On most of the newer cars there is no transmission dipstick and therefore there is no way for the consumer to check the condition or the level of the automatic transmission fluid and also there is no way for the consumer to add fluid or transmission additives. Is there a way to taking the vehicle to a dealer or a mechanic?
View 19 RepliesWhen having an oil change at Valvoline, the mechanic informed me that the tip of the transmission dip stick was broken off. If this tip is floating around could this piece of metal damage my transmission?
View 4 RepliesSo I have been told I need to have the transmission fluid changed in my GX470 by the dealer. They have said that off and on when I take it in for an oil change or some other services since 60K miles. I have never felt a difference in the transmission performance and have had no 'quirks' with it like I have had with other cars when the trans fluid is nearing the end of its useful life.
So I am concerned that since it is a 'sealed' unit that has no dipstick to check the fluid condition, they have a 'safe' way to tell me I need an expensive service when I really do not.
I am not afraid to work on my cars (I used to work on my cars including my built up rotary with a street port) but have just been too busy to do that stuff for the past 15+ years and am starting to get back into maintaining my own cars again.
On my recently purchased 2013 Camry with DUAL VVT-i on the engine I cannot locate the transmission fluid dipstick.. I have ordered the owners's manual but it has not arrived.
View 14 RepliesWhat is the easiseat way to add tranny fluid down the dipstick hole? That anle looks pretty hard to use a funnel.
View 10 RepliesI have recently run into a problem with my transmission on my van, mainly that it won't drive forward, however reverse seems to work just fine. Prior to the problem: Before it stopped working altogether, there were a few symptoms that I should tell you before we get started. First, upon starting the vehicle and putting it into drive the vehicle acted like it was in neutral, or barely crawled forwarded. If you waited a few moments, or pressed the accelerator, it would quickly engage and once it had been driven for 5 minutes no more problems shifting gears would occur.
I attributed these problems to low fluid and/or cold fluid (as the problem would noticeably become better/worse with warmer/colder conditions respectively) So I was content with topping off the fluid and seeing if the problem persisted consistently when it got warmer. 2.) There would be at times a loud clunk when the gear finally engaged after pushing the accelerator.
I have a repair manual for the van which has a trouble shooting guide and it said to check the universal joint. I did, and it seemed intact, rust free, and fine. I researched it a little more and did not see any indications that this was an awful horrible problem, so again, I decided to wait until the weather changed to investigate further. Problem: One day I drove the van to north Austin and left it in a parking lot for a few hours while I went inside. When I came back out and started the vehicle it would not engage 'drive' no matter what I did. It has since been sitting in the parking lot for about 2 weeks and the owner finally gave me the boot so I pushed it out onto the street.
What I have tried: I found a leak where the transmission fluid connects to the radiator (a hose was clamped too hard) and seemed to have fixed that problem. So that solves the problem of why there was low fluid in the first place. I took the doghouse apart and replaced a few vacuum lines that were extremely worn and damaged. At one point this was causing the van to stall immediately after starting, but have since been fixed. I checked the shift linkage where it connects to the transmission housing and, luckily, was able to view the dial on the transmission case where it connected; all moves of the shifter do in fact engage the dial and turn it. I pulled the two electrical connections off of the transmission housing to inspect them for burns or corrosion, although I would doubt reverse would work if they were damaged, and found none. They seemed to be in fine shape. The throttle cable seems to be fine. The speedometer cable is missing I believe because I can't find it and the speedometer doesn't work. However, unless I'm missing something this wouldn't cause the problem. Fluid seemed dirty, but I did not feel that is had be roasted over a fire pit (indicating burned out parts?)
Possibilities: I am going to drop the pan today I hope and investigate a little further inside the transmission. The transmission fluid does NOT seem to be getting any hotter than luke-warm. From what my manual tells me this should not be. Transmission fluid should get to a point where it is too hot to comfortably touch. I am wondering if this could be caused by one of three things a.) Broken pump not circulating the fluid b.) Clogged filter - fluid unable to circulate c.) No vacuum - not allowing the pump to get adequate air pressure to operate. I am wondering if, maybe, the fluid is not being warmed enough to expand correctly to let the transmission operate.
