Hard to Read Transmission Fluid on 6.7 Powerstroke

Near vehicle owners know that in social club to go along their ride roadworthy, they demand to stay upward-to-date on routine maintenance, such every bit oil changes and tire replacement. But yous should also keep tabs on your automatic transmission—you lot know, that affair with the gears that you shift into drive, reverse, and park multiple times a twenty-four hours. Keeping your transmission bustling smoothly can pay dividends, as it's one of the near expensive components on your automobile to repair or supercede.

Thankfully, checking on your manual'south health is neither as difficult, as time consuming, nor equally plush every bit you lot may think. Hither'southward how.

Checking the Fluid

Just as your engine uses oil to lubricate and cool its internals, automatic transmissions use specially designed transmission fluid for the same purpose. Conventional automatic transmissions, dual-clutch automatics, and continuously variable automatic transmissions each use a specific type of transmission fluid. If you're unsure which fluid is used in your transmission, consult your owner's manual; typically, transmission-fluid requirements tin exist establish in the specifications department.

Yous don't demand to be a mechanic to gain insight into the condition of your vehicle'due south transmission—a simple visual check will practise. You'll demand to look at the level and condition of your manual fluid.

Locate the Dipstick

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Brad Fick Car and Driver

First, locate the manual dipstick, which can exist found under the hood, in the engine compartment. Brand sure you are locating the transmission dipstick and non the engine-oil dipstick; the transmission dipstick is commonly further dorsum in the engine bay, toward the firewall (the bulkhead at the front of the motel). The transmission dipstick is typically marked with a specific color or a transmission symbol.

Notation: if you lot can't discover the dipstick, don't be alarmed. Many modern vehicles employ a sealed-for-life transmission that never requires checking or fluid replacement—and so they don't take a dipstick. (Refer to your owner's manual for your model'southward specific service schedule and to double-cheque whether information technology has a transmission dipstick.)

If your vehicle has a sealed transmission, you can slam the hood shut and drive. Only if your vehicle does have a transmission dipstick, here'due south what to do next:

Check the Level

With the engine warmed up, exit the car idling in park on a level surface. Pull out the dipstick, wipe it clean, supercede it slowly, and then pull it dorsum out. Check the fluid level—how loftier the fluid comes up on the dipstick—against the "total" and "low" or "fill" marks on the dipstick.

The color of transmission fluid can tell you a lot nigh the health of your car's transmission.

Fluid Condition

Now lay the dipstick on a white surface, such every bit a newspaper towel, to clarify the color of the fluid. The condition of your transmission fluid—and to some extent, the transmission itself—is indicated by the colour of the fluid. If your fluid is healthy, it should have a crimson-pinkish color; if it's getting to the signal of needing replacement, it volition be brownish reddish. If the fluid is night brown or black, then it's quite possible that you will be replacing more merely your fluid. Night fluid with a burnt olfactory property is bad news; in the worst case, you might find fine metal shavings in the fluid too. Both of those symptoms indicate to possible damage of your transmission's internal components. This is usually a result of failing to follow the recommended service interval for replacing the transmission fluid, but it's not impossible that a transmission could accept a premature mechanical effect, just like any other component on the vehicle.

Low Fluid?

If your fluid is low, it doesn't necessarily mean you lot're headed for disaster, but it does well-nigh likely hateful in that location is a leak somewhere in the system. Filling upwardly the transmission and so checking it daily to run into how quickly the level goes downwardly tin can be a good way to assess the severity of a potential leak. Also try to visually inspect your transmission by looking under the car for whatsoever fluid oozing out of it. Does the car exit spots of reddish fluid on the ground after it'southward parked? If the fluid is blackness, it's engine oil. If it's water, it's likely condensation from the ac organization.

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If you lot practise notice some manual-fluid loss or observe that your transmission is using an abnormal amount of fluid, contact a mechanic every bit presently as yous tin. We'd recommend seeing a reputable car dealer who sells and services your vehicle as a first stop. Its service section will have the most experience with your brand and model and might have seen this issue before. If you have the luxury of letting the car sit until it can be inspected, do so.

Contrary to what some internet mechanics may tell you, a transmission-fluid replacement volition not destroy an older vehicle's crumbling transmission. Typically, when a transmission suddenly has issues later fluid replacement, information technology'southward because there was already an internal problem, such equally a worn clutch pack. If your transmission is good for you, so a fresh change of fluid will only help its longevity.

FYI, if your transmission fluid is low and needs topping off, this is usually done through the aforementioned tube that the dipstick fits in. Adding fluid (which is available at auto-parts stores) will require a funnel with a narrow—and most likely long—spout.

Just like any automobile, a transmission needs proper maintenance in order to operate as the manufacturer intended. Every bit they say, take care of your transmission, and it will take care of yous.