Yet more vital knowledge about your Promaster. The lifebloods. The aqua vitae. Grab yourself a fistful of fluids! NOTE: Typo in the video - coolant spec is 12106 premix, 90032 concentrate! Double dumb ass on me for that one.
Here's a cliffnotes version of the video: COOLANT Premix: MS-12106 Mopar Concentrate: MS-90032. Mopar Use only OAT, not HOAT Prestone Dexcool GM Vehicles is an equivalent MOTOR OIL: MS-6395 - Penzoil Platinum TRANSMISSION: ATF + 4: MS-9602 Mopar Valvoline brand is an equivalent POWER STEERING: Pentosin CHF 11S - MS-11655B
Thanks for the information. I just picked up a 2023 Winnebago Travato that has the Promaster with the new 9-speed transmission. I do all my fluid changes by myself.
2023-up has some differences in the engine, and the transmission is the 9 speed. Some of the fluid recommendations in this video wouldn't apply. But on the Promaster, lots of stuff is still the same as the 2014-2022 models.
Ha! I feel like we can rule out inferior fluid being a factor, because the vast majority of vans have the mopar fluid in them, and while a lot of trannies blow not all of them do. Not even a majority do.
As weird as it feels to say, I dont see much difference in quality among the various filters. We use the Denso oil filters, the Duralast transmission filter but we toss the crappy gasket it comes with and use a Felpro gasket. Air filters any of the name brands are fine.
@@promastersonly1419 my break fluid error comes up on big hills. Dealership said everything was OK after they checked out for separate repair. Anythign I should be concerned with getting the brake fluid low error?
@@heathergraehl No. The brake warning light is only responsive to two things. The parking brake lever, and the low fluid sensor in the master cylinder. Assuming the fluid level is correct, the light is coming on because the sensor is flakey. Two of my three vans have this flakey sensor, and others have had it as well. I conclude it's a common failure part, and you can ignore it forever. The fix would be an expensive replacement master cylinder, that is working fine otherwise.
The cool thing about Pennzoil Platinum: if you register your vehicle with Pennzoil and keep records they will warranty your engine for 15 years against a very long list of wear related failures. Check it out for yourself, I’m doing it, why not I’m doing the preventative maintenance anyway
Awesome video! Had to sub. How about brake fluid? Regular Mopar Dot-4 or would any Dot 4 suffice? Also, at what milage would you recommend replacing the power steering fluid? Not a mechanic and I see a lot of conflicting info online... figured I'd ask the guy who only works with promasters haha.
Mopar only gives the spec as Dot 4 brake fluid, so any Dot 4 would fit the bill. There's nothing exotic or weird about the braking system, so that doesn't come as a surprise. As to power steering, unless there is a leak, or a leak in, I see no reason to ever change it. I have one 2014 van with 757,000 miles on the original fluid and it's fine. The power steering system in general never seems to develop problems or fail, for the most part. I chalk that up (based on nothing) to the fancy European fluid that's in there. Whatever that stuff is, it works.
Great videos! What are your thoughts about all those who claim the Pentastar prefers the 5w-30? (and the only reason they use 5w-20 is due to emission, but 30 might give engine longer life)
I’m sold on 5w-20, simply because I have over 2 million miles on it with. But i’ve softened on 5w-30. It will run it, and it wont hurt anything. If it makes you feel better, have at it.
Great video! I have been using Oreilys universal coolant because the website said it was compatible. Is it okay to mix the Prestone dex cool with the Oreilys universal??
Hard to say 100%, but anything that carries the Dex Cool (GM's trade name for their coolant) logo will work because it's OAT just like the Chrysler coolant.
I can pretty firmly state that they are all snake oil. The only exception might be a fuel stabilizer if you plan to store your van for months on end. But for day to day use, just use 87 octane. The higher octane will give you a slight bit better mileage, but it's a wash if you consider the higher cost of the fuel. Nor does the amount of ethanol in the fuel really matter - standard gas is up to E15 (15% ethanol). E85 will work, but you'll get such worse mileage you won't save any money. Same with that funky blue 88 that I see occassionally. Some stations sell "Pure Gas" which is zero ethanol - that stuff is great but it's hard to find.
AZ and other parts guys are often less than complete/factual. You might have noticed AZ thinks your van is a Dodge, even though there hasn't been a Dodge truck for well over a decade.
