In the fall we special ordered a pair of '22 F450's with the 7.3 gas engine. We farm, have an excavation business, and plow snow commercially/nationwide so these trucks are getting worked pretty hard. We've only had them since November and both trucks are closing in on 9k miles and 400 hours a piece, with about 1/3 of those hours pushing a 9ft plow and carrying 3 ton of salt on the bed. Now i'm trying to work out a solid maintenance plan for them, ideally we'd like to trade them off in 4-5 years but considering we're still running a '03 Duramax with 315k miles my dad bought new, its very possible these will be around for a while.
Anyways when i was under the trucks putting on the snow plows and salt spreaders i realized the transmission pan is plastic, no drain plug, and not even sure how you check fluid level. I talked to the service manager where we bought them and he acted like they are hesitant to do any service unless theres an issue. Owners manual states to change fluid at 150k and to consult the dealer.. I'd like to service the diff's and t-cases at the 30k mile range. Is the transmission something i should include in that, and is it even something i can do myself or does it have to go to a shop to get refilled?
For reference heres my truck from last weekend. Made a 3 hour drive from Dayton, Oh to Kokomo, In with a plow/spreader on the truck and skid steer in tow. Plowed for 18 hours and went home. Trans temp hung around the 220* mark running 75mph on the highway.
Anyways when i was under the trucks putting on the snow plows and salt spreaders i realized the transmission pan is plastic, no drain plug, and not even sure how you check fluid level. I talked to the service manager where we bought them and he acted like they are hesitant to do any service unless theres an issue. Owners manual states to change fluid at 150k and to consult the dealer.. I'd like to service the diff's and t-cases at the 30k mile range. Is the transmission something i should include in that, and is it even something i can do myself or does it have to go to a shop to get refilled?
For reference heres my truck from last weekend. Made a 3 hour drive from Dayton, Oh to Kokomo, In with a plow/spreader on the truck and skid steer in tow. Plowed for 18 hours and went home. Trans temp hung around the 220* mark running 75mph on the highway.