Deep tranmission pans

[Husky]

Lately I have been looking at ways to prolong the life of my transmission, and as well as getting a cooler, I have stumbled across these.

B M 70260 Deep Transmission PAN 4L60 4L60E VR VS VT VX VY VZ Holden Commodore | eBay

The concept is pretty simple, more fluid takes long to heat up, and excess fluid in the pan will stay cooler. The pan claims it will increase the capacity by 2.4 litres. The drain plug on the bottom also makes it easy to quickly change a few litres whilst I'm changing oil, without needing to drop the whole pan.

The only thing I'm unsure about is where it says it comes with a filter extension for applications where the filter needs to be close to the bottom, would I need to worry about that or doesn't it matter? Could I still use a normal transmission service pack like this, Auto Transmission Filter KIT Holden Commodore VT VX V6 V8 Trans Service 4 SP NEW | eBay or would I be stuck getting stuff like these ones, Automatic Transmission Filter KIT Suit Holden Commodore VX V6 V8 With Deep PAN | eBay

Also, has anyone got a deep pan? Reckon it's worth it?

 

[Brett_jjj]

Extra capacity pan for more trans fluid is a good idea. A bung in an auto pan is useless, its not worth changing auto trans fluid without changing the filter or cleaning the pan magnet. If these two things arent replaced/cleaned when the fluid is changed, they will just contaminate the new clean fluid. Fitting a large trans fluid cooler is probably the one best thing you can do (as well as regular servicing) to prolong trans life.

 

[VRSenator065]

I have, yes they are definitely worth it, but way more important is a good transmission cooler, heat kills auto's. Btw if you look around there are plenty of options for pans, I went for this one, a lot cheaper than what you have above, and very nice quality. It ended up being about $150 landed from memory.

 

[accentstencil]

I think a drain plug is a good idea for the simply reason that you can drain the fluid first before removing the pan. It would be a lot less messy than removing the pan full of fluid when you don't have a hoist and you are lying on the ground. I know that you remove the front and side pan bolts and loosen the rear to tilt the pan and let the fluid drain out but I always end up making a mess anyway.

 

[Pollushon]

Agreed on the plug, I hate doing fluid, such a messy bloody job.

Pir4te put a thread up, not only on deeper pans but wide mouth filter jobbies. This is for the 4L60E: https://forums.justcommodores.com.au/threads/deep-pan-wide-mouth-v8-a6.223063#post2509872

Cheaper than the B&M.

 

[Brett_jjj]

Yeah, it would be ok just for that purpose, but if the pan bolts are undone in a certain way, no mess is made. I always just drop the side pan bolts first, and then the rear pan bolts, loosen off the front pan bolts last, and then I lower the rear of the pan to half drain it before completely removing it. I just think a drain hole in the pan would promote a lot of people to change their trans fluid without changing the filter or cleaning the pan magnet..

 

[Immortality]

Holden did release a deep pan for the automatic transmissions. Not sure exactly sure what they were fitted too, possibly part of the towing package option?

The only thing that concerns me about alloy pans is that they are possibly more susceptible to foreign object damage than say a steel pan, especially if it's lower than normal and/or the vehicle is lowered. I guess it comes down to the quality of the alloy used. I had been considering getting something similar for my vehicle.

 

[Husky]

I have, yes they are definitely worth it, but way more important is a good transmission cooler, heat kills auto's. Btw if you look around there are plenty of options for pans, I went for this one, a lot cheaper than what you have above, and very nice quality. It ended up being about $150 landed from memory.

That does seem like a good price, I haven't really had a proper look yet. do you use a normal gasket and filter?

 

[PIR4TE]

The only thing that concerns me about alloy pans is that they are possibly more susceptible to foreign object damage than say a steel pan, especially if it's lower than normal and/or the vehicle is lowered. I guess it comes down to the quality of the alloy used. I had been considering getting something similar for my vehicle.

On a VE, heres the depth of pan hang prior to refitting the catback:

As fitted:

 

[VRSenator065]

That does seem like a good price, I haven't really had a proper look yet. do you use a normal gasket and filter?

Gasket (and bolts) came with it, yep normal filter. And re getting damaged, it is a very solid casting. But def go for a good trans cooler as well, that's more important than the pan.