Hi,
I’m a newbie DIYer home mechanic. I keep seeing on transmission fluids “do not overfill” ok so 1) How the hell do you know when to stop filling? and 2) what is so dangerous about overfilling?? and Just to be thorough is there a way to find out how much I have inside my tranny at present? Thanks
MOST trans have a dipstick, which you use with engine running and on level surface. That’s how you know (see the MANUAL!). [VW’s don’t have an owner access to the tranny].
Why not overfill? Well, the shifting of your tranny depends on the right amount of fluid, since the tranny is sorta “fluid drive”, in that the fluid forces things to turn at a certain rate, with a certain pressure, to much or too little fluid will change the shifting: too litte = slip and overheating. Too much = too much resistance, pressure and possible leaks.
These are just examples, since you have failed to mention the car, model, year and references to recommendations in the manual.
:eek: ouch… ok I get it I was too frustrated to think straight… kinda feel like a dipstick now .
Ok, my car’s an atx a '93 Mazda Mx-6 LS (80K)- I really don’t see why things have to get so specific when the nature of my question was not. I suppose the auto or manual category was worth mentioning however.
My car is notorious for having a crappy ATX, even so i prefer them (no comments please). So currently my tranny is quite stiff shifting; what i would call “choppy”.
My tranny is so slow-responding that I drive my atx much like a manual. I know at what speed each shift is made and I “let up” slightly on the accelerator until I feel the shift. I know level 10 makes an upgrade kit for my vehicle, but that’s $500 bucks I don’t have and the typical “shift improver” pour in either doesn’t work or doesn’t last. The tranny has been flushed before, so it isn’t that I don’t maintain my vehicle, I just would like to learn more auto fundamentals in the hopes of improving this rather lacking component of this otherwise awesome vehicle.
Another aspect of checking fluid level is that the vehicle be warmed up. If you have overfilled the trans, you may have interfered with the normal expansion space engineered into the assembly. Hot, level, and at idle are proper conditions.
Typically, the stick will have a upper and lower limit, often the area in between is filled with a pattern of XXXX. If the fluid line is between those two, leave it alone. If it’s low, add a half-quart, and let the vehicle idle for a few minutes before rechecking, or your reading will be false-high. With the variety of fluids on the market today, make sure that you’re feeding the correct juice to the transmission, or you’ll create a greater problem than what you’re trying to solve. Go by what is stamped onto the stick, or failing that-the owner’s manual.