46RE Pan Bolt Torque Spec and Service

A 46RE pan service is the job everyone thinks they can do with their eyes closed, and it is also the job that produces a surprising number of comebacks: a pan that weeps at the corners two weeks later, a stripped bolt hole in the aluminum case, a filter that was never seated, or a truck that shifts worse than before because somebody refilled with the wrong fluid. None of that is caused by the transmission. It is caused by how the pan went back on.

The 46RE lives in a lot of trucks: gas Ram pickups and Ram vans, Durangos, and V8 Grand Cherokees. ATSG's technical booklet for the family groups it with the 47RE and 48RE because the three share the same basic layout: a four-speed with an electronic governor, a lock-up converter, two bands, and a valve body bolted to the underside of the case where the pan covers it. That shared layout matters here, because the pan, filter, and band adjusters are all in the same places across the family, and a lot of the published service data you will find is written for the 47RE and applies to the 46RE with year-specific exceptions. This guide covers the torque numbers, the order of operations, and the spots where people get it wrong.

---

Recommended 46RE parts

In stock, ships same day from the USA. Secure checkout.

46RE 47RE 48RE Transmission Oil Pan with Drain Plug and Filter Kit

$92.99View part

Derale 14210 Transmission Cooling Pan Dodge 47RE 48RE 46RE

$375.99View part

PW518AC Band Anchor & 22717HD Heavy-Duty Band Strut for 47RE 48RE A518 A618 A727

$57.99View part

46RE Pan Service Specs at a Glance

• Pan bolts: 5/16"-18 thread. Factory stamped-steel pan with OE-style gasket: 17 N-m (13 ft-lb, about 156 in-lb), per Chrysler's 1998 Ram service manual, Group 21. Aftermarket cast pans run lower: B&M specifies 150 in-lb, tightened in an alternating pattern, on its deep pan (B&M 10280 instructions, Rev 10/22/21), Goerend specifies 120 in-lb on its cast pan.
• Filter screws: 35 in-lb (three screws, T25 Torx on many applications).
• Valve body bolts, if you disturb them: 100 in-lb.
• Band adjusting screws: 72 in-lb. 46RE: front back off 2-7/8 turns, locknut 30 ft-lb; rear back off 2 turns, locknut 25 ft-lb (Chrysler 1998 Ram service manual, pp. 21-308/309).
• Fluid: Mopar ATF+4 (Chrysler MS-9602).
• Capacity: 8 pints (3.79 L) for a pan-drop service fill; 19-20 pints (8.99-9.46 L) dry after overhaul, per Chrysler's Ram fluid capacity chart.

Notice that every one of those pan bolt numbers is in inch-pounds or in the low teens of foot-pounds. That is the whole lesson of this job. Most stripped 46RE pan holes come from someone who read "17" somewhere and put 17 ft-lb on a 5/16" bolt threaded into aluminum, or who skipped the torque wrench entirely and leaned on a 3/8" ratchet.

Why the Pan Bolt Torque Is So Low

The 46RE pan bolts thread directly into the aluminum transmission case. Goerend's install instructions for their RE-family pan call out the thread as 5/16"-18, and B&M's deep pan kit ships with twelve 5/16"-18 x 7/8" bolts plus two longer 1-1/4" bolts that also hold linkage brackets. A 5/16" coarse-thread bolt in aluminum does not need much clamp load to seal a pan, and it does not take much extra to pull the threads out.

The other half of the problem is the pan itself. A stamped-steel pan flange is thin. If you crank the bolts, the flange dishes down between bolt holes and the gasket loses contact in exactly the spots between the bolts. That is why an overtightened pan leaks more, not less, and why B&M's instructions say plainly not to overtighten because it causes leaks. When a customer tells me they "tightened it more" to stop a pan weep, I already know I am looking at a bent flange.

The fix for a pan that has been overtightened in the past is to straighten the bolt holes on the flange before reinstalling. Lay the pan flange-down on a flat surface, look for the dimples around each hole, and tap them flat with a small hammer over a socket or a block of wood. Then torque it correctly so you do not put the dimples right back in.

Removing the Pan Without Making a Mess of It

Stock 46RE pans have no drain plug, so the pan drop is the drain. B&M's procedure is the one most of us use: remove the bolts one at a time working toward the front of the transmission, then back the last two out slowly so the pan tilts down and dumps from the rear corner into your drain pan. If the gasket has glued the pan to the case, break the seal with a gentle pry before the last bolts come out, not after, so the pan does not drop all at once.

