So, I had plans to change out my oil pan at 25k miles to the PPE HD oil pan. Then, at 30k miles, I had planned to drop my transmission pan, install a new filter and replace it with the PPE HD trans pan. At 30k miles, I also planned on switching my rear diff to the Banks Ram-Air diff cover. But, now at almost 27k miles, things are a little different... living in FL is quite a bit more expensive than where we used to live and I am trying to hold onto my money a little tighter, so now I am looking at doing them 1 at a time. I am also waiting on sales, so I am holding off until "Black Friday" and will pick up one of these and start doing them one at a time...

And FWIW, I am not interested in hearing about what the manual suggests I do as far as maintenance intervals. These are early upgrades/changes that I want to do, especially since I want to keep my truck as long as possible...

So, I am trying to figure out which one to start with, and figured I would start a poll... Here are some of my thoughts about each one...

1. PPE Oil Pan. This one should be pretty easy to do, and the least expensive of the 3. I already have the oil, so all I would really need is the pan and the sealant. With my recent oil analysis, I wonder if a good, complete oil change would affect the results any, and it would be interesting to see how they compared. As far as benefits that I see: due to the design of the drain plug, it may more fully drain the oil at each change interval; the fins would help remove the heat better than the stock pan, and it holds 1 quart more. The downsides: applying the new sealant... I have never been super great at doing those jobs... I make a mess of it!
2. The Ram Air diff cover. So I actually drained the stock rear diff (break in) fluid at just under 5k miles, flushed it with just a little new diff fluid, then refilled with Motorcraft 75-140. So, this fluid should actually be pretty ok.... but, there is a small leak/weep on my rear diff cover. It's not bad at all and I don't feel like I am loosing any real fluid as it's more of a very small weep.... none the less, it is annoying knowing it isn't 100% sealed. If I did this, I would bundle the Ram-Air cover with the 4 quarts of Amsoil 75-140, which is actually less expensive than the Motorcraft Diff fluid I replaced it with. Whats nice is that the diff cover also comes with a very easy to use O ring! Besides that, it should definitely help remove excess heat as compared to the stock model!
3. The PPE trans pan. This one will cost me the most simply because I would have to buy a lot of trans fluid, and of course, the filter (which is not too expensive) and the pan. This is also the one I am most nervous about doing... it doesn't look hard to do at all, and I feel confident that I can do it, but for whatever reason, it seems to worry me the most... I guess I am used to hearing folks say: "Don't mess with it if it ain't giving you problems!" But I definitely don't want to wait til 150K like the manual states... and I would like to change it at 50k mile intervals after the initial change... but I would kind of like to get that original fluid that's been breaking it in, out and fresh, new fluid in...

So, I am just curious what others thoughts are and which one they would do first between the 3.

 

I just wonder why do anything at all? What are the benefits to changing the components at all? You already said you do not have the money.

The only benefit I can see is that you may get a drain plug on the transmission which would be a big plus for me, as far as increasing longevity of the truck? Negligible.

Many, many hotshot trucks with 100s of thousands of miles running stock pans and coolers and never think twice about it.

 

That is true, I don't have the money to run out and get them all at once. And I get it that there are many trucks on the road that don't do these things and are just fine... So as far as benefits, the biggest benefit is simply putting fresh fluid in these places since fresh fluid is good, and being that I want to keep my truck on the road for as long as possible, somewhat early change intervals on fluids is a good thing in my opinion. And since I am going to have to drop the transmission pan to change the fluid and filter, why not put a better pan back on, and like you mentioned, one with a drain plug. Kind of same for the rear diff, if I am going to pull the cover off and do a fluid change and stop the weep, why not put a better one back in place?

 

I am a big proponent of if it ain't broke don't fix it, unless there is a big enough advantage to make a change. For the oil pan how much oil do you thing is not draining? I doubt, if you are draining it right, that there is much more than a 1/2 cup of oil left, out of 15 quarts not a big deal, and what about all the oil adhering to the engine block and the oil pan surfaces? I would not worry about a "complete" oil change, there is always some residual oil in there. I would fix the diff first since you stated that it is weeping, then oil pan if you must and lastly the trans if you really have to.

 

The trans pan I can kinda see. I’ve been thinking about getting the $40 Dorman pan to have a drain plug for the next change. I don’t see any benefit to adding capacity, fins, chrome, or anything else to the pan. Rear diff cover is the same. It ain’t broke and I can’t see spending money to make it different. I’d only use the term “better” if I thought it would make a difference. If you’re changing fluids a lot more frequently than recommended anyway you’ll be dumping good fluids whether you “upgrade” pans and covers or not.

So I’m 100% in agreement with Just Chilling. If money’s tight there are better ways to spend it. But if you want it enough to spend the cash then go for it. It won’t hurt anything and you’ll feel better. And get what you want, don’t base your decision on a social media poll.

 

That I don't know. I do remember a video from ARod a while back that showed how much was left after an oil change, and it seemed to be a decent amount. I understand that not all oil comes out, whether from inside the motor or from the very bottom of the oil pan, and I know it really shouldn't make a difference... but I will also add that I am using the Fumco drain valve, which just barely raises the drain point, and would result in more left behind. Also, the PPE drain port looks like it is at the lowest point of the pan, which would drain more than what the OEM pan looks like. Sure, it is splitting hairs, but it's something I have wanted to do. And of course it is the least expensive option... But, I guess I could start driving the front end of my truck up on some ramps and that would help empty the pan out more too... However, in this situation (and the others I mentioned) it's not so much that I am trying to "fix" anything, so much as wanting to do good preventative maintenance. Again, I don't plan to sell my truck after a couple of years like many others, my goal is for me to run it into the ground, and I would like to stretch that out for as long as I can!

