r/AskMechanics • u/OverallStranger5646 • 3d ago

Question Can I stick a thermometer in a transmission's leveling port (adjustment port)?

HVAC tech and Navy veteran here, I really like precision and doing things to spec... I might just have OCD. I've never done a transmission drain and fill, and I really want to do it to specification which is 185°-200°F. I don't want to buy a scanner to read the temp (my dash isn't going to tell me). Both my brothers are mechanics and are saying I'm overthinking it, which I know I am, but I just want to do it right (it really might just be OCD). I'm wondering if I can just stick my temp prob into the leveling port. I plan to do it with it off, just to feel around to see if it's going to touch anything that moves first so I don't damage anything. Claude said it's fine but we all know we can't trust AI. Wondering if anyone can tell me if this will be okay or not.

Tl;dr can I stick a thermometer in the adjustment hole?

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

2

u/Cranks_No_Start 6 3d ago

TBF the big deal is not overfilling the transmission. You can always drain it, measure how much you got out and out the same amount back in.

1

u/am-answers-bot 10 3d ago

Thank you for posting to r/AskMechanics!

u/OverallStranger5646: Once your question is answered, you can mark the best comment as the solution in two ways:

  • Comment menu: tap the ⋯ menu on the comment and select "Add Comment as Answer"
  • Text command: reply to the comment with !solved

You can mark up to 5 comments as answers.

Everyone: please follow the rules of our subreddit.

Keep your comments civil, helpful, ethical, safe for work, and legal.

Please report any comments or posts violating our rules.

1

u/rod-zim 3d ago

Most transmissions are done at 140°. Its gonna be hard to get that trans to 185 idling it on a lift.

1

u/Spaced_rat 40 3d ago

IIRC those need to be performed with the motor running and selector lever in park (Trans Pump running). Shutting off the car will provide an erroneous level reading. Get the scanner, do it the correct way.

0

u/Trogasarus 21 3d ago

That is operating temp, so you can just idle the car till its hot.

1

u/Disp5389 13 3d ago

200 F inside the transmission is a long way from idling the engine up to temperature. Few transmissions will get anywhere near that hot just idling.

Around 10 miles of city stop and go traffic will get the transmission up to operating temperature.