I have heard that these go bad, but are cheap and easy to replace. I have put this option off because I'd assume the regulator controls more than one thing and so if it were broken something like say, the fuel system would be affected as well. Maybe I'm wrong? Could it also be the hose itself? I think there is also a short somewhere in the electrical system, although I think it's located in the heater wiring, because the battery will drain heavily when it rains and the heater is engaged. I have read somewhere that this may cause the transmission not to operate properly, but it seemed to me like it is something else. In any case, I have been stuck in Austin now for quite some time, don't have money to pay a shop 2,000 to diagnose, over charge me for parts, and charge 10 hours of labor for a rebuild when you can buy these transmissions, it seems, for relatively cheap. I am hoping this is a relatively simple problem that someone here would be able to recognize and diagnose, or at the very least be able to say: "Check and fix these 4 things and come back." I'm trying very hard to learn this car inside and out and the repair manual I bought doesn't want me playing with the transmission at all - simply says "take it to a pro chump"
I have 95 Aurora with 200,000 miles and the transmission is slipping. When I check fluid cold their is nothing on stick, when hot the fluid id bubbling and overfull. Should I change the filter and fluid or will this hurt the car?
View 2 RepliesI am checking the tranny fluid level in my daughter's 2007 4 cyl Camry tomorrow.
This tranny has the dipstick and each time we try to check the fluid level with the dip stick we are not sure if we are getting a good reading or not.
What's the trick to it. Should the tranny fluid be at a certain temp before checking? I don't have the manual with me so I'm trying to find the procedure.
I cannot find the transmission dipstick to check the trans fluid? I looked in the owners manual also and I can't find it.
View 14 Replies2009 Ford Explorer - 6cyl - 4L - auto trans - 35K miles. I'd like to change the automatic transmission fluid, but as some may already know, there is no dipstick on these vehicles. I have one of those hand pumps which will fit on the quart bottles and I'd be able to pump new fluid in (through where the drain torx bolt is). My question is: How do you know when the fluid level is correct when re-filling and then checking ? Also, I'm assuming that this has to be checked while the vehicle is running and in park ?
View 10 RepliesMy mother owns a 1996 Olds Eighty-Eight that has developed a magical ability plus another problem that multiple mechanics have failed to solve. Magic: The car, a few miles after an oil change and verifying the correct amount of oil was put in at the change, magically generates more oil to the point the level on the stick doubles. Problem: At the same time, the car has significant loss of transmission fluid, but no leak large enough to account for the loss. I suspect the two are linked, and one mechanic even said that there was a valve or something that could go bad or get stuck and allow the transmission fluid to get pulled into the oil, but no one has been able to definitively reach an answer or fix the issue.
View 2 RepliesHaving issues with transmission fluid spewing out the dipstick hole? Truck is an 04 Escape and has worked great until I had a rear manifold leaking. I took the truck to our mechanic and he replaced the rear manifold cat converter. He broke 3 of the 4 bolts so he told me he had to roll the engine forward to gain access to tap out the broken bolts. Im sure he took the throttle body and intake off for more room. I Got the truck back and noticed transmission fluid all over my driveway the next day. I contacted the mechanic and he states it was nothing he did and cannot figure why this is happening. Basically told me to fly a kite!
View 14 RepliesI have 2007 sport trac 4.0 liter V6. I have noticed for the past week or so that I have antifreeze leaking from the bottom of the radiator and I had to add some coolant to it the other day(1/2 gallon). I know it is the radiator leaking and not the overflow so I am going to go head and order me a radiator and change it. I have read that some of the replacement radiators was not lasting but about a year before they leaked.From what I have read on the internet a lot of ford owners is having this same problem with the radiator leaking at around 60,000 miles. Also there is no transmission dip stick to check the fluid, will I lose enough fluid that it hurt the transmission. I have just had the 60,000 mile transmission service done.
View 9 RepliesI have the 4r75e transmission. Last week I was driving for about 20-30 mins when my transmission fluid started to boiled and came out the dipstick tube. I let it cool off then took my time and drove it home. I know my transmission is not shot because I am getting full power on the transmission. After I got home I checked the fluid level and it's good, then I disconnect the transmission fluid lines on the transmission to see if I am having flow, but no luck...