Not much to it. They don't need adjusted or pre-loaded. The first time you take it off, it will take all the breaker bars and extensions you have, and even more that you don't have. We use big stuff to break those axle nuts free, and often have to break out the torch to heat them. I'd consider paying a truck type shop to bust them loose for you. After that, you'll basically put it on as tight as you can manage. The spec is 350 ft/lbs, which is far higher than you will be able to do by hand. No matter, just make it as tight as you can. It's not like they are going to fly off. Generally, we don't re-stake them, but you can if you want.
Hi sir my name is James and My vehicle is a 2019 Ram Promaster 2500 159WB. I need some help to fix problems with these codes P0792 P0732 P0735 P1790 and P0420 please advise.
The 420 is a bad rear cat. The rest are all transmission related and electrical in nature, though it could be internal trans. My guess is you have an electrical problem between the trans and the computer, but it's hard to say exactly what. Going to require some real diagnosis. A good step would be to type "motorcity mechanic 62te solenoid testing" into youtube and test the pack.
It's a sealed system, so I personally don't see any point in changing it unless it needs changed. All my vans are 2014s, and other than 1 cracked bottle the other two still have original fluid in them. Advice? Pop the cap and look in there every 3 years. If it looks good, it probably is good.
All of the Platinum full synthetics will work, with the best being the Ultra Platinum. Project Farm on youtube did a test of it, aces. But any of them will be fine.
I noticed you only had a 5 gt jug of oil sitting there. Is 5 all that you need when doing a top side change? I know it calls for 6 but just wanted to check with you before possibly overfilling it the first time I do it.
Engine takes right around 5.5 qts, which is frustrating because you always need just a little bit more than the 5qt jug. I have been know to put some of the old oil back in, which drives purists apeshit but I see no harm. Basically, you dump in the whole jug, then add a little from a second jug checking it as you add. Anywhere in the hashmark area on the stick is fine. Ideally, you check it when cold for the truest level, but hot is fine too.
Just looked it up. Nope. Takes a special fluid. Mopar brand on amazon (Amazon!) is $47 a qt. Also of note; the 8th and 9th gears are so high owners of 2022 and newer Promasters report that the van NEVER gets into those gears.
@@promastersonly1419 wow... That's really unfornet. I've noticed when traveling at 65 on a highway, even 62 mph to try and eek out the best MPG, as soon as small hill or xwind came into play the van would downshift. Hard to keep it in the top gear because will, pushing that high roof and displacing all that air is almost impossible. Maybe you'll get into 9th gear with a tail wind! :) So much for the 10% more efficiency for adding the gears the van can never use much. :(
@@151mcx I believe the epa rating with the 9 speed is a tick higher. Having more gears in the city portion of the test cycle seems to help the test score. And THAT’s what the extra gears are for for all the modern 8,9, and 10 speeds - acing the test to help the CAFE numbers. In theory, you need exactly 2 gears. One to get off the line, and the other to turn 2000rpm at 63mph, which is the van’s torque and aero sweet spot. All else is superfluous.
My mechanic put 5w40 full syn in my promaster saying it is best oil to use and 0w or 5w 20 is good but 5w40 is the best Saying the manual this and that but i cant find it anywhere saying this Can the 2019 promaster run 5w40? Its my work van with a 3.6l v6 gasoline
That’s because it DOESN’T. I guarantee your mechanic is over 50 years old, this is old guy thinking. The engine is spec’d for 5w-20. You can run 5w-30 with no ill effects, except slightly worse mileage and power. Tell him the timing runs on oil pressure, as does the chain tension, and there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to deviate from the recommended.
@@promastersonly1419 and he works at the dealership which baffles me, I think he is upper 40's Honestly it already gets horrible gas mileage from the dealership, im going to buy the right stuff and change it myself
Barring a reason to do so, I don't do so. I have 3 2014 vans with their orig fluid and no issues. If you simply must so you can sleep, maybe 7 years is a good number.
City use, or anything where the van sits for long portions of the day unused, I would go with 5000 miles. If you are driving it a full hour every day, then I would extend that to 8000. If you use it constantly, push to 10,000. If it's an RV that sits for 11 months and then goes to Disneyland, I'd go as short as 3000. Engines like to run.
@@promastersonly1419 awesome thank you so much. Almost changed it at 3000 still new to these dream wagons but I have learned a lot from your channel. thank you!
For gas vans only. Ashamed to say I don't really know much about the diesels. Brake and power steering fluids would probably be the same diesels. Unsure.
It’s DOT 4. Very rare to have any brake leaks or master cylinder issues. But what is super common is failure of the brake fluid level sensor. If it’s got fluid, and the brakes feel fine, and the parking brake handle isnt accidentally pulled up, it’s the sensor and you’ll learn to ignore the light.
