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Transmission fluid level
You learn something new everyday….that’s how the saying goes.
This is what I learned today; You throw away the transmission dip stick. Now let me explain.
For sometime now I have noticed the temps rising on my water and trans temp (on my dash it’s the gauge that says oil temp with an outline of a transmission). I installed an Envro-cool filter http://envirocool.us.com/index.html in my water line to try and clean my whole system up, I really didn’t notice a change. So this past Janurary I installed a new and very expensive (lined with gold plate) radiator from Prevost. 🙂 My water temps now run at normal, 175-190 but I still noticed my trans temp running upwards of 230, so I ordered a new sending unit because that has to be it, wrong. I was talking to Rodney in Dallas and Jim Malcom to conform that there is a plug above the filler tube on the transmission that is the normal level. Rodney said the if you use the dip stick to go by on the full hot, it will be to full and the fluid will foam and not flow to the cooler. I took their advice and warmed up my bus to normal temp and opened the full trans plug and drained two gallons+ of fluid. I just couldn’t believe what I was doing was right. Well I have the level where they said it should be and took it for a 40 mile test drive and my trans temp was steady at 185 with water at 175 degrees, the ambient temp out today is 80 degrees.
After all was said and done, I checked the trans at normal temp and the dipstick was showing just below the middle in the cold range.
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6 Replies
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You should have asked, Dale.
Yup…….me too with the high temps because the five speed transmission dip stick is as reliable as a crack addict. Hard to read and inaccurate. When I learned about that little plug and got the fluid level right all was good in the world.
FWIW the World transmission has a dip stick, but I’ve never seen the bottom of it. I press the two arrows sumultaneously and after a countdown it tells me if I am OK, or low or high and by how many quarts. All from my air conditioned driver’s seat.
I feel your pain……especially the part about the gold plated radiator.
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Jon,
That would really be nice to be able to just sit in the drivers seat and check the systems like that. I’m definitely not going to show Jan your post, she is really getting tired of crawling under the bus. 🙂
ps, I glad you have found something that tells you… your ok. 🙂
pss, I would really like to talk Jan in to heading to OKC to see everyone and to look over you new bus. We have been running so much, that it’s time to stay home and get some work done.
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I too use the up and down arrow to check the transmission levels. I find my transmission temperture varies with speed. 55 or below it’s 199 or less, 65 it’s 203-205. Where is the plug and how is the measurement made. Does the plug even matter if the up/down arrow reading is accurate.
What transmission temps do others get?
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C’mon Dale, point that thing to OKC for a couple of days.
Good info on the tranny, the guys with 5 speeds will be checking their fluid level.
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Gil, Dale is talking about the 5 speed which has a small (1/8″ pipe size?) plug on the body of the transmission for accurate fluid level checks. The best of my knowledge the 6 speed does not have one and the most accurate level check for a 6 speed is the shift pad.
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My DDEC II equipped 1989 5-speed automatically checked for low fluid level. Nobody seemed to know why I would get a ‘do not shift’ warning light on cold starts which would remain for several minutes until the fluid warmed (expanded) and then go out. I finally figured out it wanted to be fed.
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