Once the pan is down, read it before you clean it. A thin gray film on the magnet is normal wear. Bronze-colored flakes point at bushings or thrust washers. Black friction material or a thick clutch paste means the service is no longer the repair, and you are better off knowing that now than after the customer drives away. Sonnax notes that on the 46/47RH-RE, low cooler and converter flow shows up as delayed engagements, TCC slip, and excessive stall, and a restricted cooler circuit is by far the most common cause, so if the fluid is dark and burnt, plan to flow-check the cooler before blaming the pan service for anything.

The Filter: Three Screws and One O-Ring

The filter mounts to the bottom of the valve body with three screws. Torque them to 35 in-lb. That is barely more than firm with a screwdriver. Chrysler's valve body installation procedure calls for 4 N-m (35 in-lb) on the filter screws and 11 N-m (100 in-lb) on the valve body bolts (1998 Ram service manual, Group 21), Goerend's instructions match, and Goerend gives the governor solenoid bracket T25 screws a 35-40 in-lb range on the same valve body.

Two things go wrong here. First, the old filter's pickup O-ring or gasket stays stuck on the valve body, and the new filter gets bolted on with two seals stacked up, which holds the filter crooked and lets it suck air. Always look up at the valve body after the old filter comes off and confirm the old seal came with it. Second, people overtighten these small screws and strip them in the valve body casting. If one does strip, the valve body has to come off to repair it properly.

If you have to loosen valve body bolts for any reason, such as sliding the governor solenoid bracket for pan clearance, Goerend's instructions call for retorquing the 7/16" valve body bolts to 100 in-lb. Do not guess on those; a warped valve body is a far bigger problem than a pan leak.

Adjusting the Bands While You Are In There

The 46RE has two adjustable bands: the front (kickdown, holds second gear) and the rear (low-reverse). Both are adjusted from outside the case, and since the pan is already down the rear band is accessible. Band adjustment is cheap insurance on a high-mileage unit, because a band that has worn loose shows up first as a soft or flared 1-2 or 3-2 shift.

Chrysler's 1998 Ram service manual lists the 46RE and 47RE side by side (pages 21-308 and 21-309), so the sequence below is straight from the factory procedure (1998 Ram service manual, Group 21):

1. Loosen the locknut and back it off 3 to 5 turns so it does not bind the screw.
2. Tighten the adjusting screw to 72 in-lb. Inch-pounds, not foot-pounds. The front adjuster takes a 5/16" square drive; the rear takes a 1/4" socket.
3. Back the screw out the specified number of turns for your year.
4. Hold the screw so it cannot turn and torque the locknut: 41 N-m (30 ft-lb) on the front band, 34 N-m (25 ft-lb) on the rear, per the 1998 factory procedure for both the 46RE and 47RE.

The back-off number is where you need to be careful, because the 46RE and 47RE differ. Chrysler's 1998 figures: 46RE front band 2-7/8 turns, rear band 2 turns; 47RE front band 1-7/8 turns, rear band 3 turns. The manual also cautions that if adapter C-3705 is needed to reach the front adjusting screw, it should be tightened to only 47-50 in-lb. Lever ratios and turn counts changed in other years, so if your unit is not a 1998-era 46RE, confirm the figure for your exact year. Getting the torque right and the turns wrong still gives you a band that is either dragging or flaring.

Pan Installation and Torque Sequence

1. Clean the case rail. Scrape off every bit of old gasket material. B&M warns that old gasket stuck to the case causes leaks, and they are right. Do not let scrapings fall into the valve body.
2. Chase the threads. Goerend recommends running a 5/16"-18 tap through each case hole from the bottom up to clear dirt and old sealant. The tap should start easily by hand. If it does not, stop and look before you force it.
3. Clean the pan and magnet and confirm the flange is flat.
4. Start every bolt by hand. The pan should still have a little play in all directions with every bolt started. That tells you nothing is cross-threaded.
5. Snug the four corners, then the rest. Goerend's sequence is to snug the four corner bolts, snug the remaining bolts, then torque the four corners to spec followed by the rest. Work in a criss-cross pattern so the gasket compresses evenly.
6. Final torque, then a second pass. Torque to the figure for your pan and gasket, then go around once more. Cork and rubber gaskets relax after the first pass.
7. Do not add RTV to a gasket that was not designed for it. Silicone on a molded rubber gasket lets it squirm out from under the flange.

