mix that uses motor coolant, and a thermostat in the cooling system of the zf… so unless you change out these components you are still going to run the same temp, just benefit from the added capacity for surge temps and fluid breakdown.

zf recommends a maintenance interval of 40-70k miles, use being the variable. I plan to change every 40-50k . This is a beast of a transmission…. Basic maintenance should keep it set for a long time.

@Stan hopefully you can find a unit from a diesel vs a gas unit…. Diesel zf’s are made in Germany, gas are clones…. For the few years I have been on here, I have seen significantly more gas zf clone issues than diesel

 

[Stan H]

That sucks Stan. I hope you get it sorted out. The only issue I've had with my transmission is a slight whining sound when the transmission temperature get about 180 or so. Seems to operate normally though.

Yeah that is normal , you will hear that whine especially say your pulling a longer grade and it drops from 6th to 5th and the RPMS come up then you will here it. With the age and ultra abuse I have unduly placed on mine . (Serious extreme wheeling and spinning etc. ) its a freaking winder the thing is even functioning at all at this point. One time I spun through mud up to the bumper for 3/4 of a mile and never left off till I made it through. Took 2.5 hrs to wash the mud off the bottom of the cab transmission and side of the engine block.. I'm that crazy one ( hold my beer kinda mentality sometimes) these transmissions are tough I don't recall your mileage but the transmission can handle way more than what the motor actually puts in it . And I venture to say it is electronic degradation that is my problem. Thats why I am going to do it that way.

 

[Stan H]

I have this pan…

Once the transmission is to temp, it is to temp…. The aluminum may? Marginally help bring it back down to temp, but the added capacity is just going to take it slightly more time to arrive at temp…. More fluid does benefit by allowing for more crap to suspend in the fluid and provide overall less breakdown of fluid due to increased volume between intervals vs factory capacity.
There is still a fluid “warmer” in the mix that uses motor coolant, and a thermostat in the cooling system of the zf… so unless you change out these components you are still going to run the same temp, just benefit from the added capacity for surge temps and fluid breakdown.

zf recommends a maintenance interval of 40-70k miles, use being the variable. I plan to change every 40-50k . This is a beast of a transmission…. Basic maintenance should keep it set for a long time.

@Stan hopefully you can find a unit from a diesel vs a gas unit…. Diesel zf’s are made in Germany, gas are clones…. For the few years I have been on here, I have seen significantly more gas zf clone issues than diesel

Arent the diesel units geared differently and a different transmission all together .the e.6L has a 8HP50Generic copy called the 850RE and the Diesel has a 8HP75 torque flight transmission with over drive. Totally geared higher as the RPM's of the diesel are lower .

 

[red/green hawk]

I just did this about a month ago. I've noticed lower temps. Tranny fluid temp was consistently 200+ before the PPE pan. Since, it hasn't gone above 190.

 

[Hootbro]

If you got a plastic pan, you will be the second person with a 2020 I know of to have it. By all intents, it should have the steel pan but it seems some sneaks have made it into production. My 2020 Rubicon JT was a early May 2019 build and it had a steel pan.

What is your build month/year? The other one was a 12/19 build.

 

[red/green hawk]

If you got a plastic pan, you will be the second person with a 2020 I know of to have it. By all intents, it should have the steel pan but it seems some sneaks have made it into production. My 2020 Rubicon JT was a early May 2019 build and it had a steel pan.

What is your build month/year? The other one was a 12/19 build.

I have a 2020. Mine was a steel pan...

 

[Hootbro]

I have a 2020. Mine was a steel pan...

As it should. I had a first year 2018 JL and it had a steel pan on the transmission also. Even if you look up the MOPAR parts catalog for either JL or JT, they all list the steel pan and make no reference to the plastic pan.

I do not discount some that have reported a plastic pan, but they are way out there statistical outliers.

 

[red/green hawk]

As it should. I had a first year 2018 JL and it had a steel pan on the transmission also. Even if you look up the MOPAR parts catalog for either JL or JT, they all list the steel pan and make no reference to the plastic pan.

I do not discount some that have reported a plastic pan, but they are way out there statistical outliers.

An instructional video I watched before doing mine was on a 22 diesel that had a plastic pan.

Having that drain plug in the PPE makes it worth every penny. PPE recommends changing the filter out every 100-120k. So not doing pan drops every 40k is saving me the agony of laying on the garage floor at least 2 out of 3 fluid changes.

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