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ZF5 drain/fill plug help needed asap!!

10K views 13 replies 6 participants last post by  terryknight 
#1 ·
Worked on an oil and trans. fluid change today on my 97 pwrstroke with a ZF5 manual trans. and ran into a few issues. First off the oil drain plug gasket it had was plastic and cracked so i went to the dealer and got the copper washer its suppose to have. Next the oil filter was near impossible. Had to drill a hole through the bottom section and put a pry bar through it for leverage to get it changed. I made sure to fill the filter up with new oil before installing.

As for the transmission fluid i made a note to check the plugs after removing because the drain was leaking. It was tuff but i removed the drain and fill plugs without damaging any threads or cracking the case. The fill plug had a nasty crushed aluminum sealing washer on it. I called the dealer back and they said its not supposed to have a washer so i removed it and now the fill plug seems to seal better. As for the drain plug it had no washer. The mating surfaces between the plug and the case seem to be different. The fill plug seems to have a cup edge the mates with the cup part on the plug. The drain hole seems to be flat as if it needs a washer. Im sorry for the story here guys but my truck is stuck in a sense because i dont want to put the new fluid in and have a leaking drain plug then have to do it over again. Would rather figure it out. So my main ?s are....

-Are the drain and fill plugs the same?
-Do the drain and or fill plugs have sealing washers?
-Can anyone shed some info. on the different mating surfaces of the drain and fill plugs?
 
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#3 ·
When you say your drain plug is like i described do you mean your drain plug has a sealing washer?
 
#5 ·
Fill through the top by removing the shifter.


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#7 ·
Is there anything to watch out for like a part that could fall in there? How much do you put in? I remember the capacity being somewhere around 2-3qts
 
#11 ·
You can drop the white plastic shifter pivot bushings in there, so just be aware of that. Also, try not to rip the inner shifter boot or you will not like the added noise in the cab (the price is around $50 for a new boot assembly too). Cheers!
 
#12 ·
I think my inner boot is gone anyway. There is a rag stuffed right under the big outer boot. Like that when i got it so i just left it.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC against my will
 
#13 ·
The matching up of correct fill plugs was becoming a nightmare so i figured since the fill hole had a cupped edge which fit properly with the plug and it was not leaking before i just installed the fill plug w/o the washer and since the drain hole was flat i modified a large oil drain fiber washer and it worked perfect. No leaks.

I want a picture of my truck on my posts. How do you do that?
 
#14 ·
I want a picture of my truck on my posts. How do you do that?
most use photobucket

go to photobucket.com and create an account. upload your photos. to post pictures copy the "img" link and paste it in the text here
 
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