PPE trans pan install questions

[tbruz]

2021 Badlands Sasquatch; 29K miles, basically a DD with little to no off-raod use; OK its a pavement princess.
Picked up the PPE transmission pan about a year ago and am mentally getting around to installing it. Life and other stuff in general got it the way.
Have read and viewed videos on the install and it appears to be just outside of the edge of my DYI competence skill level.
I do have a new Motorcraft gasket, filter and 7 quarts of ULV Motorcraft fluid on hand-just in case.

I contacted a respected, 50-years-in-business local Transmission shop as an alternative plan but they stated they don't work on Ford 10 speeds due to the trannys "needing dealer reflashes most times after a transmission service/flush". Went out of their way to describe previous horror shows that caused them to stop working on Ford 10 speeds. Claims they will not work on a Jeep/Stelantis trans either.
This has put more of a damper on my desire to try it myself.

Has anyone run into any issues after doing a pan swap or am I just being paranoid?
Anything trickier than it seems?
Thanks in advance
Tbruz

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[B22-2023]

2021 Badlands Sasquatch; 29K miles, basically a DD with little to no off-raod use; OK its a pavement princess.
Picked up the PPE transmission pan about a year ago and am mentally getting around to installing it. Life and other stuff in general got it the way.
Have read and viewed videos on the install and it appears to be just outside of the edge of my DYI competence skill level.
I do have a new Motorcraft gasket, filter and 7 quarts of ULV Motorcraft fluid on hand-just in case.

I contacted a respected, 50-years-in-business local Transmission shop as an alternative plan but they stated they don't work on Ford 10 speeds due to the trannys "needing dealer reflashes most times after a transmission service/flush". Went out of their way to describe previous horror shows that caused them to stop working on Ford 10 speeds. Claims they will not work on a Jeep/Stelantis trans either.
This has put more of a damper on my desire to try it myself.

Has anyone run into any issues after doing a pan swap or am I just being paranoid?
Anything trickier than it seems?
Thanks in advance
Tbruz

That’s fine that it is a pavement princess. This is a good mod to skip then, why bother with the hassle? The factory pan is fine and for everyday driving you can get away with OEM change intervals. For instance I have the PPE pan, and it sure gets scraped off road, plus I use the drain for more frequent changes vs OEM recommended.

But there is a good thread on this, here is a link to one member install. And the whole thread and other posts by @CarbonSteel have important info on PPE and gasket, torque values, etc. Good luck either way.

 

[broadicustomworks]

It's not tricky.
IF you want to proceed, the only aggravating things are the cooler lines in the way a bit to easily and quickly get to that front flange, and you'll find it much easier to just go ahead and unbolt the swaybar mounts and swing that puppy out of your way on the Badlands.
Leave the end links and connector, there is enough room to just get it out of the way without a total removal.
You will find a ratchet wrench will be handier than the ol' socket and extensions for a couple of the bolts.
It will dump on you.
I left one bolt per flange finger-loose so I could mostly control the deluge to come how I wanted to.
Good thing is if you are going to continue to DIY your fluid/filter changes, the drain plug makes this a one-time pain.
Kind of like the Ronin/Fumoto situation with the stock crankcase oil drain plug.
Filter change is EZ-Peezy, remember to get the plastic collar/bushing off of the old one to reuse.
Refill is best explained by the thread referenced above, just follow it.
That thread is a great one all around and has all the details and info.
It is not as bad as it sounds.

 

[Ducati1098]

Sounds like they have no idea what they’re talking about, so probably good they won’t do it anyway.

 

[Nc211]

Sounds like they have no idea what they’re talking about, so probably good they won’t do it anyway.

I agree with this statement. I had 0% issues with mine. I even took it to the dealership afterwards to have them verify I had the fluid levels correct after I did it. They had no issue with me switching the pan. I'm a Costco Cruiser myself, but wanted the ability to do drain & fills along the way. That is the only reason why I replaced the OEM version. Same for the rear differential cover (over to the Ford Performance version). Wanted the ability to drain and fill without having to do surgery on it. I hate when car manufacturers make what should be an easy thing for an owner to have done, into something that needlessly costs them more to do.

I will say, if you're doing this....don't skimp on the filter. Get a new one from your dealership and replace it. I'm on that thread B22-2023 shared here. I did mine with just 4k on the clock in general. The filter was black as midnight, clearly due to the initial break-in of the transmission. I was not impressed. Had some sparkle in the old pan too, again initial break-in. I'm glad I did it. Won't open the pan up again until the 50k mark most likely, but will do the drain & fill routine at the 25k mark when I do the oil (I go 5k on oil changes).

 

[tbruz]

Finally got round to replacing the stock tranny pan with the PPE black pan today. Dropped the front and mid skid plates, unbolted the swaybar mounts and swung that down. loosened but did not remove the cooler lines. No issues with the heat deflectors. New filter, pan gasket, filter seal and ULV fluid; all Motorcraft, were installed. Vehicle has 30K miles and the fluid was very dark but not black. No sparkles found in bottom of stock pan.
Very straight forward effort that took me under 3 hours with no surprises.
I drained the stock pan into a tub and didn't spill a drop. I then measured the fluid removed approx 6 quarts and used that as a baseline to replace the fluid and measured once hot.
Thank you to all who responded and pumped up my confidence to do this myself.
Tbruz

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