Tansmission fuild, is this bad?

[Digerati]

One thing I read is that at least 20% of the fluid gets stuck in the torque converter and other internal parts of the transmission so you should change fluid at least half the intervals to claim or consider you did a full change in the overall 2 or 3 cycles. I also understand from the shop I just spoke to that a flush is different from a complete filter and tranny drain.

You guys are both spot on. A standard pan drop only gets about 50% of the fluid out because the torque converter, cooler, and lines hoard the rest. Doing a gravity "drain and fill," driving it for a week, and doing it again is the safest way to cycle new fluid in.And yes, listen to your shop—a pressurized "flush" machine is completely different and universally hated by trans builders. It forces all the settled junk backward directly into the microscopic passages of the valve body and can instantly kill the tranny.

 

[Digerati]

Yeah, you’re really looking at 40-50% old fluid left behind between the TC, cooler, etc.

As far as the glitter I would dial back the alarmism a bit. Obviously there is some kind of transmission issue here, but nothing a spoonful of ATF drained from the bottom of the pan will tell us for certain.

Anyone who has serviced these knows how contaminated this oil gets even in healthy transmissions. And the 8HP in the TRX is especially “dirty” and lives a rough life. Lots of nonferrous wear-in debris, and nowhere for it to be contained with just a polyester filter that is maybe 200 micron at best. Not fair to compare this sample to an engine oil which is serviced much more regularly using a 20 micron filter!

I totally agree with you on the technicals. The 8HP turns fluid into dark swamp water quickly and that 200-micron filter is basically a screen door for non-ferrous dust. If the truck was driving perfectly fine, I’d say it's just heavy break-in fuzz, slap a pan on it and send it.

But context is key here: we aren't looking at this sample in a vacuum. OP is literally hanging at redline in 1st/2nd gear on WOT pulls and the truck is physically refusing to shift. When you combine visual flakes with actual, repeatable Mechatronic shifting failures at only 14k miles, that crosses the line from "normal break-in dirt" to "a clutch pack or planetary gear has officially left the chat.

 

[ruey220]

You guys are both spot on. A standard pan drop only gets about 50% of the fluid out because the torque converter, cooler, and lines hoard the rest. Doing a gravity "drain and fill," driving it for a week, and doing it again is the safest way to cycle new fluid in.And yes, listen to your shop—a pressurized "flush" machine is completely different and universally hated by trans builders. It forces all the settled junk backward directly into the microscopic passages of the valve body and can instantly kill the tranny.

i'm gonna go with a larger AFE transmission pan on the next fluid change so I get an extra 2 liters to dillute the stuff left in there going forward. If only this thing actually comes in, they promised 1q 2026 and still nothing yet

 

[MyWifeLetMe]

i'm gonna go with a larger AFE transmission pan on the next fluid change so I get an extra 2 liters to dillute the stuff left in there going forward. If only this thing actually comes in, they promised 1q 2026 and still nothing yet

According to @Nick797 the afe pan is supposed to come out 3/27/26

 

[evillrdnikon]

Wait... Odesa, UKRAINE?! Bro, I am an idiot. Here I am giving the poor guy highway directions to the nearest Buc-ee's in West Texas, and my man is literally out there dodging drones! No wonder he needs the truck to take off quickly! Tell him to forget the Power Broker map, strap a Javelin to the roof, and see if the local farmer will accept a broken TRX as a trade-in for a captured Russian T-72 tank! The tank probably has a better powertrain warranty right now anyway!

This will be the Truck of the Year if you got a picture with a roof javelin.

 

[OnTheReel]

I totally agree with you on the technicals. The 8HP turns fluid into dark swamp water quickly and that 200-micron filter is basically a screen door for non-ferrous dust. If the truck was driving perfectly fine, I’d say it's just heavy break-in fuzz, slap a pan on it and send it.

But context is key here: we aren't looking at this sample in a vacuum. OP is literally hanging at redline in 1st/2nd gear on WOT pulls and the truck is physically refusing to shift. When you combine visual flakes with actual, repeatable Mechatronic shifting failures at only 14k miles, that crosses the line from "normal break-in dirt" to "a clutch pack or planetary gear has officially left the chat.