@@promastersonly1419 Hey man, I know this post is eight months old but I'm curious about what your thoughts are on a full brake fluid flush.... How often?
@@itsnotlevel2 The manual recommends every 2 years, which is ridiculous. I have 3 2014 vans that have never had it changed. I say never, but i could have my mind changed.
@@davidyule3605 I love the actor.. He played McClusky In "The Godfather" as well as other great roles. That said Sellers was the greatest Man -Of-A-Thousand-Faces to ever live IMO. That he worked with Kubrick twice shows he had balls.
Hi Kip - I was thinking about adding an inline transmission filter - do you know what the ID of the transmission cooler lines are? Are there some good spots to intercept the line going from the transmission to the cooler?
Why would you want to? Just change the stock filter more often if you are worried. That said, most of the lines between the trans and cooler are rubber, so you could intercept them easily. I wouldn't though - you are adding leak points to solve a problem that doesn't exist. The stock filter and magnet go fine.
@@MyGoogleRU-vid Good question. 10 microns is about right for a stock oil filter. Paper element in the trans looks about the same. All I can say is that we have yet to have an issue with filters failing, or clogging, or otherwise not doing their thing. Magnet gets everything bigger or small than the filter gets too.
@@MyGoogleRU-vid None, but I would assume several companies. That trans was in every FWD chrysler from 2007-up, so there's millions and millions of them out there. Enough to support multiple suppliers.
Hi again. I just watched this video, from a couple of years ago, about a couple who have a van build out Promaster ( ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qO5jXcLN8R8.html ). Their engine died just over 100,000 miles. They bought it used at 92,000 miles, so they don't know how it was treated prior to their ownership. They did say they idled it all night 12 times to stay warm. Camshaft failure (insufficient idle oil? Could you work up a fix for this?). What I'm getting from all this is that you can run the Pentastar 3.6, but don't idle it very long. I think you also addressed this. Question: Do you think that if you avoided long term idling of the engine, the camshaft failures can be avoided and result in a long life engine? I'm also thinking that it would be outstanding if you could figure out a way to install a Toyota engine and transmission in a Promaster. You'd start a trend, and probably capitalize on it in a big way. In the linked video's comments, someone mentioned that if Toyota ever got into the cargo van business, they'd put all the rest out of business. My thoughts are that with a Toyota drive train, you could get the same thing. Then you'd soon have a plethora of Toyota Promaster (I'll call it TPM for shorthand) RU-vidrs fleshing out all the resulting problem resolutions until the TMP became the absolute van to have. What do you think?
We can discuss this further if you like at the email in the title card of the video. But the short of it is, I have definitive PROOF that idling doesn't cause camshaft failure. It's in one of my recent videos entitled "what doesn't cause". In that video, I show that camshaft failure is a design issue, not an oiling issue. In future videos, I'll show the cure, which is an upgraded rocker arm from FCA that appears to eliminate the problem. And in another shop video, I show that the engine has around 31lbs of oil pressure AT IDLE, which is 6 times more than a small block chevy has and they idle. Also see another video of mine about a custom engine swap. But to answer your questions: there's nothing better or different about Toyota engines that's important enough to necessitate how much custom work would need to be done to do such a swap. It's not the putting it in there, it's the making the computers work that's hard. So you are better off bulletproofing the existing engine, which we can do a lot with. 500,000 miles plus; no problem at all. Also of note; Toyota IS in the van business in the form of Hino box trucks. Made right in West Virginia of all places. Most mechanics agree, Hinos are unreliable shoddy garbage. I say that to point out that SOLELY because it's Japanese, doesn't necessarily mean it's superior. Email me to discuss!
@@promastersonly1419 OK. Great. Thank you so much for your detailed and well thought out response. I'll look up the videos you referenced. If I decide to go nomad for a while, it will be in a Promaster. I understood that it would be a big deal trying to fit a Toyota drive train into a Promaster. I didn't know or think about the computer programming issues. I recently watched a video from a guy who bought a used/parked/possibly junked BMW. It had water in the trunk that had soaked some of the computer modules. I was astonished at how many there were. He was able to get most cleaned up and working. He also bought 3 used modules for $150. The dealer had quoted him $15,000 to replace them all. I apologize if I already told you this in one of my previous lengthy posts. Again, thank you. I really appreciate what you are doing. Look for an email from my Protonmail.com account sometime soon.
@@promastersonly1419 Don't change the way you make videos based on some random stupid comment, you give the best information on the promasters and guaranteed, He's gonna watch your videos regardless so screw that.
