Wishing for shut off and cold atf level checks-

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Not talking about the latest sight glass/fill plug stuff, but the old traditional dipstick. I rarely feel like I get an accurate reading with hot idle as fluid from the tube/splash/what ever makes for a hard read. With the older transmissions it didn't seem like they were all that fussy as 'close' was good enough, but some of the later do seem to 'want' levels within a narrower range. With some transmissions I've found that cold and off give about the same readings as at idle-others not. The latest is just a fluid R+R on my 'winter beater' '05 Elantra and it wants OE fluid 'just right there' or shifts aren't as they should be=all a pain in the wahzoo!
 
I do the following. On a day when I'm doing errands I check the fluid every time I leave for the next stop.

I check it on level ground (obviously) and unlevel ground (within limits) too.

"Learn the vehicle" is all I can suggest. KIra
 
It would be nice to have a shut off and cold fluid level, but I guess we should just consider ourselves lucky that the trans even has a dipstick with all the "lifetime fill" [censored].
 
I am in the "close enough" group. I check my transmissions with dipsticks both cold and hot. The fact that you are even checking it is more than the average person does.
 
Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
It would be nice to have a shut off and cold fluid level, but I guess we should just consider ourselves lucky that the trans even has a dipstick with all the "lifetime fill" [censored].


My sealed transmissions all get cooler line flushes every 50,000 miles. Flush, fill, forget. If they aren't leaking no big deal.
 
What counts as an "older transmission"?

I have a car that is close to a quarter century old which is a major PITA to check the level.

The transmission has no dipstick. To check the fluid it needs to be within a narrow temperature range, warm but not hot. The car needs to be running, and the level checked immediately after shifting through the gears. The level is correct when undoing a plug on the oil pan results in a thin stream flowing out. The engine-off level is well above this line, and if you haven't recently selected every gear, it is as well. To check the level I need to shift through the gears, jump out, roll under the running car, remove a bolt partially blocked by the shift cable, and observe the fluid outflow. I know it's correct when the thin stream is blown everywhere by the engine fan. Then I need to get the plug bolt back in before the fluid from the un-unactivated clutches flows back into the pan.

Now tell me again about how older cars were easier...
 
A transmission's operating temperature is pretty much consistent, ambient temperature is not.

It would have to have hash marks for "hot", "Texas winter cold", "Texas summer cold", "Canada super-duper winter cold", et cetera.
 
Originally Posted By: Ethan1
A transmission's operating temperature is pretty much consistent


You might want to reconsider that statement...
 
Most Hondas are checked with the transmission hot and engine shut off.

I check my own non-Honda vehicles occasionally when I pull in for fuel. I find a level spot out of everyone's way and check it before I pull up to the pumps.

When we do pan drops and filter changes for customers I add with the engine running until it shows on the dipstick. Then I go for a short drive and pull the vehicle up onto the alignment rack where it is perfectly level. I aim for the lower end of the hot range, one pint at a time.
 
Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Originally Posted By: Ethan1
A transmission's operating temperature is pretty much consistent


You might want to reconsider that statement...


The transmission's internal temperature, especially with today's thermostatically controlled cooler circuits, is an order of magnitude more consistent than the seasonal temperatures that a vehicle can experience in the many, many markets where it's sold.
 
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