Ho Ho Ho or is it TAAA DAAA heres your gift
I just wanted to lighten the sleigh for santa and give you all the gifts now, youve been good and deserve it now RIGHT ????
Ok Ok here it goes. Everyone know that the tranny connector O rings leak and make it messy. I posted the write up on the easy job to DIY and the P/N needed for about $ 8.50 in factory parts. You might review that posting FYI as it will be useful to you in your near future.
Well you may be waiting for the second Stocking to drop, and here it is. You did the upgrade of the connector fitting and now you have to check the transmission fluid, the dip stick is only about $50 EACH, thats a seasonal buzz kill.
I offer to you a Very reasonable alternate for less that 100 pennies, less if you are friendly with the local heating and cooling DUDE. You need a 32" or longer wire tie that is typically used to secure insulated flexable duct in attic and crawl spaces. These wire ties are about 3/8" in width which is too wide to be used.
You only need to cut the wire tie length wise in half to end up with a 3/16" wide wire tie with a length over 30" long. See the photo to see the first one I made. Heavy scissors or sheet metal cutters can be used to do the cutting though I also tried using a grinding wheel to mill the side off with some success. The flashings need to be cleaned off afterward, additional work. Now cut off the smooth part at the pointy end of the tie ( about 1" or so) and make a tapered point on the TEETH of the zip tie.
After the Zip tie is cut down to the correct width you can use it to check the tranny fluid easily. After the cap is removed (breaking off the lock) you slide 28" of the tie into the fill tube for the tranny. For reference I made a black mark on the tie ( I had a white one ) at 28" to be sure it was all the way in without stopping on a snag too early.
The zip tie TOOL will stop when you hit the bottom of the transmission oil pan. Pull the zip tie out and holding the oily end DOWN you can see the oil level easily. Want to check it again, wipe it off and do it again. The car must be in gear with the motor running to get the innards moving per the factory manual. Be safe, I was in forward with the parking brake on full and the car in the air 3" so the wheels could not move the car even though it was on the lift. -- Be safe -- Be here next year.
I had mine ideling for 45 minutes while I tried various materials and speedo cables to get the oil level. Nothing worked and I tried the engine oil dipstick which will NOT FIT. Then I noted that the engine oil dipstick had a toothed texture like a zip tie and got the TAA DAA moment.
FYI the oil pan on the tranny can be measured with an IR gun as it is black painted which is a good target. The center of the pan ( mine ) was 8 degrees hotter than the edges as I believe that the fluid drains in that region. THe service manual has a chart that shows the level versis the temperature. If you dont follow the refilling per the chart, it will be EASY to see where you drove the car by the fluid pumped out the side of the case and onto the ground.
Be safe and have a happy holiday, Woody
The photos show the zip tie and the $6 ATF that I used. The factory manual says that Dextron III synthetic may be used and Walmart sells the Mopar (its factory authorized) ATF +4 which is its replacement. Did some research on the MB forum and on line to see that its ok.
The other photos in my album for the tranny shows another idea. I autocross and have hit a cone on occasion. Suprise the grill inset will pop out if tapped just right and zoomo the grill departs the front of the car. Now I add a thin wire tie around the inside loop on the grill and to the bracket of the parking light. It is cheap enough to cut them off when you wanna remove them (?) but they will not become dislodged by accident unless you do a Deer or something large. Yippie a twofer.......
Holiday well Woody.
Last edited by waldig; Dec 15, 2008 at 05:34 PM.