96 cavalier. How do you check tranny oil level

[bmkj02]

96 cavalier. How do you check tranny oil level. Mine has a red cap to fill but no stick to check the level. Is there something that I am missing?

[dwb985]

if you don't have a dip stick then you have a closed state trans. i think all 4-speed auto's have them. only time i plan on opening it is to change the fluid out. just so you know to find the fill plug you have to look under the car. i haven't really looked under it so i don't know exactly where it is. hope this helps.

[bmkj02]

well I had changed the fluid and filter cause I had a leak in the gasket area. I filled it through the red cap on top.It just screws off and the cap says tranny fluid. Since I couldnt measure it I put in a full gallon of ATF. I just noticed now after about 3 weeks that the tranny slips when I take a sharp turn. Did I put in enough? When do I know when enough is enough?

[dwb985]

there's is a check plug under the car on the trans. i looked it up in the book i bought for it......its right next to the exhaust (of course) and the way to check it is jack up the car and put jack stands under all four corners and make sure it it safely supported start the car and let it get up to idle temp removed the check plug it should slightly drip out....meaning it should be at the bottom of the check plug if not replace plug and shut the engine off add more fluid and wait about 30 minutes to cool down and do it all over again....if it pours out you added too much or its not level so check the the car if level then let it drain out till it drips....its gonna be a pain because the car has to be perfectly level obviously.....if you need it i can scan the picture out of the book i have to show you where it is. good luck with it

*edit
the correct amount of fluid according to the book is 9.5 quarts thats with a filter replacement and the torque converter is not included in that

[bmkj02]

Thats great info. Thanks a bunch. If you wouldnt mind sending me that picture you mentioned whenever you get a chance. It looks like I am short on oil since it takes 9.5 qt. I only put in a gallon so it looks like I need to put in another gallon at least.
Thanks again

[dwb985]

sometimes you need a little more or less fluid than that add and subtract as needed....and here a link to the pic http://putfile.com/pic.php?pic=5/14516393394.jpg&s=f5 good luck

[Moody Blues]

Hope you got it taken care of, but if not, or for future refrance. You can get to the plug w/o jacking up the car once you find it. (lie on your back and shuffle in a ways) There is also a similar plug on the front of the trans, but I don't know what it's for, my manual says to use the one on the side, kinda above the engine oil drain, but on the trans, of course. (dwb985 kindly put a picture link above) Just get the trans warmed up, leave the engine running in PARK (the service manual recommends running the gear selector through all the gears first) and pull the plug, if it dribbles out, great, if not add some more. I don't believe you have to wait and let it sit, just add slowly untill fluid dribbles out. If it pours out, you've got to much, let it drain till the flow becomes a drip. I have changed the fluid twice in my wife's 97 cavalier w/ the 2.4 and this trans. Shifts and runs great, no problems. Recommend doing it @ least every 50,000 miles. My theory is the fluid and filter are cheap, that hi tech trans probably isn't.

[94VL]

Why manufacturers keep making it more difficult to maintain their vehicles is beyond me.Taking away the dipstick is yet another way for them to take normal upkeep OUT of the hands of the owner/layperson.Back in the 1970s it was proposed to mandate cars that had no hoods at all,and engines needed to be serviced as a unit (power module) with no scheduled maintenance.Thankfully the Feds thought better of that stupid idea,but car companies ever since have been moving steadily toward that result.

[Cavalier2000]

naw it's a matience free tranny. almost 200k on my tranny and never touched it