I was thinking about replacing my tranny oil pan with one that has a drain plug. I was thinking about doing a a drain a fill every one in a while instead of full fluid change. Not sure how much fluid would come out with each drain and I can’t remember if the torque converter has a drain plug either. Anyway, are they any good recommendations from you all? I tried to see if Summit racing has any listing, but it came up
with 25 pages of vehicles that matches my search. The first page didn’t contain any that has a 6R80, so I got discouraged after that.

 

Going to need more than just a pan and filter. You'll also need a way to put the fluid back in. There is no dipstick tube to speak of. It's a little stub right against the trans case and you have to pump the fluid back in from underneath right next to a very hot exhaust.

For what it's worth, the folx that designed and built the machine say this about it. From the Ford shop manual....



Take it with a grain of salt as a lot of people think they know more than those people including a lot of pro mechanics. I'll stick with what the manufacturer recommends for my own truck with that transmission.

If you endeavor to undertake this job and need any help, give a shout out here and I'll try my best to guide you.

 

Seems like it would be extra money ill spent due to the service interval being 150k miles; but having done the change on both my vehicles it can certainly make the process cleaner and controlled.
If you put some serious miles on your truck then this would make the idea more appealing. Otherwise, it would be hard to justify. Just something to think about. I wish you the best.

 

Thanks for your input. I’ve had my truck for 12 years and within a year or 2 of ownership, I started getting transmission shudder. I’m aware of the no dipstick deal. Long story short, I took it to local shop and had the fluid changed, using my preferred brand of synthetic fluid. I’m one that doesn’t buy the forever fluid thinking. After the exchange, no more shudder, at least for another 30k miles. At that time I pulled the pan and replaced the filter and the fluid lost. I made my own fill apparatus (not hard to make). It is a bit of a pain because of the exhaust being so close. It getting symptoms again, so I’m looking for options.
While posting this thread, I came across this method from another post, everyone commenting seemed to like the idea, so it could be an option for the doit yourselfer. I haven’t watched the video yet but it sounds promising, and from what I read it would eliminate my idea of drain and fill and a new pan with a drain plug. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-exchange.html

 

I bought my truck with 75K miles. Pulled the pan and drained the trans oil. You get about 6 quarts ( maybe it holds 13 total with the converter).... I drilled a 3/8 hole and welded a fine thread nut to the plan. Use a short bolt with a copper washer to seal it.. Ran for 500 miles and drained out 6 quarts and refilled.. YES . you are filling thru the small plug on the side of the transmission.. Dont have to do it when hot....... Plan was to drain and refill 5 quarts every 30K miles .... Not 100% clean and flushed, but your getting a very high percentage of NEW OIL after 3 changes.. Dont expect to ever do the filter if you keep the oil NEW and CLEAN.

 

I've had my truck for 11 years, got it new. I'm also Ford trained, worked for them 11 years, 40+ career wise. I'll NOT be changing my trans fluid ever. Leave that for the next person that might want to when they buy it. Only have 29k miles on it now and will be traded in most likely before it even gets to 50k miles. The shudder problem you mentioned I've remedied on the older AOD and AODE trans from the 90's-00's using friction modifier. Hadn't heard about it affecting the 6R80 that we have. Anything's possible I suppose.

I've heard mixed reviews from owners that have and haven't changed fluid going both ways, some saying smoother shifting, others claiming damaged units as a result. I'm old school in thinking "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

Good luck.

 

Update to my post…. I watched the video and I would still need a pan w/drain in it, if I decided to try his method. I’m not sure it would work the same, I don’t think my pan is as deep as the 5R110. It does look enticing for guys that like doing their own stuf, and I guess you can buy bulk fluid from RockAuto pretty cheap.

 

I’ve heard of guys doing just the same, not sure I trust my welding skills to weld in a nut. It would be a good option though, thanks for encouraging me.

 

Quick search yields these results for pans with plugs. Take your pick. https://www.google.com/search?q=6r80...hrome&ie=UTF-8 I wouldn't trust the Dorman pan.

They also sell am dip stick tubes you can install.

 

I saw the Dorman pan, and I thought the same thing. Thanks, I’ll check them out.


Wow, some of those come at a steep price point!

 

i used a dorman from oriely's and it has held up well. I just bought a bottle top pump for the gallon jug of ATF not so bad, just a little hot. I put the truck up on 4 ramps and drain and fill, to the top, start it, let it warm up and fill little by little to the right point.

 

What seems the problem with the Dorman pan with drain plug?

 

Dorman quality is spotty at best. I won't take any chances with their stuff. They began on the chrome accessory isle of ap stores. Then they moved up the the help section with items such as window crank *****, (think way back) door lock stems etc.

Then they got bold and moved into the functional parts arena but maintained the status quo for the chrome rack. Junk. Ask the guy that just posted here a week or so ago what his experience was with a Dorman oil pan.

 

Without getting into the whole fluid/filter/change/flush/etc comments as above and can be debated forever,

to answer your question, I went with the Dorman pan from Amazon, but with caution. I had read about the Dorman pan plug problem not seating flat, so I knew what to look for. Sure enough, my first pan arrived with a not flush plug, contacted Amazon and had a new replacement pan at no additional cost in just a couple days. I got this taken care of before I started my project, so no skin off my teeth. Really pleased with the second pan and quality/weight of the Dorman pan.

notice the pictures below of the bad first pan. And the two, good and bad, copper gaskets.

 

Hopefully you didn't get one with peeling paint to clog up the internals when it lets loose. People lost engines over Dorman engine oil pans.