How to check trans fluid, 99 Cavalier

The filler hole is on the side of the trans somewhere.

Once you remove the plug, the oil lever should be level with the bottom of the hole. You really can't over fill it.

good luck

harryface

I have a 2000 Cavalier 4dr 2.2L engine and it has automatic transmission dipstick. i can check the oil anytime i like. I never heard or would buy a car that you cannot check and replace - easily every type of fluid in it.. Brian from Hot Las Vegas NV.

It's an automatic. The fill hole is at the top.

Al

Are you quite sure it has a dipstick for the tranny? My daughter's 2000 Sunfire with a 2.2/automatic does not. Basically the same car. There is a red cap on the tranny for the fill port, but no dispstick.

The way that you check the fluid on these trannies is like the way you check the fluid in a differential. There is a plug on the passenger side of the tranny that you remove to check the level. Fill is through the port on top, until it begins to pour out of the inspection plug hole. This is very common for GM cars for the past several years.

Yes , My 2000 Cavalier 2.2L , 4dr with auto trans and old fashioned hand crank windows has an Automatic Transmission Dipstick. It is NOT the oil dipstick. I can check the oil and the Transmission. maybe because it was assembled in Lordstown Ohio is why there is a red color handle Transmission dipstick. Even shows the trans dipstick in the owners manual. I cannot believe that there are cars without auto trans Dipsticks that GM is putting out there. When I was buying the car I always inspect the engine and look for all the fluid fill locations. Would you believe when I bought the car the transmission dipstick showed that it was not up to the fill mark. had to add alittle trans fluid. It also has a small power steering reservoir that has a very small cap and tiny dipstick. Like I said If the car did not have the appropriate dipsticks and stuff normally found on cars I would not buy it.

Brian - Very Hot , Las Vegas, NV

I wonder if Cadillacs have a Auto Trans Dipstick ???. With the Money they charge you for a Cadillac these days - They better have an Auto Trans Dipstick and all the other appropriate fluid dipsticks.

Brian - Very Hot, Las Vegas, NV

Nah - Caddy owners pay someone else to worry about that stuff.

Brian,

Yes, the 4T80E has a dipstick, as does the 4T60E & 4T65E.

Regards, Bill Bowen Sacramento, CA

Brian,

I checked my All-Data Transmission manuals just to refresh my memory, and as I remembered GM used 2 different automatic transaxles on 2000 Cavaliers.

The first one is the 3-speed 3T40, which is the old THM125C first produced in 1980. THAT transaxle has a dipstick.

Some Cavaliers where equipped with the 4T40E 4-speed transaxle. That transaxle does NOT have a dipstick. It has a vent/fill cap just forward of the manual valve shaft and a oil level check plug that has to be accessed from underneath (it is next to the torque converter housing on the passenger side of the main case).

The 4T40E is not the only GM automatic that does not have a dipstick: the 4L30E RWD transmission and the Saturn automatics don't either.

BTW, I sure do wish GM would adopt for all the automatics the neat system for transmission filtering used on the Saturns: an external spin-on filter like the oil filters on modern cars.

Regards, Bill Bowen Sacramento, CA .

Bill,

Thanks. Someone else suggested a side plug to check the level and I just could not believe it.

What about the back up light switch on a 2002 Cavalier with a 5 speed manual. Where is it?

Al

"Big Al"

Believe it. The plug is at the passenger side of the transmission, very close to the right transaxle seal, where the right axle comes out of the transmission. Wrench size for it is 7/16" or 11 mm.

It's the only switch on the transmission other then the speed sensor. Below the shifter area and towards the left fender.

Ian

Thanks Ian.

I checked my 2000 Cavalier 4 door 2.2L engine for the 20th Time and yes it has a Transmission Dipstick. Im pretty sure it will still be there tomorrow - I will look again. I have never heard of no transmission dipstick. Lets start this discussion again. I would make GM give you back some money for not putting in a Auto Transmission Dipstick. I would call GM Head Quarters and ask them - Where is my Auto Trans Dipstick the MAnual shows it in there but you forgot to put it in. I want a $1,700.00 cash back rebate on this or you can install one in my car. And I would go on and on to GM telling them that im an American and this is America and your an American car company that should stand tall and listen to its customers And Show them the RED - WHITE AND BLUE THAT SHOULD Be in America and dont stop at 1 GM Person move up their ladder and tell them and also write them letters thats how you can try and change things in America. Don't Wimper out in life - On your Belly Fight for Yourselfs and the Country that you love. You can change things trust me. I won 3 battles with 3 Diffrent home owner Associations about my wooden fence and it was hard but I WON !!!! Win one for the Gipper !!!!!! Brian - Las Vegas.

No, let's not. The truth is that not all automatic transmissions/transaxles have dipsticks. The GM 4T40E/4T45E, the 4L30E and the Saturn automatics do not. Your Cavalier must have a 3T40 in it.

1999 & 2000 Cavaliers with the 2.2L engine where built with both 3T40 and 4T40Es. All 2.4L automatics where 4T40Es.

Regards, Bill Bowen Sacramento, CA

P.S. Just to make it more interesting, some GM manual transaxles do have dipsticks. Figure out the sense in that one . . .

Bill, Is the 3t40 Transmission a good transmission. What is the difference in the other Transmissions on the 2000 Cavalier. ??? Brian - Las Vegas

Large quantities of beer aren't always your best friend.

Brian,

The 3T40 is the old THM125C renamed. First produced in 1979, GM has had many years to get all the bugs out of it. 3 speed with no overdrive, all hydraulic controls except for torque converter lockup (controlled by ECM). THE one big problem with this transaxles has been the electrical solenoid that controls lockup - they stick in the lockup mode, resulting in an engine stall when the car is stopped (like stopping a manual transmission car and not releasing the clutch).

The 4T40E is a 4-speed electronically-controlled transaxle - basically a physically smaller version of the 4T65E. Biggest advantage over the 3T40 is the 4th gear (overdrive) - the car will get better gas mileage (all other things being equal) than the same car with a

3T40.

Bill

snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net (Brian Bower) wrote:

"Brian Bower" wrote

Geez Brian....it "must" be good, it's got a dipstick!

Ian

Thanks Bill for the information. Hopefully the Transmission will last awhile. Brian - Las Vegas, NV