I took my air hose and blew the lines out and they were clear. I also blew into the transmission thru the ports where the lines were connected. I started the truck up and the fluid came out with full force about 1-2qarts came out before I shut the truck off. I was all excited and I connected all the lines And started the truck to go for a test drive but my gut told me to disconnect the line to see if I am still having a flow and as suspected no flow...
I took off the lines that connected to the transmission and still no flow. I blew the air into the transmission again and started the truck up and bam I have flow again for about 20 seconds... I shut the truck off and I decided to connected the lines back to the transmission and I disconnected the lines about 12" away from the transmission to put a clear hose that connected both lines to make a loop.
Started the truck and there was no flow, I disconnected the 5/8 nut on the transmission and blew the air into the transmission. Started the truck and only got a few dribbles. I check the fluid level and it's still good. I am stuck and don't know what to do... What part of the transmission send the hot fluid out to the cool. The valve body? The main pump? The solenoid???
OK; I give up. How do I check the trans. fluid level on my 2010 F150 6 spd. auto trans????? I see that there is NOT a dipstick in the engine compartment.
View 14 RepliesMy mechanic wants to use an engine cleaner to add to oil, then blow it all out!! It's a 2001 Saab 9-5 with 110k miles and is starting to burn its semi-syn at the rate of 1 qt. per 1400 miles.He says there's no discernable leaks.Should I let him add anything? Just keep adding the oil?
View 17 RepliesHere's the scoop, was driving down the freeway the other day, car is a 2001 PT Cruiser going about 65-70 MPH when all the sudden it felt as if I had hit something, a loud bump sound which came from underneath the engine, then an immediate reduction in speed and acceleration. After that, I was trying to accelerate the car, the RPMs were revving like crazy but the car would not go more than 15 MPH, while the RPMs were revving and revving, almost as if I was in park.
Got the car to the side of the road, opened the hood and found that the top of the dipstick (transmission) had blown off and shot transmission fluid all over the engine. Unsure of why this happened but sure that was what the loud sound was before the drastic drop in acceleration.
After that I had the car towed to my house, now it will start, but not drive in reverse at all, i'm afraid to try driving it to inspect it further but that's pretty much where I am at right now. There's 117k miles on this car...
I've been watching my mother's 1976 Fiat convertible this summer. It had been taken to the shop about 6 weeks ago and it's been running fine without any problems. I had to leave for about three weeks and now the car will not start.
When I turn the key in the ignition with the clutch engaged, the engine turns, but pressing down on the gas pedal has no effect. The engine doesn't rev nor does it catch. There is gas in the tank and clean oil. I checked all the connections I didn't find anything loose.
I too had this problem and tried different gas, gas additives, meticulously inspecting the cooling system to make sure overheating was impossible, found the jumper that allows me to back off timing 2 degrees, checked the computer for error codes, and cleaning the MAF sensor. Nothing really worked.
The solution is to decarbon the engine. It is all described in TSB 01-19-7, dated OCT 01. I did this and END of the problem. Pay attention to the part about not ingesting the PM-3 cleaner too fast to make sure you don't liquid lock your engine. The only important step they forgot was that you will need to replace spark plugs when you're done. You may also want to lay some newspaper under your tailpipe too, as the crud is gonna flow.
The TSB notes that the driver should have "periods of daily operation over 3500RPM to break carbon from cyl heads". They also note that you should NOT use mid-grade or super duper unleaded, as these increase the probability of carbon buildup.
This repair will cost about $30 if you do it yourself; if you can change a flat tire you can do this.
My daughter's 2002 Saturn S-series coupe has a manual transmission. Lately it has been jumping out of 2nd gear, and occassionally 4th and reverse. What is the most likely cause?
View 2 RepliesI'm planning on doing the regular scheduled coolant flush but not sure if it can be done without any special equipment.
One dealer said they don't do many diesels but have a machine to do the refill and quoted ~200$. The other does more diesels but hasn't done a flush in a while and quoted ~500$ and said he does it old school by draining everything out and then water flush followed by refilling the systems.
Which one is right? Can it be done in the driveway? Which is the correct coolant for the refill and are any additives required after filling?