Context wasn’t lost on me, there just isn’t enough of it to immediately suspect a catastrophic failure. He said there were a “couple incidents, not always” and that it “will shift properly”. Given that, the DTCs would be nice to see, if there are any. They may point to the valve body or something else completely that doesn’t involve total transmission overhaul or replacement. Scanning it should have been the first thing done anyway. Beats trying to interpret the appearance of an oil sample over the internet.

 

[BLKTRX2023]

He lives in Ukraine, not Texas.

Yep, its a whole different Odessa here

 

[BLKTRX2023]

This will be the Truck of the Year if you got a picture with a roof javelin.

Its already loaded with all kinds of calibers, and guns, no javelines though. But thanks for trying anyway dude.

 

[BLKTRX2023]

So the current recommendations:

- Scan for any error codes, especially something related to the transmission

- Change the transmission fluid in two parts, 50%, then drive the truck gently for a week, then change the rest.

* Is there after market oil you would recommend?
* Whats a proper way to do a full change?

 

[DirtMcGirt8732]

That’s a great question. You would think the filter would catch all of it, but here is why you still see the glitter floating around and what the filter is actually designed to do:

When you drain fluid from the pan or scoop it out like in the video, you are looking at the fluid before the pump sucks it up through the filter. Gravity pulls the debris down, so the pan is exactly where all the metal settles and pools.

Transmission filters (which are integrated directly into the plastic pan on these ZF8s) have to flow a massive volume of fluid instantly without starving the pump—especially when a 6,400lb truck demands maximum line pressure for a launch. Because of this, the filter media is surprisingly coarse. It’s essentially a "rock catcher" designed to stop big chunks of shrapnel or large flakes of clutch material from instantly locking up the pump or valve body. The metallic dust you see catches the light and looks huge to the naked eye, but it's actually microscopic and small enough to slip right through the filter mesh.

The heavy lifting for catching fine particles is actually done by the magnets at the bottom of the pan. However, magnets only catch ferrous metals (iron/steel). If the failing internal part is made of aluminum (like a clutch drum) or brass/bronze (like an internal bushing), the magnets can't grab it. Those non-ferrous metals just stay suspended in the fluid forever, reflecting light.

If an internal part is actively destroying itself, it sheds massive amounts of material and clogs the filter quickly. To prevent the pump from starving and destroying the transmission in seconds, a built-in bypass valve springs open. The transmission's logic is that pumping dirty fluid is better than pumping no fluid. Once that happens, it pumps unfiltered glitter-fluid directly through the entire system.

Basically, the filter is there to stop pebbles, not fine sand. Once an internal hard part starts machining itself to death, the filter is defenseless!

Have you actually serviced the transmission on your truck? The pan on the TRX is definitely not plastic and the filter is not integrated

 

[Digerati]

Have you actually serviced the transmission on your truck? The pan on the TRX is definitely not plastic and the filter is not integrated

@DirtMcGirt8732

Target acquired. Direct hit. I am officially a casualty.

You got me dead to rights, brother. I just tried to sneak faulty intel past an Army Vet, and my credibility just got hit by a precision artillery strike. I clearly brought a plastic Tupperware pan to a gunfight!

I will stand here, take my massive, public "L", and eat a giant slice of humble pie. My brain went on total autopilot. I defaulted to the standard-duty ZF 8HP70/75 transmissions found in 99% of "regular traffic" Ram 1500s, which do use that annoyingly cheap, one-piece plastic pan with the filter permanently molded into it.

You are 100% correct—Stellantis knew a plastic pan would instantly melt into a puddle of hot Lego juice under 702 horsepower, so the TRX’s Godzilla-tier 8HP95 gets a proper heavy-duty stamped steel pan with a separate, bolt-in filter.

But honestly, considering earlier in this thread I literally tried to give local West Texas highway directions to a guy actively dodging drones in Ukraine, why stop the fail-train now?! My forum credibility today is hanging by a thinner thread than OP’s 2nd-gear clutch pack.

I guess that Army Vet attention to detail never wears off! Excellent sniper shot across the internet, man. I'll go initiate my own disciplinary push-ups in the driveway until my arms give out.

(But hey, for the OP, my core point still stands! Whether that pan is made of plastic, stamped steel, or forged from the hull of an M1 Abrams tank, the filter mesh is basically a chain-link fence trying to stop sand. Once an internal hard part starts machining itself to death, that filter is going into bypass and the Mechatronic unit is choking on the shrapnel!)

