[Huskymaniac]

Originally Posted by immortal_suby

I choose to ignore the atf spattered 2 inches above all the markings on the dipstick and go solely with which hole is filled. Dunking the stick in atf is going to fill the holes. Dragging it against atf splashed up the tube can account for the rest of the mess but it won't consistently fill the holes. Right or wrong, thats my method.

I topped off the level the next day. The car was cold so I used the cold marks on the stick. It looked like I got high enough to just barely fill the bottom circle. I figured that was good enough and stopped. I brought the car to the garage the next day for the valve cover gasket change. When I drove it back, the car was warm so I checked the level again. Now it looked like all three holes were filled but the stick was not wetted well. There were voids below the top circle and there was some ATF on part of the stick above the top circle.

This morning I checked it cold again, after cycling through the gears of course and keeping the engine running. The level looked to actually be below the bottom circle?! None of the circles were filled but the fluid looked to be just below the bottom one. So I took the car for a 10+ mile drive with a mix of city and highway driving. Immediately after getting back I checked the stick and the first check showed two filled circles but the top one wasn't filled. My son's opinion was that the fluid looked to be about mid-way between the top two circles. I checked it again and the top circle was filled!!! But, again, the wetting is inconsistent. I even took a wire brush to the stick to rough it up but the wetting still isn't complete and even on the stick. It almost looks like the fluid is splashing up into the fill tube when driving and some of the fluid on the walls of the tube is getting on the stick when I check it. I suppose it is possible that I am just barely at the top circle and so it fills sometimes but not always.

Comments?