And lastly, with the engine running, shift through all the gears before checking the fluid level. Other than that, make sure the car is on level ground to avoid the liquid level rising or lowering because of a slope. And to get the engine to operating temperature, take it for a normal 5-10 mile drive before you return home and check the level. That’s why the engine should be at operating temperature when checking the transmission fluid level, even if your car has a cold mark on the dipstick. However, the cold marks are still set to a certain temperature which you can’t replicate unless the outside temperature is right. The cold markings are there for when you are checking the fluid and when the engine is cold you will also notice those are lower than the hot marks. And that’s enough reason to never be checking transmission fluid cold.Īlso, some cars have a hot and cold mark on the transmission fluid dipstick. Once you see that, you will add some fluid which under normal conditions will be too much, and that can end up blowing the seals or destroying the torque converter and shift solenoids. If you check the transmission fluid with the engine cold, the dipstick will show a lower level than it actually is. That’s something car manufacturers keep in mind and take into account when calibrating the dipstick markings. When transmission warms up, it expands and raises the level on the dipstick. Whether you should be checking transmission fluid hot or cold is equally important as checking it with the engine running. Why You Should Check Transmission Fluid When The Engine Is Hot So, always leave the engine running when checking the transmission fluid so that the torque converter pulls the excess fluid from the pan and you get an accurate reading. Now, considering that a torque converter holds anywhere between 2 and 5 quarts of transmission fluid while it’s running, depending on its size, the dipstick reading will be drastically inaccurate. That means the dipstick will show an abnormally high level of fluid if the engine is off. And since those are not the relevant running conditions, the dipstick is marked to show high and low levels during operating conditions (when the torque converter is full). On the other hand, when the engine is off, the transmission fluid drains from the torque converter and rests in the pan, which is where the dipstick measures the fluid level. Also, keep in mind that the torque converter only spins and is full of transmission fluid when the engine is running. That means there always has to be enough transmission fluid in the pan for the gears and to fill up the entire torque converter. The torque converter uses transmission fluid for this process, plus the transmission fluid is also used to lubricate the transmission gears. The transmission fluid passes through the impeller, returns to the turbine, and the process repeats. The fluid coupling means there is no solid connection between the wheels and the engine, and instead, the engine turns a turbine wheel that pushes transmission fluid through an impeller connected to the wheels. And the way a torque converter works is that it uses transmission fluid coupling to turn the wheels. The automatic transmission relies on a torque converter to transfer power from the engine to the wheels, unlike a manual transmission that uses two solid shafts and a clutch. Why You Should Check Transmission Fluid When The Engine Is Runningīefore we go into why you should check transmission fluid when the engine is running, here is how the system works. If you check the fluid with the engine off, all the fluid that’s supposed to be in the torque converter is stored in the oil pan, and the dipstick will show that the level is too high, thus giving you an inaccurate reading. The reason why you should check transmission fluid when the engine is running is when the engine is running the torque converter is filled with transmission fluid which changes the fluid level in the pan. However, you may be surprised and confused by the hot and cold marks on the dipstick, not to mention erratic readings if you do it incorrectly. Checking the transmission fluid is fairly simple in standard automatic cars since they come with a normal dipstick, just like the one for engine oil.
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