I'm sure most of us know what a PITA checking the ATF level is, especially after a flush or drain/fill. Well, this tip isn't for getting an accurate level, but for future reference. Once you are happy with the fluid level, check the level again with the vehicle cold and off and memorize/make a note of where it is. That way you can always check the fluid level first thing in the morning (or after the vehicle has sat for a while) without having to start the car and drive around hoping the fluid is at a check-able temperature. I finally got my level to where it was with the vehicle cold and off from the factory. If anyone has any reason why this may not be a good idea, please feel free to chime in as I don't want to give bad advice. Like Scotty Kilmer said, "If it shifts good, it's right." ;-)
ATF Level Check Tip
- Thread starter Jonas
- Start date
Great idea, only for those vehicles that require a hot, running vehicle like my E450.
problem is most vehicles don’t have a dipstick anymore and the requirements for checking are all over the board. Add to the fact that I wouldn’t listen to advise from an entertainer.
problem is most vehicles don’t have a dipstick anymore and the requirements for checking are all over the board. Add to the fact that I wouldn’t listen to advise from an entertainer.
Oh, the joy of paying 200 bucks or more for getting your transmission fluid changed out these days on vehicles without dipsticks...mercy sakes,,,
Yeah, you have to take Scotty's advice with a grain of salt for sure. Also, I'm still curious as to the reason dipsticks were phased out. Is it because they don't want you messing with it yourself or does it offer any design/performance improvements.
Someone figured out a way to get the public to spend their money at dealerships or auto shops, or folks were tearing up their transmissions causing warranty problems by using off the shelf trannsmisson fix bottles,,,,Im guessing
Kestas
Staff member
If anything, they needlessly introduced a way to screw it up that never existed before.
According to my BIL, a power train engineer who has worked, variously, for GM, Ford and Borg-Warner, the majority of failed transmissions under warranty were due to rag lint and dirt.
In other words: The OEMs have determined that keeping amateurs from messing with transmissions improves their warranty experience.
So, ATF fluid is no longer easily accessible. It’s deliberate.
In other words: The OEMs have determined that keeping amateurs from messing with transmissions improves their warranty experience.
So, ATF fluid is no longer easily accessible. It’s deliberate.
Hi
He has been fixing cars for 52 years you know. He should mention this more often
.On a more serious note. My Jeep has a W5j400 ( NAG 1). If it is shifting just fine then just drain, measure and replace same amount. The service fill says 5 litres. I have only ever read of people draining something like 3.5 litres.
I honestly think the new method of checking the level is even more idiot proof.
Fill trans, cycle gears, let it warm up. Pull plug at specific temp. If fluid dribbles out, you're good.
If it leaks repair it, if it doesn't leak you're good until the next change. There's no combustion. ATF doesn't go anywhere.
Fill trans, cycle gears, let it warm up. Pull plug at specific temp. If fluid dribbles out, you're good.
If it leaks repair it, if it doesn't leak you're good until the next change. There's no combustion. ATF doesn't go anywhere.
I believe this thread came off the rails. The OP was asking about checking his transmission fluid cold once he knew the fluid level was correct when it was hot. Yes, you can do that just to make sure the transmission or transmission cooler lines, transmission cooler etc are not leaking. Checking it hot will get you to the correct level, but once it cools down and you can note where the level is just to make sure its actually there. Yes, the transmission should be hot and the engine running, but I'm talking about just checking to see if its still there.
As for the other issues such as transmissions without dipsticks, let someone else start their own thread.
As for the other issues such as transmissions without dipsticks, let someone else start their own thread.
Hardly anybody changes the transmission fluid anyway, and this was even before so-called "lifetime" fill. Most cars go to teh junkyard on their original factory fill ATF
They just want to save a few pennies and not include it.
Honda is the only one that knows how to make an accurate transmission dipstick, but their automatic transmissions are of a different design. Also unlike the others, Honda wants you to check the fluid with the car off. Let the transmission warm up to operating temp, turn the car off, and wait a few minutes.
I've never found an accurate transmission dipstick outside of Honda.
They just want to save a few pennies and not include it.
Honda is the only one that knows how to make an accurate transmission dipstick, but their automatic transmissions are of a different design. Also unlike the others, Honda wants you to check the fluid with the car off. Let the transmission warm up to operating temp, turn the car off, and wait a few minutes.
I've never found an accurate transmission dipstick outside of Honda.
And the transmission dipstick on my old Honda is like the oil dipstick on the Mazda 626 I once owned, it is rigid and fits directly into a hole in the housing. No tube guiding it down into the transmission, so it doesn't drag and smear the fluid along the stick as you withdraw it. Yes you have to reach down kinda low but at least you get an accurate (and repeatable) fluid level line.
If you are going to do this regularly I would scribe a line on the stick.
Cost, plain and simple cost... My wife's 2014 TC& has a plastic plug on the dipstick tube. If you want to check the level you need to buy a dipstick.
Just my $0.02
Okay but isn't the reason for following the manufacturer's process so that you'll get a consistently accurate reading? On my cars the "cold" level is dependent on how long after shutdown you make the measurement, I would think with this method you'd have to make your reading after the same amount of time otherwise you may not get the same reading.
I guess I don't check my ATF level that often to make it a problem just following what it says in the manual.
I guess I don't check my ATF level that often to make it a problem just following what it says in the manual.
Historically auto transmissions were spin tested on electric dynamometers (at the end of the transmision plant assy line) and the fluid sucked out, and the trans shipped to the vehicle assy plant. There they were installed and refilled and the level set with on the vehicle final roll test. With the advent of quick connect cooler fittings, most plants switched to a process where the transmission is overfilled at the transmission assy plant with enough fluid to compensate for the external circuit and shipped like that. Then it's just plugged in on the vehicle line and no filling or level checks required. Believe me the assy plants LOVED getting rid of the messy and variable of filling transmissions on the line. At GM, this started with the 4T40 in the late 1990s.
Once that process was established, it was pretty easy to save cost by eliminating dipsticks and fill tubes.
Once that process was established, it was pretty easy to save cost by eliminating dipsticks and fill tubes.
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That may be true but it's more likely that was built in at the factory as the parts are manufactured and assembled. It's difficult to believe the failure-causing debris was introduced by the consumer or Jiffy Lube because that stuff gets caught by the pump inlet filter.
Scotty Kilmer.............
That just does't seem feasible. Unless people are losing their caps and plugging the fill hole with rags or cotton balls.