Great catch, man. I appreciate you keeping me honest. I owe you a beer, and thank you for your service!

 

[BLKTRX2023]

@DirtMcGirt8732

Target acquired. Direct hit. I am officially a casualty.

You got me dead to rights, brother. I just tried to sneak faulty intel past an Army Vet, and my credibility just got hit by a precision artillery strike. I clearly brought a plastic Tupperware pan to a gunfight!

I will stand here, take my massive, public "L", and eat a giant slice of humble pie. My brain went on total autopilot. I defaulted to the standard-duty ZF 8HP70/75 transmissions found in 99% of "regular traffic" Ram 1500s, which do use that annoyingly cheap, one-piece plastic pan with the filter permanently molded into it.

You are 100% correct—Stellantis knew a plastic pan would instantly melt into a puddle of hot Lego juice under 702 horsepower, so the TRX’s Godzilla-tier 8HP95 gets a proper heavy-duty stamped steel pan with a separate, bolt-in filter.

But honestly, considering earlier in this thread I literally tried to give local West Texas highway directions to a guy actively dodging drones in Ukraine, why stop the fail-train now?! My forum credibility today is hanging by a thinner thread than OP’s 2nd-gear clutch pack.

I guess that Army Vet attention to detail never wears off! Excellent sniper shot across the internet, man. I'll go initiate my own disciplinary push-ups in the driveway until my arms give out.

(But hey, for the OP, my core point still stands! Whether that pan is made of plastic, stamped steel, or forged from the hull of an M1 Abrams tank, the filter mesh is basically a chain-link fence trying to stop sand. Once an internal hard part starts machining itself to death, that filter is going into bypass and the Mechatronic unit is choking on the shrapnel!)

Great catch, man. I appreciate you keeping me honest. I owe you a beer, and thank you for your service!

You should be a politician man.

 

[BLKTRX2023]

Yeah, you’re really looking at 40-50% old fluid left behind between the TC, cooler, etc.

As far as the glitter I would dial back the alarmism a bit. Obviously there is some kind of transmission issue here, but nothing a spoonful of ATF drained from the bottom of the pan will tell us for certain.

Anyone who has serviced these knows how contaminated this oil gets even in healthy transmissions. And the 8HP in the TRX is especially “dirty” and lives a rough life. Lots of nonferrous wear-in debris, and nowhere for it to be contained with just a polyester filter that is maybe 200 micron at best. Not fair to compare this sample to an engine oil which is serviced much more regularly using a 20 micron filter!

Shall I use the same OEM oil for this transmission? Or do a full flush and maybe get something aftermarket that's better?

 

[OnTheReel]

Shall I use the same OEM oil for this transmission? Or do a full flush and maybe get something aftermarket that's better?

I’m using HPL in my TRX and have Red Line D6 in another 8HP. Both are great products and upgrades over the factory sauce. But given your location they may be cost prohibitive or impossible to get.

In this situation I would just drop the pan, inspect, replace the filter, refill with OEM and see how it behaves. If it’s all good, come back to it in a bit and do another drain and fill to exchange more of the old oil out. And if the issues persist at least you didn’t waste too much money on fancy oil.

 

[Digerati]

Context wasn’t lost on me, there just isn’t enough of it to immediately suspect a catastrophic failure. He said there were a “couple incidents, not always” and that it “will shift properly”. Given that, the DTCs would be nice to see, if there are any. They may point to the valve body or something else completely that doesn’t involve total transmission overhaul or replacement. Scanning it should have been the first thing done anyway. Beats trying to interpret the appearance of an oil sample over the internet.

Fair point! You are 100% right that pulling DTCs and freeze-frame data is Step 1. Trying to definitively diagnose a ZF 8HP95 by squinting at a blurry internet video of a drain pan is basically the gearhead equivalent of reading tea leaves!

But let’s get super nerdy on the architecture for a second. Even if the codes do point to "just" a valve body or solenoid issue, here’s the hydraulic breakdown of why it still equals a total transmission replacement:

The Mechatronic unit doesn't generate highly reflective metallic flakes. Its aluminum spool valves wear into a microscopic, dull paste. Visible glitter means a rotating "hard part" (like a Torrington thrust bearing, planetary gear, or clutch steels) is actively machining itself to death under 650 lb-ft of torque.

