DO NOT BUY A TRANSMISSiON PAN!!!

avocadofarmer · Jul 15, 2026

I'm kinda interested to see what the added capacity will be. Looks like the PPE pan is 8 quarts and the AFE is 4 quarts. If the ideal operating temp is ~200F how much longer will it take to get there with the extra capacity? I wonder how much extra heat is shed from the aluminum pan as compared to the plastic one. I'm really mostly interested in the drain plug. Not really sold on the idea that all of these extra quarts are beneficial.

After reading about ATF I'm convinced that the Mercon is no good. I compared multiple new oil analysis that were posted on BITOG. There is very little friction modifiers in the Mercon and a lot of modifiers in Amsoil/Triax/RP, etc. I did my first fluid dump and filter change at 35k and am going to do it again here at 50 but replace with Triax ATF. Drain port would be real handy.

Toxophilite · Jul 15, 2026

avocadofarmer said:
I'm kinda interested to see what the added capacity will be. Looks like the PPE pan is 8 quarts and the AFE is 4 quarts. If the ideal operating temp is ~200F how much longer will it take to get there with the extra capacity? I wonder how much extra heat is shed from the aluminum pan as compared to the plastic one. I'm really mostly interested in the drain plug. Not really sold on the idea that all of these extra quarts are beneficial.

After reading about ATF I'm convinced that the Mercon is no good. I compared multiple new oil analysis that were posted on BITOG. There is very little friction modifiers in the Mercon and a lot of modifiers in Amsoil/Triax/RP, etc. I did my first fluid dump and filter change at 35k and am going to do it again here at 50 but replace with Triax ATF. Drain port would be real handy.

It looks like it will add 5 quarts

avocadofarmer · Jul 18, 2026

When I originally pulled off the pan a while back I had one of these in stock, thinking that I'd just drill a hole and thread it in place in the stock plastic pan. Well, that didn't work. The pan is all honeycomb structured, leaving no suitable place to stick the bung. So here I am...still mostly interested in this stuff for the drain plug.

Apples · Jul 18, 2026

avocadofarmer said:
still mostly interested in this stuff for the drain plug.

'zactly.

And in the case of the PPE pan, the fill standpipe that greatly aids the verification of proper volume of ULV. Beats reaching around 250* exhaust tubing to check fluid level.

AZsurveyor · Jul 20, 2026

I finally got around to doing the first transmission service on the Tremor and things went pretty smooth overall. 90K on the original ATF with stock pan. I replaced the stock pan with an aFe pan (4 over stock) and it took a total of 12 quarts to get ULV to dribble from the fill hole, so the math checks out—4 quarts over stock, with 8 quarts for the stock pan plus 4 more for the aFe pan. This was the "smallest" aftermarket pan I found available.

Removing the stock pan was simple. I used a small kids pool to catch all the fluid, loosened one side of the pan to let the fluid drain slowly, then broke the remaining bolts free and eventually lowered the entire pan into the pool to catch everything once she had been draining for about 15 minutes. The fluid was a bit dark, but that was expected after 90K miles.

I placed a standard draining bin inside the kid's pool because those kid's pool get super flimsy and it can become very awkward to pick up or even manuever it with any type of fluid/liquid in there but it covered enough area to avoid getting the fluid on the ground or floor if you're doing it inside a garage.

The magnet did not show signs of anything abnormal during those first 90K. Standard sludge or sediments. The brown stuff seen in the oil is mud from the outside of the pan that broke loose once the pan hit the ground or the bin in this case.

The filter was also somewhat dirty but I didn't observe anything abnormal other than a small piece of metal fragment, about 1/16" in size, perhaps from the clutches that broke off at some point. I lost the fragment after putting my finger on it but you can see the shiny piece in the upper right hand corner, in one of the filter ridges.

I also replaced the filter along with the small ring gasket that goes on the tube, which isn’t included with the filter and has to be purcahsed separately. Once the mating surface was clean and the new pan prepared, installation was straight forward.

