The 68RFE’s real problem is heat. Tow heavy, step up tire size, or add power, and fluid temperature climbs fast. Once the fluid gets cooked, it loses its ability to protect bearings and clutch packs, and that’s when wear and slip start stacking up. Our Banks Ram-Air Transmission Pan is built to pull that heat out faster. A forward-facing Ram-Air Scoop captures and compresses incoming air, then forces it across long, densely packed fins. Inside to outside, the Flow-Thru Fins®® are aligned to give heat a direct path out of the fluid and into the airstream. We also add three quarts of capacity, which helps delay heat saturation when the truck is working hard. The result is better thermal control than stock and typical passive aftermarket pans, plus easier service with a magnetic drain plug.
The video opens by identifying two recurring problem areas on Ram 6.7-liter trucks: the factory grid heater and the 68RFE transmission. Banks notes that its Monster-Ram intake has addressed the grid-heater issue since 2017, and positions the new Ram-Air transmission pan as its answer to the second problem. The focus of the recap is the 68RFE and the role heat plays in its durability.
Banks says nearly 1.5 million Ram heavy-duty pickups built from 2007 through 2024 use the 68RFE transmission, and describes it as failure-prone. In the video's view, the transmission may be adequate for unloaded daily driving, but its weaknesses become more apparent under heavier demands. Towing substantial loads, running larger-diameter tires, or adding engine tuning all increase stress on the gearbox.
The explanation centers on the mismatch between real-world use and the transmission's design limits. According to the video, many owners tune these trucks to produce more than 1,200 lb-ft of torque, while the 68RFE is characterized as being designed for about 850 lb-ft at best. Under those conditions, heat rises quickly, and that thermal load accelerates failure mechanisms inside the transmission.
Banks frames heat as the transmission's primary enemy because elevated temperature reduces the fluid's ability to perform its functions. As ATF gets too hot, it becomes less effective at protecting internal components and managing friction. The result is premature wear on bearing surfaces and excessive clutch-pack slip, both of which contribute to shortened transmission life.
To address that problem, Banks developed the Ram-Air trans pan with the stated goal of keeping transmission fluid cooler than the stock pan and competing aftermarket pans. The core idea is not simply adding a larger pan, but actively improving airflow over the pan's heat-rejecting surfaces. The design uses a Ram-Air Scoop intended to capture incoming air, compress it, and accelerate it across the pan.
The video explains the scoop's function in terms of air density. When air is rammed into the scoop, its density increases, meaning more air molecules are packed into each cubic foot. Banks argues that this higher-density airflow has greater capacity to remove heat from the transmission pan surface. In other words, the cooling improvement comes from increasing both the quantity and effectiveness of airflow directed at the pan.
A key engineering detail is the use of Banks Flow-Thru Fins®. The fins are described as being directly aligned from the inside of the pan to the outside, creating what the company calls the most efficient thermal path possible. By minimizing resistance between the hot fluid inside and the cooling air outside, the design is presented as achieving a very high heat-transfer rate. Banks summarizes this as delivering the highest heat-transfer rate in the industry.
Beyond airflow and fin design, the pan also increases fluid capacity by three quarts. That added volume helps delay heat saturation during sustained load, such as pulling a long grade. In practical terms, the fluid takes longer to reach peak temperature on the climb. Then, once the load eases after cresting the hill, the Ram-Air system is intended to shed that accumulated heat faster than the stock pan and competing designs.
The video closes with a serviceability improvement: the Banks pan includes a magnetic drain plug. Banks contrasts this with the factory pan, which it says does not even include a drain plug. The company also states that the design is patented, emphasizing that the Ram-Air scoop concept and overall pan configuration are protected. The recap ends with the product positioned as a cooling-focused upgrade for Ram trucks equipped with the 68RFE.
