How do I check the transmission fluid

I would imagine that you car has a dipstick, it just simply covered up with hoses or sits very low by the firewall. However, a lot of the newer Ford/Mercury and Lincoln cars do not have a dipstick. Yep, you heard it right. An automatic transmission with NO dipstick. How do you check the fluid level? You don't. Now here's where it gets interesting. A few late model Ford/Mercury and Lincoln cars have a recall for hard shifting. The cure is to add a bottle of liquid that Ford markets. You might ask how to get the fluid into the tranny if there is no dipstick. It's simple. (Actually it's not so simple) There is a plug on the BOTTOM side of the tranny pan. Yep, you must take out the plug and try to get this additive into the tranny while the transmission fluid is running out of the plug. Did you lost too much tranny fluid? Who knows. This will come back and bite the car manufactures because Ford is not the only one who is doing this.

It's hard to believe that there is no fill plug on the top or side of the transmission anywhere to allow you to put the fluid in. Hell, even if you'd jack the back end of the car way up and pull the driveshaft, you could always dump it in the tailshaft. It'd be less messy.

Either the dealer has some sort of positive pressure fill system specific to these cars (highly unlikely) or there's another way.

And, as far as it biting the car manufacturers, I kinda doubt it. Fewer and fewer people are working on their cars today, and really all Ford (or any other manufacturer) cares about is that it gets out of the warranty period safely. They expect turn-around, and aren't real concerned with the 2nd-9th owners, because they aren't buying *new* cars... thus not helping them any. The dealerships will get the correct tools to work on the cars, and beyond that, the shadetree and the private shop owner may be left scrambling, but I doubt the manufacturers will feel any of that sting.

JS

DANG!! that's about as dumb as making the heater core the first part on the assembly line that they built my car around!

adam snipped-for-privacy@langley.af.mil '03 K500 Tahoe '95 Z71, Edelbrock MPFI '93 Mustang Cobra 3076

Why on earth would you do it that way? That's the hard way! It's much easier to just flip the car onto it's roof...

;)