No Transmission Dip Stick????

[zoomie]

My 2010 liberty is my first Chrysler product. I can't believe there is no transmission dip stick. The dealer says it's a dealer service item now and it's the same on a lot of their cars. He said I could buy one for $169.

Is the KJ the same?

Does everyone drive into the dealer every time they want to check the level of their transmission oil?

 

[BigRich201]

nope the kj actually has a ****** dipstick

 

[HoosierJeeper]

07 and up is like that. Is there a tube? If so, go get one from a junk yard.

 

[zoomie]

There is a tube and a nice little cap that you twist on about a half turn to lock and unlock.

How can I be sure that a stick from an 06 will have the same levels as my 2010?

Any other 08-09-10 liberty owners wanting to check their trany oil level?

 

[HoosierJeeper]

If you have the 42RLE ******, it should work. Maybe someone more knowledgeable than me will chime in.

 

[tjkj2002]

My 2010 liberty is my first Chrysler product. I can't believe there is no transmission dip stick. The dealer says it's a dealer service item now and it's the same on a lot of their cars. He said I could buy one for $169.

Is the KJ the same?

Does everyone drive into the dealer every time they want to check the level of their transmission oil?

It's that way for a reason,well many reasons................

The 1st is owners rarely ever check there own fluid level anyways,second they rarely correctly check it,and 3rd they almost never use the correct fluid.

Your trans requires ATF+4,any other trans fluid can damage your trans,plus your trans is very picky on it's fluid level and it takes some time to correctly check the level which must be done on a level surface with the trans in "N".Another reason is the fluid temp plays a critical role in fluid level which owners do not take into account.

Chrysler is not the 1st or only ones to eliminate the trans dipstick,Ford and GM have been doing it for 10+ years on some vehicles.There are even vehicles out there today with out a engine oil dipstick also,have been for sometime now.

 

[zoomie]

It's that way for a reason,well many
The 1st is owners rarely ever check there own fluid level anyways,second they rarely correctly check it,and 3rd they almost never use the correct fluid.

Chrysler is not the 1st or only ones to eliminate the trans dipstick,Ford and GM have been doing it for 10+ years on some vehicles.There are even vehicles out there today with out a engine oil dipstick also,have been for sometime now.

Don't disagree with any of this, except, I'm one of the ones that do perform regular maintenance on my vehicles. Any owners manual I've had has the instructions for checking the fluid. Usually at running temperature, level ground, in park or neutral.

I've had lots of VW, GM, Ford products and this is the first time I've run across no trany dip stick. Just lucky till now, I guess.

So do all the KK owners here go to the dealer to get their trany fluid checked?

 

[Idaho08KK]

The fluid now has to be checked using the WiTech and a universal dipstick, with measurement increments in millimeters. Based on the temperature of the trans fluid, it should be X-amount of millimeters.

They did this for many reasons, as stated above. To keep people out. The 42RLE is a lifetime fill trans on schedule A maintenance, and I believe 102,000 mile interval under schedule B maintenance.

It is filled correctly from the factory, and if it is not leaking, there is no reason to check the fluid level. It will be at the correct level.


*I forgot to add, do not use any other dipstick from the older 42RLE. Your fluid readings will be incorrect.*

 

[tjkj2002]

I've had lots of VW, GM, Ford products and this is the first time I've run across no trany dip stick. Just lucky till now, I guess.

Most Exploders after '98(if I remember correctly) do not have a trans dipstick,they have a 2 way fill/drain plug in the trans pan for fluid level filling and checking,big pain in the a$$.Same goes for Rangers,and some of there RWD cars.

Any GM car with the 2.2/2.4 Ecotech or 3.1/3.4/3.5 made after '98(again if I remember correctly) do not have a dipstick but a plug on the trans,again very messy to check the fluid.

Virtually all newer VW don't have a trans dipstick,they really don't want you messing with there auto trans.

 

[tjkj2002]

The fluid now has to be checked using the WiTech and a universal dipstick, with measurement increments in millimeters. Based on the temperature of the trans fluid, it should be X-amount of millimeters.

They did this for many reasons, as stated above. To keep people out. The 42RLE is a lifetime fill trans on schedule A maintenance, and I believe 102,000 mile interval under schedule B maintenance.

It is filled correctly from the factory, and if it is not leaking, there is no reason to check the fluid level. It will be at the correct level.


*I forgot to add, do not use any other dipstick from the older 42RLE. Your fluid readings will be incorrect.*

Agree with how to check....................


But ATF+4 was designed to last 90k but rarely does like any other trans fluid.It may last 90K under perfect conditions but overheat the engine once and your trans fluid is toast for the most part.30K service is still recommended for ATF+4 for best results.

 

[jnaut]

The dipstick in my KJ sits in the driver's seat.

 

[tjkj2002]

The dipstick in my KJ sits in the driver's seat.

I thought it was the loose nut that sat behind the wheel(dunno)

 

[zoomie]

Ok, now you guys are getting off topic. Go start your own thread.....


honestly, has no-one with a KK done anything about this?

 

[Idaho08KK]

honestly, has no-one with a KK done anything about this?

The only thing you can do is buy a dipstick from Chrysler and have access to a scan tool, or go to the dealership.

But ATF+4 was designed to last 90k but rarely does like any other trans fluid.It may last 90K under perfect conditions but overheat the engine once and your trans fluid is toast for the most part.30K service is still recommended for ATF+4 for best results.

I agree. I don't really follow the maintenance manuals anyways. I always change out the trans fluid and filter every 3 years or 30K miles. I would never leave trans fluid in a trans for 100K miles.

 

[zoomie]

I agree. I don't really follow the maintenance manuals anyways. I always change out the trans fluid and filter every 3 years or 30K miles. I would never leave trans fluid in a trans for 100K miles.

I agree to, are you going to have the dealer change out your trans oil?

 

[mag03kj]

He works at a dealer! lol

 

[zoomie]

Oh.

 

[Emiliano Zapata]

I know this is an old thread, but I just had to share this. Basically, the guy claims to be an old Chrysler mechanic. He pulls out the oil dipstick, wipes it clean, then uses that to check the transmission fluid level. Of course I could just picture a regular Jeep dealership mechanic taking 2 minutes to do just that, wait an hour to bring your vehicle back up front, then the service desk guy tells you "Yeah, it took a long time because it requires a specialized tool. We had to add a special transmission fluid that you can only get from us. That'll be $150." LOL

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[David13]

Kind of a fun and entertaining old thread, so why not.

I only got my Jeep on December 26, 2020. And with this issue I ordered a made in China dipstick, $5, just a wire with a handle and mm markings on the end.

There are two ways to know the temp. One is a scan tool, which I have, the other an aim at it thermometer.

And many videos on the internet. They show the change and then the refill depending on the temp of the trans.

Somehow I got a chart that shows what level at what temp.

Seems like the oil dipstick might not be long enough. Maybe it is, I almost forgot how pathetically long the KK Jeep dipstick is.
dc

 

[Emiliano Zapata]

I actually tried it. As the guy says in the video, the oil dipstick bottoms out. And not only bottoms out, but when it does, the handle on the oil dipstick just happens to be right where one would expect the handle on a real transmission dipstick to be when fully inserted. It's as if both channels were made the same length on purpose, which actually would be some engineering I would appreciate. One dipstick to serve both purposes. Even if you can use the same for both, by not having a regular transmission dipstick there by default, this would still discourage most from checking it themselves.

As the video demonstrates, I checked at normal operating temperature (having just recently been out for a drive), the vehicle was level and in Park. Of course with the E brake on, this could just as easily be done in neutral.