Hey guys, when I service my automatic transmission in my diesel F-250 2wd the plastic end of the stick gives me fits. It is always partially coated and I have a hard time getting the proper fill after servicing . I wish there was a replacement steel stick like to check the oil. My wife's Murano has the same plastic crap but I just charge the oil filter and add 4-1/4qts of synthetic and don't bother with the stick. Can anyone tell me the exact number of quarts of trans fluid to put in with a filter change and does anyone have any ideas about getting a flat steel dipstick replacement ? Thanks for your time and input

 

You have posted the model but not the year.

Please post year.

Sean

 

It's a 2001 F-250 2WD

 

Look at page 3 of this PDF
http://www.lifeautomotive.com/pdfs/SBFluidChart.pdf

Sean

 

I've been through this recently too. My trans is a different model though but still the same hard to see plastic stick. I've found numbers all over for my trans and none were close to the real deal. I dropped the pan and got 1.5qts more than I "should" have got out and changed the pan to a newer 08 pan which requires another qt and still added more than was typical on the forums, I used the dipstick for the final result.

Real world differs and these sticks only show about a half quart. So you can seriously overfill or underfill without realizing it. Overfilling can cause transmission fluid spill over and fires... not fun. Luckily underfilling is easy to see at first and usually you are sure after a short drive to settle everything.

What worked for me: first you have to check it running and warmed up. Gas make sure coolant gauge is in the middle and you've been driving for at least 5min. Diesel make it 20+ min and don't trust the gauge even if in the middle. Pull the stick clean and recheck, I'm **** so I recheck 2x. I add what I think is good (.10 to .25 qt increments) and check again. Chances are you can't tell because as you say the plastic part stinks and the fluid hasn't settled.

So, I drive it as long as its showing somewhere on the stick. Dry you can tell. I will recheck after a short trip or the next day back from work so the fluid has settled and worked through everything. I did this 3x (so three days) and I finally got it to 75%-85% on the stick reliably. Ignore the cold part and ignore the backside, only care about the hot mark.

Is it ridiculous that you have to read tea leaves to see your trans level... yes. Does it save a $3-4k transmission also yes. Some people have said short trips (they drive around the block) between fluid checks work too and that is probably a good way, my trips to work are short (20min) and easy on the truck so since it was on the stick I knew it wouldn't do any damage. Don't tow or operate in really hot/cold weather unless you know your level is good (I'd say at half way on the hot but that is IMHO).

 

Thank you so much guys. The help is much appreciated !