PN for Filter o-ring:
#7T4Z-7Z302-A

What she looks like without the filter:

The pan came with new bolts, but I decided to reus the stock ones, except for 6 missing due to not reinstalling the heat shield and Ford’s use of stud-type bolts. Since Ford didn’t have OEM bolts in stock, I used the hex bolts from aFe, so for now I have two types of bolts. I might replace them later, but it’s not a big deal.

The new aFe pan is about 1" deeper than stock, making it roughly 5" total from the transmission mating surface, if I recall correctly.

Once installed:

I will note, this particular pan does not come with a gasket and one must use RTV silicone. Not a huge fan of this stuff but if you run a thin bead around the edge of the mating surface, she should be leak-free. You don't want to spread too much and allow the gasket material inside your fluid after she's been bolted back in place.

I used a battery powered fluid transfer pump. The only downside to the set up I had was getting the transfer pump inside the bucket after you slide the bucket with your fluid underneath the truck. There is just enough space in between the transmission and the drive shaft to raise the transfer pump and get it inside the bucket. This thing works great. I had that transmission filled within seconds and no pumping involved. If I recally correctly, it pumps 6 quarts per minute.

At this time I also replaced the t-case fluid and much to my surprise, this fluid looked much like diesel engine oil. Goes to show you how much my t-case has been engaged but certainly, no more miles than the transmission which was luckily not as dark.

I was almost skeptical on chaging the transfer case fluid, thinking I could go to 150K but I am glad I didn't. I would have no idea how many miles are on that fluid but it certainly goes to show you the use it has gotten.

This was a super simple exercise. Remove 4 bolts to the skid plate shield, loosen 2 plugs, one to drain, the other to fill and pump back in 2 quarts of ATF LV.

Bitsniffer · Jul 20, 2026

Great write-up. I am about to do this, just need to decide on pan.

avocadofarmer · Jul 20, 2026

But!! The big question...what fluid did you use?!?

The Evil Twin · Jul 20, 2026

AZsurveyor said:
I finally got around to doing the first transmission service on the Tremor and things went pretty smooth overall. 90K on the original ATF with stock pan. I replaced the stock pan with an aFe pan (4 over stock) and it took a total of 12 quarts to get ULV to dribble from the fill hole, so the math checks out—4 quarts over stock, with 8 quarts for the stock pan plus 4 more for the aFe pan. This was the "smallest" aftermarket pan I found available.

Removing the stock pan was simple. I used a small kids pool to catch all the fluid, loosened one side of the pan to let the fluid drain slowly, then broke the remaining bolts free and eventually lowered the entire pan into the pool to catch everything once she had been draining for about 15 minutes. The fluid was a bit dark, but that was expected after 90K miles.

View attachment 262962

I placed a standard draining bin inside the kid's pool because those kid's pool get super flimsy and it can become very awkward to pick up or even manuever it with any type of fluid/liquid in there but it covered enough area to avoid getting the fluid on the ground or floor if you're doing it inside a garage.

View attachment 262958

The magnet did not show signs of anything abnormal during those first 90K. Standard sludge or sediments. The brown stuff seen in the oil is mud from the outside of the pan that broke loose once the pan hit the ground or the bin in this case.

View attachment 262957

The filter was also somewhat dirty but I didn't observe anything abnormal other than a small piece of metal fragment, about 1/16" in size, perhaps from the clutches that broke off at some point. I lost the fragment after putting my finger on it but you can see the shiny piece in the upper right hand corner, in one of the filter ridges.

View attachment 262972

View attachment 262955

I also replaced the filter along with the small ring gasket that goes on the tube, which isn’t included with the filter and has to be purcahsed separately. Once the mating surface was clean and the new pan prepared, installation was straight forward.

PN for Filter o-ring:
#7T4Z-7Z302-A

View attachment 262956

What she looks like without the filter:

View attachment 262963

The pan came with new bolts, but I decided to reus the stock ones, except for 6 missing due to not reinstalling the heat shield and Ford’s use of stud-type bolts. Since Ford didn’t have OEM bolts in stock, I used the hex bolts from aFe, so for now I have two types of bolts. I might replace them later, but it’s not a big deal.

