OverKill

I did that on my 07, wish i had bought a new pan with plug from O'Reilly. The rear bolts were a pain and broke a bolt getting the skid plate off, had to drill, retap, new bolt from dealership was like $10. Plan on doing it to my 10, but I am gonna replace the pan with a pan that has a drain plug.

cabmak4life78

Yea I just dropped my pan for the second change/flush and I put a new one up with the drain plug this time. I got tired of the ridiculous mess even after using a hand pump to empty the pan I still managed to leave almost a quart behind much to my surprise when I dropped the pan.

resharp001

Going to add another thing to this thread....and curious if anyone else has experienced this. Will start by saying that I've had a broken hard line from the tranny cooler before, so this is NOT the original fluid from the factory; however, all work was done at the dealer.

Prior to draining, I checked the dipstick level. Well, I checked several times and the level always appeared to be WAY high! All the way over the "hot" level and up around the crinkle in the dipstick. I started thinking surely I haven't been driving for 3.5 years with fluid that overfilled. Especially when the dealer filled it. I measured what drained out (after sitting overnight) and I got 4L out....with VERY little spillage. I thought ok, I'll just fill it up to the cold line and see what it reads. I put in 2.5L of new fluid and check the dipstick. Well, I checked several times after giving it time to drain down out of the dipstick tube, and it read the same as before....way high...up to the dipstick crinkle! Drained 4L, added 2.5L back in and it reads the same??? Not like there's anything technical with that dipstick...LOL. How could I get such a faulty reading?

Well, I ended up deciding that the dealer filled it before, and I've had no issues. Forever reason the dipstick didn't look right. 4L came out, so I went ahead and put the full 4L back in. Read the dipstick and it looked the same. ugh. If the level was REALLY there at 2.5L, adding another 1.5L would have backed it up the entire dipstick tube. Needless to say I don't trust that dipstick at all. I've had no issues since the service so just moving on from it. Odd though.

ronjenx

Did you check the transmission fluid level with the transmission warmed up, the engine idling, and the lever in Park or Neutral? If not, that is why the level looked so high on the dip stick.

resharp001

No, I didn't. I thought the best route was to let it sit overnight to get as much to drain to the pan as possible. Since the dipstick has a "hot" and "cold" level, I didn't think much about it. I'll check it again after driving it and see where it lands. Thank you.

In regards to the lever. I did try starting it up and cycling through the gears to see if it made a difference, but put it back in park to get out and check the dipstick again.

Rednroll

Yeah, the reading is more accurate when it's warm. There's actually some good tips in the owners manual on checking and filling.

I think you have the 3.6, so likely different. On my 3.8 it had me pretty confused when filling. On one side of the dipstick it showed it was full, but on the other it showed it was low. Apparently the end of the dip stick sits sideways in the trans. Once, I read the OM it pointed out that it may read differently on each side of the dip stick and that you should continue to add fluid until both sides read full.

resharp001

Interesting. I definitely noticed where the dipstick came down when the pan was off....and the last several inches at least appeared to be a straight shot down in to the pan on my 3.6L with W5A580.

Rednroll

Here's what is posted in regards to the 3.8L 42RLE trans in the owner's manual.


Fluid Level Check — 42RLE
Check the fluid level while the transmission is at normal
operating temperature 180° F (82° C). This occurs after at
least 15 miles (25 km) of driving. At normal operating
temperature, the fluid cannot be held comfortably between
the fingertips.
If the transmission overheats, a “HOTOIL” message will
be displayed in the odometer and a chime will sound.

To properly check the automatic transmission fluid level,
the following procedure must be used:
1. Operate the engine at idle speed and normal operating
temperature.
2. The vehicle must be on level ground.
3. Fully apply the parking brake.
4. Place the shift lever momentarily into each gear position
ending with the shift lever in PARK.
5. Remove the dipstick, wipe it clean and reinsert it until
seated.
6. Remove the dipstick again and note the fluid level on
both sides. The fluid level should be between the HOT
(upper) reference holes on the dipstick at normal operating
temperature. Verify that a solid coating of oil is seen
on both sides of the dipstick. If the fluid is low, add as
required into the dipstick tube. Do not overfill. After
adding any quantity of oil through the dipstick tube, wait
a minimum of two minutes for the oil to fully drain into
the transmission before rechecking the fluid level.
NOTE: If it is necessary to check the transmission below
the operating temperature, the fluid level should be
between the two cold (lower) holes on the dipstick with
the fluid at approximately 70° F (21° C) (room temperature).
If the fluid level is correctly established at room
temperature, it should be between the HOT (upper)
reference holes when the transmission reaches 180° F (21°
C). Remember it is best to check the level at the normal
operating temperature.

Caution!
Be aware that if the fluid temperature is below 50° F
(10° C), it may not register on the dipstick. Do not add
fluid until the temperature is elevated enough to
produce an accurate reading.

ronjenx

If you want to get the best reading, have the transmission warmed up with normal driving.
Use an infrared temperature gun to get a reading from the transmission pan, or use a gauge that reads from the OBDII connector.

Check the dip stick as instructed in the owner's manual, and compare to the picture below.

resharp001

Thanks. Totally random side note here, but was talking to a couple buddies and they put their jeeps in park, computer shows their tranny temps same as the engine temp. They have '14/'15s. This weekend I was paying attention to this and it appears that when I put my '13 in park, computer shows my tranny temp at zero. Put it back in gear and it shows 170* or whatever current temp is, back to park and it goes to zero. I just thought that was odd. Apparently theirs goes to whatever their coolant temp is.