Evening everyone.

Have a 2002 Express 3500 with the 4L80E, with about 66k miles on it. Was in the family for a while, but no record of transmission services, so had the filter done when I had to get a state inspection last summer. When I tried to check the fluid, it seemed pretty dark, so figured it was a good idea to drain and fill to cycle some more out, and what came out was fairly black. Definitely needed. Only drained about 3 quarts out, so put about that much back in along with some lubeguard red.

The problem I am having is trying to read that absurd dipstick. Its 5' long and twisted all over, and the whole thing seemed to be covered in fluid, so couldnt tell if I was high or low.

Im going to wait until tomorrow to check it cold, but I know its preferred to check it hot. Are there any tips for getting a good reading off the stick?

 

Just as an update, I checked it cold after being parked overnight, and it shows as way above full.

Seems odd given I only drained out three quarts and put about that much back in. I'll try it tomorrow hot per the service instructions and see if it's more in range.

 

Those are hard to read. I do believe your supposed to check those warm, and with the engine running. Your manual will verify.

 

I hear ya. After my fluid change I really took my time since I did not want to overfill. It's worse when you've just coated the inside of the dip tube by adding fluid, so I just kept pulling it out and wiping it off until it did not transfer to the whole dipstick so badly. Then I would keep trying till I could see a clear edge to the fluid line, moving it to get the right angle on the light. I also tried carefully pressing the last few inches of the stick onto a clean white rag and looking for a good delineation. BTW In addition to the 4 qts I drained and measured into a jug for recycling, it needed over a 1/2 qt more to get the level right, which is what must have stayed in the filter, spilled on the garage floor, soaked into rags, etc.. That leaves another ~1/3 qt that must has stayed in the trans. to equal the 5 qts my manual says is the capacity. After all that work I'm still getting a thumping noise under load.

 

You are definitely supposed to read it up to temp. The service book says drive for 15 minutes then stop. Then cycle through all the gears, then to park and let it idle for three minutes.

I feel like I was low on fluid but seems like when I check it is always showing overfilled.

Very frustrating, and I really don't want to burn up my transmission because of something as simple as the fluid level. It still looks a bit dirty on the stick so I may do another spill and fill and will try to get it right, but man is this frustrating!