transmission fluid level question

Hello, I have a 97 SOHC and just had the tranny replaced. I got home and checked the fluid level and it was about two inches past the full cross hatches on the dip stick. I called the dealership and they told me that the level is correct, needs 9.75 quarts of fluid. My question is, should i trust the dealership, or should i go by the dip stick? Brand new tranny, I dont want to mess up the seals as I will be pulling a boat. Thanks for any help.

Reply to
Ryan
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Did you check it with the engine running, warmed up, etc? There's usually a note in the owner's manual on how to check the transmission fluid. You can't do it with the engine off.

Reply to
Mike Iglesias

yea i checked the fluid after about 40 miles, so the fluid is warmed up. Thanks-Ryan

Reply to
Ryan

I would just leave it. I have a 99 XLT and there was always a problem reading my dipstick. I could not tell if I was low or had too much fluid. After having the truck 5 years I'm assuming my fluid level is fine. You could be messing with something that is otherwise fine. I understand how you feel about dealerships but in this case, the odds are that they put in the correct fluid.

Reply to
SizzleMP

Was the engine running, was the transmission in drive?

Check your instructions -- you don't just shut it down and check the dipstick.

Reply to
Alan Moorman

Ryan,

I recently had a re-built trany installed into my old '91 EB. Like you, I found the fluid level to be way too high on the dip stick, even after the trany was warmed up, and with the engine running. The guys in the trany shop told my that they filled it to spec and that I shouldn't be concerned that the dipstick reads too high.

I've put a few thousand miles on it since then and no problems have shown up,......so far at least. The fluid level still reads about 1.5" too high on the dip stick.

I'll be interrested to read the response of others.

Mike

Reply to
Tiger

Mike,

Sounds like we are in the same situation. I dont trust the dealership, and i know that too much fluid is bad, especially when it heats up. I will be pulling a boat in about a month and I know that will get the fluid pretty hot. My level is also about 1.5 inches too high. For now, I am going to monitor the fluid, make sure its not smelling like its burning, I guess thats the only way to make sure. Also the last thing you want to do is take too much fluid out. Lets just hope this doesnt ruin our new, expensive re-built transmissions. Thanks everyone- Ryan

Reply to
Ryan

They filled it to spec, but there was probably fluid left in the cooler and cooler lines. I would invest $10 in one of those tiny drill pumps and suck out the excess. Much simpler than dropping the pan.

Reply to
Happy Traveler

I know what you mean about incompetent dealerships. I won't even let them change the oil anymore.

Reply to
magnum54o2

One of my pet peeves is how poor the design of transmission monitoring methods still is, even after all the other system monitors have gone hi-tech. You've got warnings for doors, lights, gas, oil, electrical - but NOTHING for your tranny. We're still left with a difficult to read dipstick, no pressure or temperature gauges, not even an idiot light! By the time you're sure there's a problem... it's way too late.

Seems to me, a thousand engineers with 40+ years of design work on auto trannys should have been able to do a better job!

Reply to
Robert A. Matern

Your not kidding. They now have status of your tire pressure. I agree with everything you said. Its very hard to estimate whats the correct level. About the only sure way to tell is to monitor the fluid, if its starting to burn, its too full. I am going to do what Happy Traveler suggested. I am going to get my fluid to the level thats correct on the dipstick. Never thought about the tranny cooler and all the lines running to that and the radiator. Thanks all for you advice. Hopefully this has helped others out there with the same question.

Ryan

Reply to
Ryan

Oil changes??? Dealerships are for warranty work. Dealerships have no secret method of knowing more about your car than other shops, and they cost more.

Unless you got the oil changes as part of a promotion, why would you have the dealership change your oil? It's not like only thay have the right oil or filter.

Reply to
Bill Funk

If YOU plan to cover the warranty on your transmission, then by all means, do what pleases you. If you expect the dealer to cover any warranty issues, I'd think twice about draining any oil out of it, especially after they confirmed that it had the correct amount in it. JMO, Hairy

Reply to
Hairy

My dealer charges $25 for an oil change. Juffy Lube is $29. Which one would you choose?

Reply to
JaWise

Based on $ amount only, the choice is obvious. However, there's more to it than that (in such things, there usually is). The fact remains that the dealership has more overhead than Jiffy Lube. How do they crack their nut while charging less? (I guess they make it up in volume?) No, not volume, but they do seem to find other things that "need" fixing, at, of course, a much higher rate. If you don't take them up on their recommendations, just how much care do you think they will put into your money-losing oil change the next time?

We have a deal whereby we pay an initial fee (in our case, it was $125) to a local shop, and we get oil changes for the life of the vehicle, at 3 months/3000 miles. You can imagine what that works out to with our '92 Sport, with over

170k miles on it. Yes, the shop will check the vehicles over, and make recommendations, but their overhead is much lower, and they've been extremely reliable for us. The result has been a very economical maintenance experience; much more so than friends who use the dealership for the same work.

Lower immediate cost is not all it may seem to be.

Reply to
Bill Funk

See, now this is just what I mean... the damn dipstick is USELESS!

And there are NO aftermarket tranny gauges either (see Transmission temp gause 02 Explorer thread)...

This just sucks. There's no excuse for such design incompetance in an entire industry!

Reply to
Robert A. Matern

The 2002 doesn't even have a dispstick for the auto tranny.

Reply to
JaWise

How can you tell if it's leaking? Looking underneath? Will you notice it in time?

I hope it doesn't have the stupid vacuum modulator valve used in the 92. I had a leak in it which sucked the fluid into the manifold. No external sign of the leak at all.

Reply to
Robert A. Matern

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