Refill: Right Fluid, Right Amount, Right Check

The 46RE takes ATF+4. AMALIE's ATF+4 technical sheet ties the fluid to Chrysler specification MS-9602 for transmissions recommending ATF+4, with a typical viscosity of 7.5 cSt at 100°C, which is the thin, shear-stable fluid the RE family's bands and converter clutch were calibrated around. Older aftermarket instruction sheets still mention Dexron III as a refill option; B&M's current deep pan sheet (Rev 10/22/21) now just says to use its Trick Shift or your transmission's specified fluid, and for a 46RE the specified fluid is ATF+4. For a 46RE, take that note seriously. Mixing in a Dexron fluid changes the friction characteristics the converter clutch and bands were calibrated for.

Chrysler's 2004 Ram fluid capacity chart lists the 46RE service fill at 8 pints (3.79 L) and the overhaul fill at 19-20 pints (8.99-9.46 L), with a footnote that the overhaul number varies with cooler size, line length, and auxiliary coolers. Use the 8-pint number to know how much to have on hand, not as the fill target. Start with about 4 quarts, start the engine, and finish by the dipstick.

B&M's final-check procedure is the standard one: engine running, shifter in neutral, bring it to the COLD LOW mark, shift through every range, check for leaks, then once the fluid is at operating temperature bring it to full. Do not overfill. An overfilled 46RE foams as the geartrain churns the fluid, and foamed fluid causes the same overheating and erratic shifting you were trying to prevent.

Common Mistakes That Bring the Truck Back

• Foot-pounds instead of inch-pounds. On the pan bolts, filter screws, and band adjusting screw, a unit mix-up is the single most common way to strip something.
• Double-stacked filter seal. Air leak at the pickup, low line pressure, delayed engagement.
• Reusing a dimpled pan flange. It will weep no matter how tight the bolts are.
• Skipping the second torque pass. The gasket relaxes and the pan seeps within a few heat cycles.
• Wrong fluid or overfill. Both show up as shift complaints that look like a mechanical problem.
• Ignoring what was on the magnet. A pan service does not fix friction material in the pan.

If the stock pan has been bent too many times or the drain-by-pan-drop routine is getting old, a replacement pan with a drain plug and a fresh filter turns the next service into a ten-minute drain and refill. A deep cast or finned pan adds capacity and some cooling for a truck that tows, but it does not replace a working cooler circuit.

---

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the torque spec for 46RE transmission pan bolts?

For a factory stamped-steel pan with an OE-style gasket, Chrysler's service manual specifies 17 N-m, which is 13 ft-lb or about 156 in-lb. Aftermarket cast pans run lower: B&M specifies 150 in-lb and Goerend 120 in-lb with their gaskets. The bolts are 5/16-18 threaded into the aluminum case, so always use an inch-pound torque wrench.

What is the torque on the 46RE filter screws?

35 in-lb. The filter is held to the bottom of the valve body by three small screws, and 35 in-lb is barely more than firm with a screwdriver. Overtightening strips the valve body casting, which turns a pan service into a valve body repair.

How much fluid does a 46RE take after a pan drop?

Chrysler's Ram fluid capacity chart lists the 46RE service fill at 8 pints (3.79 L), and 19-20 pints dry after overhaul. Use that number to know how much ATF+4 to have on hand, then add about 4 quarts and finish the fill by the dipstick with the engine running and the fluid at operating temperature.

Why does my 46RE pan leak after I tightened the bolts more?

Overtightening bends the thin stamped-steel flange down around each bolt hole, which lifts the gasket off the case between the bolts. Straighten the dimpled holes on a flat surface, clean the case rail, and reinstall at the correct inch-pound torque with a second pass after the first.

Should I adjust the 46RE bands during a pan service?

On a high-mileage unit it is cheap insurance. Tighten each adjusting screw to 72 in-lb, back it off the specified turns (Chrysler's 1998 manual lists 2-7/8 on the 46RE front band and 2 on the rear), then hold the screw and torque the locknut to 30 ft-lb front and 25 ft-lb rear. Confirm the turn count for your exact year before you start.