The new aFe pan is about 1" deeper than stock, making it roughly 5" total from the transmission mating surface, if I recall correctly.

View attachment 262970

View attachment 262969

View attachment 262968

View attachment 262965

Once installed:

I will note, this particular pan does not come with a gasket and one must use RTV silicone. Not a huge fan of this stuff but if you run a thin bead around the edge of the mating surface, she should be leak-free. You don't want to spread too much and allow the gasket material inside your fluid after she's been bolted back in place.

View attachment 262966

I used a battery powered fluid transfer pump. The only downside to the set up I had was getting the transfer pump inside the bucket after you slide the bucket with your fluid underneath the truck. There is just enough space in between the transmission and the drive shaft to raise the transfer pump and get it inside the bucket. This thing works great. I had that transmission filled within seconds and no pumping involved. If I recally correctly, it pumps 6 quarts per minute.

View attachment 262967

At this time I also replaced the t-case fluid and much to my surprise, this fluid looked much like diesel engine oil. Goes to show you how much my t-case has been engaged but certainly, no more miles than the transmission which was luckily not as dark.

I was almost skeptical on chaging the transfer case fluid, thinking I could go to 150K but I am glad I didn't. I would have no idea how many miles are on that fluid but it certainly goes to show you the use it has gotten.

This was a super simple exercise. Remove 4 bolts to the skid plate shield, loosen 2 plugs, one to drain, the other to fill and pump back in 2 quarts of ATF LV.

View attachment 262953

Spot on with the ghetto gasket! Too many people want to put a straw- sized bead on things. It really takes less than a stir stick sized bead. Whatever squeezes out on the outside, also squeezes out on the inside!
It sucks PPE stopped making stuff for the Fords. Or so it seems. I was going to go the 7.3 pan on my 6.7 because it was like 4-5 over stock instead of 8.

AZsurveyor · Jul 20, 2026

avocadofarmer said:
But!! The big question...what fluid did you use?!?

Indeed -- did forget to address that.

I stuck with OEM for both applications.

I’m sure there are better fluids out there, but I didn’t take the time to fully explore my options and figure out which was best. It was bad enough to find a pan I wanted and even when I did, as I explained in one of my earlier posts, it was quite the hassle just to find it available (refer back a few pages for that little hiccup).

The one thing I regret is not doing this sooner, though I haven’t had any repercussions.

I’m a bit embarrassed about letting it go until 90K. No matter what FORD says, this isn’t lifetime fluid. From now on, I’ll be doing this once a year, which works out to about 25–30K miles for me.

AZsurveyor · Jul 20, 2026

The Evil Twin said:
Spot on with the ghetto gasket! Too many people want to put a straw- sized bead on things. It really takes less than a stir stick sized bead. Whatever squeezes out on the outside, also squeezes out on the inside!
It sucks PPE stopped making stuff for the Fords. Or so it seems. I was going to go the 7.3 pan on my 6.7 because it was like 4-5 over stock instead of 8.

It’s natural to think that way and I’ve made the same mistake myself until I learned that, contrary to popular belief, all you need is a thin bead to create a thin film since it will spread out the edges, both inside and outside.

Honestly, I’m just not a fan of that stuff—why is it even used for these applications? Someone put in the time to design and engineer a great pan, but it feels like the job was left unfinished by not allowing for a ribbon-type gasket.

To me, that’s a project not fully completed, but as you mentioned, the options for aftermarket pans are limited and their availability is becoming pretty scarce.

nacanitihs · Jul 20, 2026

The Evil Twin said:
It sucks PPE stopped making stuff for the Fords. Or so it seems. I was going to go the 7.3 pan on my 6.7 because it was like 4-5 over stock instead of 8.