As for the rear diff cover, here is a picture of it. I did notice that there is a small amount of weep from the fill hole as well. I drained and refilled it about 21k miles ago, so it's not bad... but annoying knowing that it has weeped...



I know others have used the Dorman pans, so I'll check it out again too. I wish Ford would have at least included a drain plug on the trans pan... and I will admit, I wish the PPE one didn't add such a large amount of extra fluid. As for the rear diff cover, the Banks cover is different and can make a difference... as to whether or not I need that amount of difference is another question. I do like that I can use an O ring with it to seal it rather than sealant. As for dumping good fluids, like I mentioned above, I plan to keep my truck, so I would rather dump them when there are still a little good left in them rather than waiting til things have ran enough to make the fluid not good... there is that saying around here... "oil is cheap..." And I know that when to change fluids is a heated topic around here, so I say find the schedule that makes you happy and stick with it. I also believe that many folks around here (maybe not so many in this sub forum) trade their trucks in so fast that sometimes they may not even need to change the oil... but that isn't me.

 

I gotta be honest that if I had a MY20 plus truck, I'd do the trans pan first if they don't have a drain plug in them. That makes ZERO sense. My truck has 112k miles on it and I have done three pan drops and two filter changes. Based on the Blackstone UOA of the Mercon LV at 24k-ish miles, that came out in great shape, I may go out to 35k miles for the next pan drain. If I was plowing commercially like I did with my 96, it might have come out different when sent in...

It's too bad B&M doesn't make a pan, maybe not yet, for the MY20 plus trucks with the 10R140 transmissions.

If I get an aftermarket pan for mine, it'll be this one. The B&M 6R140 pan only adds 3.67 quarts to the stock pan capacity.

Okay looking into this further, AFE makes a 3 quart plus pan.*

PPE makes a 4 quart plus pan.*

Mag Hytech makes a 5.5 plus quart pan.*

SORRY THESE ARE FOR THE 6R140's...

Just FYI for the 11 to 19 guys...

Mishimoto makes a 5.9 quart plus pan for the 6R140s.

 

Okay AFE makes a 4 plus quart pan for the MY 2020 plus trucks.

 

If I had to do one I would go with the rear diff cover, only reason I say that is is cause that is the one thing I changed. I threw a 2008 Dorman aluminum diff cover on my truck with a sterling rear end. It is cheap enough but definitely not a necessity. Not sure if the oil pan or trans pan really does much other than additional fluid capacity. I have a dorman pan on my 6R140 for the same reason, to get a drain plug. No issues in about 10 months and 15k miles of use and it was wallet friendly as well.

If you are looking at an oil pan, I would also take a look at SPE's. Similar price point as PPE but the drain plug port is threaded for the OEM plug and it is in the V of a lower channel. A bling mod IMHO but I would be lying to you if I haven't thought about it. 16 quarts of capacity and a more complete drain of the system sounds nice but not required by any means.

 

I voted for none, because none of these will do a single thing beneficial for your truck. The diff cover might be the only one that could possibly help, but even that is minor.

More fluid doesn't keep temps down. More fluid only means it takes slightly longer for temps to warm up, but it also takes longer for temps to cool down. In the end, zero benefit. It's just science.

 

Out of all of them, the one that takes the greatest abuse is the rear diff. It doesn't pump fluid, it splashes, it doesn't have a radiator and it gets hot, so to me adding the Banks cover which adds cooling and more capacity would be the first start. Transmission fluid today can take a lot of abuse and you really have to work the transmission hard to shorten fluid life. Engine oil, well, 13 quarts is a lot of oil to begin with, adding a quart or two won't matter much, and replacing it could lead to pan leaks. Whatever oil is left is no different than adding a cup of something to a swimming pool.

 

If the new 20s plus don't have a trans pan drain plug, how is it not beneficial to a guy who wants to do a pan drain and fill in his new truck at certain point? But this is only if the 20s do not have a drain plug on their 10r140s... Not sure as I don't have one. Got an old school 16...

 

Most aftermarket parts are a solution to an issue that doesn't exist.

 

So do the factory 10R140 trans pans have drains or not?

BTW, you installed the S&S DPK kit... you can definitely have zero issues and install a trans pan Chad...

 

I don't think they do... of course they famously don't have dipstick tubes either. I can't totally hold that against them however since my 6R140 didn't have a drain plug from the factory either, like I said I had to go the dorman route.

Given your assumed limited exposure to road salt, the pan is a very easy swap. If you want to save a few bucks, I would go the dorman route for the drain plug. The 10R140 is a thermally regulated environment, not sure the aftermarket pan will really be of much benefit. If you can handle a DPK, a pan swap is a breeze. I agree on the service intervals, I get leery anytime an OEM says the service interval is longer than the warranty period. I plan on servicing my 6R140 on 50-60k intervals. That has served me well on every other automatic transmission I have had.