smyth1

i'm all about german engineering but they dropped the ball on the trans filling and checking on the autos.i'm thinking of installing a dipstick /fill tube to the gas fill or trunk area so i don't have to get under the car to check or fill it.has anyone done this?

dr bob

Be Careful.

The trans moves around a lot relative to the body, so a dipstick that is fixed to the body at the top end, and to the reservoir at the bottom end, is going to have to be able to stay sealed at the bottom. If I were trying to do this from scratch, I'd have to look at that, and also at the routing for the dipstick tube around the right-side exhaust pipe where it passes the reservoir and the side of the trans. It has to stay relatively straight so you can actually get a dipstick to slide through. The relationship between the dipstick itself and the height of the trans needs to be maintained no matter how the trans mounts wear or sag. The upper end of the tube will end up being a second vent, so it can't be inside the car or you'll constantly enjoy the intoxicating fragrance of your new favorite perfume (pronounce this with a French accent) Mercon' #5. With all those considerations, it would run from the trans to a spot on the roof somewhat to the right of center. It would run vertically down through the luggage space just behind the right rear seat, through another grommet so it could float a little from the body, then bend down to join the pipe that connects the trans to the reservoir now. O-ring and compression sleeve connection there, so it could be disconnected and reconnected for trans service when the pan and that pipe need to come off the car. I'm sure the factory engineers though long and hard about this method before scrapping it in favor of the plastic bottle on the side of the trans fluid sump.


That seems like an awful lot of work for something that can be easily inspected with a makeup mirror and a flashlight from just forward of the right rear wheel.

Does the 'new' trans leak so that level measurement/filling is a real concern?

Rob Edwards

Kick Gordon Murray to the kerb and give Dr. Bob the reins and the resources at McLaren Automotive. Can you imagine the car that would result? Think how fiendishly awesome its tranny fluid level monitoring system would be!

smyth1

yes,i have a drip at the converter.i did replace the seal but had a converter issue[wrong converter] and had to remove an install it a few times so may have streched it.

WallyP

My Father-In-Law just bought a new Kia Sportage. Since I am his Maintenance Officer, I spent some time going over the owner's manual. There is no visible way to check the ATF, and the manual says that there is no need to check it...

blown 87

That is true with many of the cars built in the last ten years, it is a life time fill, when it leaks out, that is the end of the life of the transmission.

blown 87

Or really simple and effective.

dprantl

Brilliant. I love manufacturers that actually have the ***** to state that an automatic transmission never has to have its fluid replaced, the so-called "lifetime" fill. Mercedes did this in the early 2000's; what a crock. Be glad that a 928 has a reservoir and a procedure to drain/fill it.



Dan
'91 928GT S/C 475hp/460lb.ft

dr bob

Lots of cars are coming that way now. In-laws have a Voyager/Caravan/town&counrty van that hsa been through several transmissions now. I'm sure that regular fluid changes would improve the situation, but the trans shpop really has no inspiration to get it to last any longer than they warranty the thing. New BMW's, the big Benz cars, all have "never-need-service" autobozes. I think these are akin to the "maintenance-free" batteries; It's not that they never NEED service, just that you never CAN service them, and you won't be able to tell until it's too late if they needed it sometime in the recent past.

Of course, that whole mess may have been inspired by Quicky-Lube dogs who top up with Dexron instead of whatever super-zoomie fluid the newer gearboxes need. The dual-auto-clutch boxes with computerized sequential shifting are just a little different from a Powerglide, at least in terms of what fluid characteristics they want.

dr bob

Solution looks a lot like the valve in the toilet, the one that lets water in when you flush. Level in the lower reservoir drops, more fluid pours in from an upper reservoir. Make the upper reservoir look/feel/fit/attach like a 1-quart auto trans fluid bottle so no dangerous prop-65 warning labels will be needed.


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To the OP:

My tongue was way into my cheek when I wrote the dipstick description. Please pardon my lack of sensitivity to your question and suggestion. I was trying to point out that the effort to add a usable dipstick solution is much greater than the effort required to fix the leaks, which you really need to do no matter how you plan to fill the bottle again.

In my limited experience with most folks and auto trans leaks, people drive with the leaks until the level gets so low that the car barely moves. Then they overfill it to buy a few more days of leaks, until the car will barely move again. That time between barely-moves gets shorter and shorter, until it will barely move to the trans shop. Where you describe the 'problem' as "it has a slight drip". Leak gets fixed, but all too soon the car will barely move, and this time adding fluid doesn't help 'cuz it's still full from the leak fix.

Mrmerlin

if you have a leak at the grate then you may have a failing O ring at the front pump

GregBBRD

Translation from "Bobish":

Porsche isn't stupid. If there was a way to put a dipstick into the thing, there would be one. Buy yourself a mirror and a flashlight, like everyone else has done.

Brett928S2

Hi Greg

Although I agree with that statement, anyone who made one that works would sell a LOT of them....

All the best Brett

dr bob

Greg makes it sound so... simple.



Consider that the factory never envisioned any dentists' wives crawling under their cars to check trans fluid levels. The car was way too complex, and intended to be serviced only at the dealerships by the factory-trained mechanics. Those folks have lifts, and also have the special German pump fitting that lets them push a precise charge of ATF into the sump directly, rather than through the little reservoir lid.

smyth1

yes,alot of cars dont have a stick.very simple logic.run it until it is out of warranty and blows up.then replace the trans.they have to keep the service departments busy somehow.i am aware of the pump o ring but didn't change for fear of voiding the warranty.definetly not pulling trans out again for a while.if i cant put a stick in i will at least put in a fill tube.should just be able to drill and tap the cap with a check valve and some tubing.i use a gear oil pump which has a 3/8 id outlet