PPE was just temp out of stock for their pans. The 20-22 w/o the stan pipe are still out of stock but the ones with are back. Which work 20-26.

I too am going to go with the smaller 5qt pan. It was originally spec'd for the 7.3 only but they now list it as an option for the 6.7L.

Extra Plus is the use of the OEM gasket! No RTV!

Wish someone just made a 0 to +2qt aluminum pan with drain plug. But this is as close as it gets.

Or wait another few years for the Banks one with the gimmick scoop.

The Evil Twin · Jul 20, 2026

AZsurveyor said:
It’s natural to think that way and I’ve made the same mistake myself until I learned that, contrary to popular belief, all you need is a thin bead to create a thin film since it will spread out the edges, both inside and outside.

Honestly, I’m just not a fan of that stuff—why is it even used for these applications? Someone put in the time to design and engineer a great pan, but it feels like the job was left unfinished by not allowing for a ribbon-type gasket.

To me, that’s a project not fully completed, but as you mentioned, the options for aftermarket pans are limited and their availability is becoming pretty scarce.

Excellent way to put it: a project not completed.
Hopefully Banks does bring the prototype to life. That adds one option. I also believe they have a 11.6 diff cover in the works. That fills the PPE void.

The Evil Twin · Jul 20, 2026

nacanitihs said:
PPE was just temp out of stock for their pans. The 20-22 w/o the stan pipe are still out of stock but the ones with are back. Which work 20-26.

I too am going to go with the smaller 5qt pan. It was originally spec'd for the 7.3 only but they now list it as an option for the 6.7L.

Extra Plus is the use of the OEM gasket! No RTV!

Wish someone just made a 0 to +2qt aluminum pan with drain plug. But this is as close as it gets.

Or wait another few years for the Banks one with the gimmick scoop.
View attachment 262993
View attachment 262992 View attachment 262994

Well son of a…. Finally. It’s been 4 or 5 months. Maybe they are getting things sorted out.

AZsurveyor · Jul 20, 2026

The Evil Twin said:
Well son of a…. Finally. It’s been 4 or 5 months. Maybe they are getting things sorted out.

Sounds about right—this was the pan I had my eye on aso and when I spoke to them, they mentioned I was looking at July for availability. Mind you, this was back in April when I started scouting for one, then came across the aFe, which showed as in stock. By the time I sorted that mess out, I didn’t get my pan from aFe until early June. Funny how time just flies, one way or another.

Unless you're in a dire need or an emergency, waiting a few months now truly feels like 4 days went by.

Jack. · Jul 21, 2026

nacanitihs said:
PPE was just temp out of stock for their pans. The 20-22 w/o the stan pipe are still out of stock but the...

I was just looking at them last night. Telling myself to wait to order until I can order all 3, Trans, Front and Rear diff covers, at one time.

Dented · Jul 21, 2026

Given that PPE often run out of stock, I'd order what they have when they have it.

DblZero7 · Jul 21, 2026

I bought my PPE diff covers from Summit and had a 30% off coupon! Haven’t decided on a trans pan yet no issues so far.

BLACKCHERRY · Jul 21, 2026

I know there's a lot of hate out there for the Banks stuff, but their testing has always resonated with me. I don't know that i agree with their style of marketing, but that's not my company and it certainly gets his message out there. Every product i run of thiers, I'm impressed and I'm not an easy guy to impress.

On my deleted truck, i run a race pipe with an aero-turbine 4040XL muffler installed. I run the Banks Monster tailpipe that clears my rear resi shocks, the Carli airbags and 38x13.5" spare tire in the Carli trophy hitch (in the stock location). The fit and finish is the best I've seen in an exhaust. I was considering swapping my S&B intake and charge pipe to banks, but now I'm down the MPP/SPE road looking at non-VGT turbos and piping kits.

I was going to go PPE on the trans pan, but saw banks was coming out with one. I'm at 70K, so i was OK with waiting a bit. It came in yesterday and I have zero regrets waiting. This thing is badass! I'll report on the install once I get it on.