Cast Transmission Pan Differences Opinions???

VintageIronFab · Post by **VintageIronFab** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 11:00 am

Hello All,
I was just curious what you all thought about the different case oversized transmission pans. The B&M/common are about $160 and the Mag-Hytec run upwards of $340. If you have one what have you found that you liked or disliked as well as any performance gains.

Thx,
Matt

robertcrav · Post by **robertcrav** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 12:09 pm

I like my mag-hytec...lots more fluid...pics in my build thread

cs_drums · Post by **cs_drums** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 5:28 pm

After talking with Paul (punisher) he recommended sticking with the stock pan and put the money towards a better cooler. More fluid in a situation that is heating up the tranny is just gonna have more hot fluid haha. A great upgrade is the SuperDuty pan gasket. I tried 3 regular rubber gaskets, all leaked. sD gasket first time not a drop since.

Wrightracing.net · Post by **Wrightracing.net** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 5:50 pm

As far as the pan or the cooler, you should do both. I had the B&M and it worked great on the AOD, But the stocker worked ok until I over tightened it. No more than 10 ft lbs per bolt. On my C6, I am going to run the Moroso pan with two side ports on the pan. One for a sensor and one can be used to drain the pan.

Rmc · Post by **Rmc** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 8:06 pm

From a metal type stand point aluminum conducts heat better than steel. The aluminum will in theory lower temps via better wicking and faster heat transfer. I do agree that a larger cooler is a great idea but extra volume can't hurt either. Me personally I think the mag hytech stuff is over rated. Epoxy a rare earth magnet in any aluminum pan and you have a similar product.

Wrightracing.net · Post by **Wrightracing.net** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 9:35 pm

Robert, I like the idea of the magnet. Is there any concern that the epoxy will degrade in the tranny fluid and cause a clogged up valve body? I would assume the filter pickup would protect the valve body, but you understand what I am talking about.

Is there a paticular apoxy you would recommend?

300 · Post by **300** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 4:21 am

After having a really bad experience with a cast pan, I went back to using the stock pans. Of course this is with the C6 transmissions in the earlier trucks. The deeper pan seemed like a good idea however it interfered with the bolt access with the 79 cross member. The kicker was that they used a fabricated extension and a Mopar style filter. The Mopar filter was to fine, plugged up with the fine bits of the new trans breaking in, starved the thing from oil, which then caused the entire trans to self destruct and eventually weld all the internal parts together. The Ford filter is just a screen. I do the filtering in the cooler line prior to the oil coolers to stop the junk from getting to them.

The cooling you get from a pan is marginal because heat transfer is a function of the time oil has surface contact with the metal. There is far more contact time and surface area in a cooler and your money and effort is better spent there.

Magnets are a good idea. If you have a steel pan, it's going to stay where you put it in the pan and in fact some pans have them shaped like a doughnut that fits over a dimple in the pan. I have had epoxy come apart in oil so I buy one that comes with a steel cup from McMaster Carr and weld a stud inside the cover on my D44 to catch the junk flying around inside of there. Unborn it and clean it when I have the cover off.

PaulW · Post by **PaulW** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 5:02 am

My working life was all about this heat transfer stuff and there are many technical reasons to stay with a stock pan.
300 speaks with experience and technical correctness. You all should believe him.
BTW, how on earth would anyone think a cast aluminum pan could ever survive a rock hit. It will have less clearance and less strength than the stock steel pan. The stock pan probably will bend before it leaks. The aluminum pan will crack and leak. a
The fab shop I am now using had smashed stock pans hanging on the wall. They fix the problem with an aluminum skid and new stock pan. Yup, after my last Baja trip I had to drop the pan to beat out the dent. The Al skid did its job, but it had to be beat into correctness as well. Nothing had to be replaced except the ATF and filter. Get an aftermarket pan and it surely would have to be replaced.
Bottom line is get a tranny cooler and a proper temp gauge and ignore the cosmetic stuff hyped by the Internet sellers.

Rmc · Post by **Rmc** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 10:00 am

I believe devcom sells oil and fuel resistant epoxys. I can't disagree with Paul and 300 though.

Seabass · Post by **Seabass** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 11:41 am

Theres vendors on ebay that sell drain plugs in any flavor with magnets in them. I use em on my oil pans and I love em.

VintageIronFab · Post by **VintageIronFab** » Fri Aug 28, 2015 6:56 am

Stock pan it is-- stock pan it shall remain

cs_drums · Post by **cs_drums** » Fri Aug 28, 2015 5:37 pm

Get the 4r100 gasket though, nice ipgrade

birdco85 · Post by **birdco85** » Fri Aug 28, 2015 10:00 pm

Get the 4R100 pan too, drain plug...

PaulW · Post by **PaulW** » Sat Aug 29, 2015 5:22 am

Keep your old stock pan. Save your money and have the gauge and temp switch bungs welded to a stock pan. Then you have the drain by unscrewing one of the senders. I say this because I do not believe any bronco (and probably any off road rig with an automatic) with E4OD should be driven without at least a pan temp gauge. We have been to lots of rodeos and you all should pay attention. These comments especially apply to any tow vehicle.
BTW. That drain plug in the newer pan is in the wrong place and should be removed so it wont catch on the tall rock you touch someday. Like I said lean on the experience of an off roader not a mall cruiser.