Ford Ranger Transmission Help Please!!

[chevys10]

Hello..

Not a fluid question but hoping someone can assist me. Just did a pan drop, filter change, and a cooling line flush procedure on my 1997 Ford Ranger 2wd with the 4r44e transmission. Everything went well. Used 12 quarts of Castrol Mercon V to do the flush and kept pretty good track of what was taken out of the transmission and what was used. Hooked up cooler line and pumped out a quart, added a quart..etc. until it was nice and clean. The procedure for checking the fluid level is to run the truck until the fluid is warm, shift through all the gears with the brake on, put it in park and check the fluid while at idle...pretty typical. When I do this there appears to be no fluid on the dipstick! The other option to check it is to do so when the fluid is cold. When I check it cold it looks great..right at the top of the two holes on the dipstick used for the cold check. But as soon as I start the truck it no longer appears on the dipstick except for a small little streak...it is mostly dry. Kind of worries me that after it is warm and I drove it through the neighborhood a bit it is coming out dry. Shifts fine..no signs of any problem until I pull the dipstick when warm.

I have seen a few replies to this exact question on a Ford forum but they never seemed to get answered.

Hoping some Ford guys out there can help...I need to get this thing moving.

Thanks...

 

[demarpaint]

Here is how I check mine, a transmission guy told me. Remember once you drive the car the fluid is all over the place inside the transmission. I get the engine hot by driving the car, then let it sit, with the engine off for about 20 minutes. Then I restart the car and allow it to idle for a few minutes and check it running in park. Try that and see if the reading changes, if not add more fluid. It is the hot fluid level that matters.

 

[rclint]

I'm not so sure you should add more fluid... over filling is just as bad, maybe worse as under filled (note I didn't say empty). I know you said it looks dry, but is there a chance it's just so clean when hot it's hard to see ? I also know it's red fluid, still I myself would be more impressed with a cold over night check verses a running hot check.

Another option maybe the filter ? If you some hoe got a bad filter, maybe installed wrong it's not circulating enough fluid then backing up ? I'm not sure on this just throwing out what comes to mind.

 

[stranger706]

Your procedure is correct.

When your truck sits overnight all the fluid drains back into the pan. So with the engine off, the transmission should appear to be over-filled.

When the engine is idling, then the transmission pump is sucking fluid from the pan and distributing it all around the transmission, and through the radiator cooler and back into the pan. Pretty sure you know this, I'm just adding info.

So naturally, the fluid level inside the pan will be lower while the engine is running rather than not running and the transmission pump is not pumping.

Bottom line: the fluid level should always read correctly during hot idle. If it does not, you need to add fluid.

 

[RF Overlord]

^^^what stranger706 said^^^

Remember, from ADD to FULL in most automatic transmissions is a pint, not a quart. Since you know it's at least that low, add a pint and drive it around to get it warm, then check again. Keep doing this until the level reads between ADD and FULL, then leave it alone.

 

[chevys10]

I added enough yesterday so that when checking the cold reading it was about 1/2 inch above the mark making me thing I added too much. Checked it warm and there was still nothing on the dipstick so I took that extra amount out not wanting to damage anything. What bothers me is that even when there is a little bit that appears on the dipstick the bottom curly part is almost completely dry...I have to figure that there would be more on the very end of the dipstick...even when scraping it against the tube when pulling it out.

I am tempted to just go with the cold reading and figure that since I have driven it and gone through all the gears that the torque converter and other areas of the trans are full.

By my calculations I have almost 10.5 quarts in the system that is spec'd for 9.6 quarts.

 

[unDummy]

Hot level, as already mentioned here, is the important level.

ATF fluid thermostat and your understanding is causing your issue.

Top off your ATF HOT as required. Make sure vehicle is running, and on a level surface, when doing your fluid level check.

Cold level is just an initial starting point. Thats it. Nothing else.

 

[rclint]

If you have put the correct amount ( a little over from reading your post) that is specified in the manual I will still say you should be fine if there are no leaks etc... It may not hurt to take it by a transmission shop just to let them have a look see, make sure you explain you have added the correct amount that is specified by quarts (whatever is used to spec the sump) then let them check it. I know you wanted to do this yourself, and you have done pretty much all of it, and it may be good that you did keeping someone from dumping way to much in the transmission.. a good transmission shop should check this over for you at a very reasonable price verses a auto transmission rebuild which none of us want to do.

 

[meep]

make sure the dipstick tube is fully seated in the transmission casing, at the transmission....

 

[chevys10]

Thanks for all the responses. I messed around with it last night and this morning. Added a bit to what I had and continued to check the dipstick hoping to get an accurate reading while warm in idle. As I added more the small streak I mentioned earlier got wider on the stick but did not move up into the crosshairs as I had hoped. Took some back out (nice to have a MityVac) and ended up taking too much out as it would not go into gear. Ended up putting more in, driving around a bit, and then letting it sit overnight to see the cold reading. In the morning it was slightly high on the cold reading but figured a bit too much would not hurt. Drove around to get it warm and checked again and the same little streak was there. Decided to shut it off, wait 5 minutes and check just to see and the fluid was at the midpoint of the crosshairs.

So reading at cold it was slightly high. When warm and not idling it was right in the middle of where it should be. I don't know how accurate it is since it is not idling but I drove 30 miles to work toping out at 70 mph and purposly stopping at the top of an incline to see if it would slip out of gear due to low fluid and everything is shifting fine. I am going to continue to check the level but feel comfortable with where it is at now. I appreciate all the help.