Auto trans filter change - silicon or gasket?

I changed the A/T filter in my '01 XJ. I used gasket that came with the filter. But PO used red silicon. After I did that my friend told me I should've used silicon too. He used gasket in his car (don't know the brand or model of the car but it wasn't Jeep) and after 3K miles oil pressure blew the gasket out. Is it possible it happened to him because he tightened bolts too much/too little? I didn't filled my trany with the oil yet so I'm wandering if I should replace the gasket with the silicon. If yes, red silicon or black? If I leave the gasket alone, should I get torque wrench to check if bolts are tightened properly? I'd appreciate the help.

Cork or rubber? As long as it doesn't leak not a big deal. But if not rubber, I would consider using trans RTV.

Johnnie Walker said:

Cork or rubber? As long as it doesn't leak not a big deal. But if not rubber, I would consider using trans RTV.

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Rubber. Thank you for input.

Overtightened will shorten the lifespan of a gasket for sure.

I pulled the pan off mine and replaced with a rubber Fel Pro more than 25,000 miles ago and its still holding up. I probably overtorqued, too. The M6x1.00 bolts don't take a lot of torque. The Jeep dealer will sell you a nice tube of transmission pan sealer if you wanted to go that route. These are AW4 transmissions which were also used in Toyota 4Runners so you could buy the sealer at the Toyota dealer. Ultra Grey is used to seal the transfer case which also takes ATF. It'd probably be what I used if I didn't go for a dealer specific solution.

Thank you guys for the info. I will stick with the gasket since it's already done.

You should straighten any steel transmission pan before putting it back on. It's just a matter of supporting the flange, and dinging the puckered bolt holes back down. I'll rest the edge on a table and hit the holes with a small ball peen hammer.

RTV is a bad idea anywhere it can be broken down and allowed to float free, because it will. When used to seal the transfer case, etc. you use the least amount possible to avoid this. When there's a gasket, that's all you need.

The AW4 did not have gaskets from the factory, it had an orangey/pink RTV type sealer. Chrysler has different sealers for everything, differentials have one tube, transmissions another, and transfer cases is Ultra Grey depending on what year your manual is. I'm not sure what the differences are. The dealer tells me they use red aerobic on transfer cases these days. I like differential gaskets because I don't like scraping off RTV and have never had a leak with a gasket, but if I took the tranny pan off again I'd likely use the sealer. The pan is not something you take off very often. I didn't take the pan off my 01 XJ until 300,000 when I needed to rethread the drain plug and in hindsight I would have greased up the tap/rethreader and done it that way. The filter is a metal screen and basically lifetime, which on the AW4 should be at least 400,000 if its seen regular fluid changes.

The transmission filter is more of a screen than a filter. There's a drain and fill maintenance schedule at ~30,000 & ~12,000 miles but no maintenance schedule for a transmission "filter" or screen.

After once pulling the transmission pan for inspection there wasn't much residue on the bottom of the pan and no residue in the screen. There were a couple of magnets on the bottom of the pan that collected a few small metal particles from the ATF.

If you need to filter the ATF, install an external filter. There are more permanent types with a replaceable filter media. Magnafine has a replaceable plastic in-line filter for around ~$15.00, that includes a by-pass valve as part of the filter.

The pan was sealed using a fiber metal gasket along with a Red High Tack sealant. Red High tack sealant has been around and proven itself, has a good heat range and specifications.

http://www.permatex.com/products-2/...ts/permatex--high-tack--gasket-sealant-detail

OEM sealant is good, but the fiber / metal gasket and high tack sealant is what was available at the time and didn't think it necessary to purchase OEM sealant.

There are some AW4's when service by dealership's and shops that sometimes use a thin piece of plastic, that's isn't a gasket, only used to hold the OEM sealant while being installed to the pan and transmission.

It was several years ago and remember using an ATP gasket. Description shows it as a rubber/steel gasket. (composition of rubber and steel fibers)

https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=64698&cc=1315943&jnid=434&jpid=0

I've had good luck with rubber/silicone gaskets with the copper high-temp spray adhesive (nb: the can style was changed)

Wix and Magnafine both make inline filters that work well at removing particulates. Wix is 5/16 (only) and Magnafine has other sizes. I suspect they are pretty much the same thing.