I've been getting some converter/clutch shake from my car when I do heavy acceleration in a hard turn.....so I did the next logical step, and checked my tranny level when I got home.....(tranny warm, car in park with engine running). The fluid level comes up to the little hole at the end of the stick. Basically, I'm only showing about 1/8 inch on the stick, when I should be up around 2-3". So the question is, how much tranny fluid do I need to add, and what type?

Thanks,

-The Gunny

 

Check your manual for the exact type.........I've got a 5 speed, but I think it's the same, Mercon III.

Just add about a pint or so and check the level again.

 

I'd start with 2 qts. Then let the car idle and check it. Add accordingly. How long has it been since the filter was replaced? If it hasn't been too long, i'd do that too. If the tranny is drained, it will take around 9qts of fluid. If it hasn't been changes in 20k miles or so, I'd leave the filter alone though.

 

The tranny was rebuilt like 4K miles ago, so I'm pretty sure I need to go back and get the pan bolts retightened or something. I haven't got up underneath there to see if there's a leak, so I can't be sure just yet. I added some Valvoline Max Life Dextron III; about 1 pint, and it seem to help with the performance of the tranny(no more shaking), but when I got home and checked the level again, it seems to have made no difference in the level.

 

There should be cross-hatched area on the dipstick face. The bottom of the cross-hatch is supposed to be 1 quart low. If you're not in that area yet, add a quart, run it through the ranges, and check it again.

If the trans was rebuilt 4,000 miles ago, you should be thinking about changing the oil in the next few thousand miles to get all the little "Klingons" out of there. BTW - They DID install a drain plug, right?

 

Isn't the hatched area of a tranny dipstick one pint?

 

That's part of the confussion I'm having with it. I'm kind of getting the impression that the stick goes by pints, but when you fill one up, most people talk in quarts. Which is no big deal, seeing how 2 pints = 1 qt.....I think. I was really trying to get at what the measurement on the stick represent....pints or qts.?

 

My car is in the parking lot, but I'm 1500 miles from the parking lot...

It should say "1 pt low" or something like that on the dipstick. Measure the length of the crosshatched area, and how far the fluid is below the "Full" mark; divide the latter by the former and add that many pints.

Service manuals typically refer to tranny capacity in pints. But, the ATF is sold in quarts, so pints capacity divided by 2 is how many quarts you buy.

 

O.K. - I had a brain fart...

I should have said PINT, not QUART. I guess I'm suffering from cabin fever already.

Yes, transmission capacity is generally quoted in pints, even though it is normally sold in quarts. Cooling system capacitiess are usually quoted in quarts, but antifreeze is sold in gallons (since no one uses alcohol any more). And manual transmissions and differentials are listed either way, according to my reference books. I guess that's one thing the metric system has over the "old" system, except when you're discussing combustion chamber volumes, or smaller engines (like motorcycles and snowmobiles), or torque specifications. Isn't ANYONE consistent??

 

I think bran cereal is supposed to help with that.

Thank the King. If it wasn't for his arrogance, we wouldn't even have a "foot" or an "inch"

And I've always wondered that to.... about measuring combustion chambers in cc's. But yet nobody wants to say they have a 5.7L. I want to get a sticker on my car that says I have a 1.5 gallon engine!!!!!! :sillylol:

I think you may have been thinking somewhat straight. The first dot from the bottom of the stick is ~1 quart low. I'd still only add a pint at a time though.