checking van trans oil?
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checking van trans oil?
ok. maybe this is the dumbest question that has ever been posted on this forum...but i am having troubling checking the level of my transmission oil!?! i have a leak (will fix but am out of town and not in position to do it for a few more weeks). in the mean time i keep adding oil once and a while. i can feel when the oil is low from how the van drives, but not really from the dipstick. a mechanic filled it the other day (while looking at the leak) and to tell you the truth, the dipstick looked the same after he added two quarts as it did when i had looked at it earlier (but it drove way better obviously). i don't see any clear distinctive line...just sort of vaguely red all over the bottom of the stick. maybe cause its so damn hard to actually get at the dipstick that i smudge it by the time i get it out to sunlight?
Tuned
Joined: Jul 2012
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From: Topeka,Ks.
What year is the van? You check it warmed up in park. When you add some get in the van and run it through P, R, N, D a couple times then get out and recheck it. Do this every time you add fluid. This pumps it through the trans. more thoroughly. And gives you a faster more accurate reading.
Post Fiend
Joined: Feb 2009
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From: Ottawa, Ontario
Must be an older model (before later 80's) as the newer ones, the dipsticks were closer to you than the older ones.
Both my vans I have no problem checking the oil, it does get all over the dipstick, but you should be able to see a clear solid line where it's at.
When he checked it before adding, was the stick all the way in? You do have to shove you arm far under the dash to reach that damn thing.
Both my vans I have no problem checking the oil, it does get all over the dipstick, but you should be able to see a clear solid line where it's at.
When he checked it before adding, was the stick all the way in? You do have to shove you arm far under the dash to reach that damn thing.
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yeah. its an '85 and i have to get shoulder deep in there amongst all hot and moving things. i know its ridiculous but no matter how much i add/loose i don't ever see any clear indication of my level..
Postmaster
Joined: Feb 2011
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this is a fairly common problem for van owners, especially after adding fluid, as it covers the inside of the dipstick tube and thus rubs off on the stick.
one trick i've thought of but not yet tried is to attach some sort of grommet to the dipstick, both above and below the section you read. it should be large enough in diameter so as to keep the stick from rubbing on the tube in that section, but small enough to allow fluid to easily flow past it. whatever may be used for this purpose, be sure it can't fall off into the fluid, and also that it won't be dissolved by the fluid. again, I HAVEN'T TESTED THIS IDEA, but it seems that it would greatly reduce the challenges of dipsticks that can't read accurately because the tube wipes fluid all over them.
also, you'll have the most trouble getting an accurate reading right after adding fluid, or right after a drive, as the fluid will be coating more of the dipstick tube at that point. let it rest for a few minutes, then go through the sequence again - start, shift through all the gears ending in park, pull, wipe, put back in, pull, read.
and if it really is totally hopeless, drive till it feels wrong, pour 2 quarts, repeat.
another thought would be to swap to the longer dipstick and tube when you reseal your tranny.
one trick i've thought of but not yet tried is to attach some sort of grommet to the dipstick, both above and below the section you read. it should be large enough in diameter so as to keep the stick from rubbing on the tube in that section, but small enough to allow fluid to easily flow past it. whatever may be used for this purpose, be sure it can't fall off into the fluid, and also that it won't be dissolved by the fluid. again, I HAVEN'T TESTED THIS IDEA, but it seems that it would greatly reduce the challenges of dipsticks that can't read accurately because the tube wipes fluid all over them.
also, you'll have the most trouble getting an accurate reading right after adding fluid, or right after a drive, as the fluid will be coating more of the dipstick tube at that point. let it rest for a few minutes, then go through the sequence again - start, shift through all the gears ending in park, pull, wipe, put back in, pull, read.
and if it really is totally hopeless, drive till it feels wrong, pour 2 quarts, repeat.
another thought would be to swap to the longer dipstick and tube when you reseal your tranny.
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