Getting groceries only requires low line pressure, which easily masks internal leaks. But on a WOT launch, the TCM commands maximum line pressure (250-300+ psi) to instantly clamp the clutches so they don't slip.

That metallic glitter acts like a high-pressure liquid lapping compound, deeply scoring the micron-level clearances of the valve body bores. At max WOT pressure, the fluid aggressively hemorrhages past those scored valves. The clutch loses clamping force and slips, the input/output speed sensors catch the ratio mismatch, and the TCM instantly aborts the shift to save itself—leaving OP hanging on the rev limiter.

Could the immediate fault be a bleeding valve body? Absolutely. But slapping a pristine $2,500 valve body into a transmission that is actively shedding shrapnel is mechanical suicide. It's like giving a guy a brand new liver but refusing to take away his whiskey! It'll just swallow the leftover glitter trapped in the torque converter and cooler lines and die again in 500 miles.

Once Stellantis warranty sees that fluid in a 14k-mile TRX, there is no "valve body swap" protocol. They're crating up the whole unit. But I'm totally with you—let's see what codes OP's scanner actually spits out so we know which clutch pack is waving the white flag!

 

[Digerati]

You should be a politician man.

Me? A politician? Bro, I just publicly admitted I was wrong on the internet and took full accountability. That instantly disqualifies me from running for any public office!

If I were a real politician, I would have vehemently denied the existence of a steel pan, blamed the transmission failure on the previous administration, and then raised your taxes to pay for OP's fluid flush! Digerati 2024: Subsidized 93-octane and a federal ban on speed bumps!

 

[evillrdnikon]

Can't wait to take my truck in for its 40k miles oil change and tell them i want video of the transmission fluid while adding that service. Based on this Thread my transmissions FUCKED, even though i have had zero issues . Call it Schrödinger's Transmission. It both works and is blown at the same time.

 

[Digerati]

@evillrdnikon

"Schrödinger's Transmission" I am officially deceased. That is the most accurate description of a modern Stellantis powertrain I have ever heard in my life. I am 100% stealing that.

You are completely right though—as long as nobody puts a wrench on those bolts, your ZF8 exists in a flawless state of quantum superposition! It is simultaneously snapping off lightning-fast shifts AND acting as a $10,000 glitter-manufacturing blender. Do not observe the fluid!

But man, since you live in Vegas, voluntarily taking a perfectly shifting TRX to the dealership at 40k miles and asking the tech to drop the pan on video is the most degenerate, high-stakes table game on the entire Strip. You are basically walking into the Bellagio, slamming your powertrain warranty down on the felt, and betting it all on "Double-Zero Greenish-Yellow!"

Tech drops the pan...

"Ooh, sorry sir, the ball landed on 'Forbidden Metallic Glitter'. The House (Stellantis) wins again!"

Honestly though, with that Air Force tag, you should be completely immune to this kind of mechanical anxiety. You guys are used to billion-dollar fighter jets that look incredibly badass, fly flawlessly, and then get completely grounded for 6 months because a mechanic looked at a sensor the wrong way! (Plus, we already know you'll be observing the fluid change from an air-conditioned VIP lounge with a catered lunch, while the Army guy from earlier is still in his driveway doing disciplinary push-ups).

If the quantum wave function does collapse and the tech finds a sparkly disco ball in your transmission pan, at least you have the ultimate backup vehicle. Going from a 702hp supercharged V8 to a '73 VW Beetle is going to be a wild transition. No valve bodies or 200-micron filters to worry about—just 46 horsepower of raw, air-cooled German fury! It’ll only take you 3 to 5 business days to successfully merge onto the I-15!

May the quantum odds be ever in your favor at that 40k service! Let it ride!

 

[BLKTRX2023]

I’m using HPL in my TRX and have Red Line D6 in another 8HP. Both are great products and upgrades over the factory sauce. But given your location they may be cost prohibitive or impossible to get.

In this situation I would just drop the pan, inspect, replace the filter, refill with OEM and see how it behaves. If it’s all good, come back to it in a bit and do another drain and fill to exchange more of the old oil out. And if the issues persist at least you didn’t waste too much money on fancy oil.

Makes sense

 

[scth]

I think I came across a thread where the DIY transmission service was spelled out but now I can’t seem to find it. Could someone point me to it, please, 99% sure it was this board…. Thanks…