Oil Dipstick Two Different Readings Gmc Canyon

Most vehicle owners know that in order to proceed their ride roadworthy, they need to stay up-to-date on routine maintenance, such as oil changes and tire replacement. Merely you should as well keep tabs on your automatic manual—you know, that thing with the gears that you lot shift into drive, reverse, and park multiple times a solar day. Keeping your manual humming smoothly tin pay dividends, every bit it's ane of the well-nigh expensive components on your car to repair or replace.

Thankfully, checking on your manual's health is neither as difficult, as time consuming, nor as costly as you may think. Here'south how.

Checking the Fluid

Just as your engine uses oil to lubricate and cool its internals, automatic transmissions apply specially designed transmission fluid for the same purpose. Conventional automatic transmissions, dual-clutch automatics, and continuously variable automatic transmissions each utilize a specific blazon 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 found in the specifications section.

You don't need to exist a mechanic to gain insight into the condition of your vehicle'due south transmission—a elementary visual cheque volition do. You'll need to look at the level and condition of your transmission fluid.

Locate the Dipstick

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Start, locate the manual dipstick, which can be found under the hood, in the engine compartment. Make certain you are locating the transmission dipstick and not the engine-oil dipstick; the manual dipstick is unremarkably farther back in the engine bay, toward the firewall (the bulkhead at the front end of the motel). The transmission dipstick is typically marked with a specific colour or a manual symbol.

Note: if you can't observe the dipstick, don't be alarmed. Many modern vehicles utilise a sealed-for-life transmission that never requires checking or fluid replacement—so they don't accept a dipstick. (Refer to your owner'south manual for your model'southward specific service schedule and to double-check whether it has a transmission dipstick.)

If your vehicle has a sealed transmission, y'all can slam the hood shut and bulldoze. Only if your vehicle does have a transmission dipstick, hither's what to practice adjacent:

Check the Level

With the engine warmed upward, exit the machine idling in park on a level surface. Pull out the dipstick, wipe information technology clean, replace it slowly, and and then pull it back out. Check the fluid level—how high the fluid comes up on the dipstick—against the "full" and "low" or "fill" marks on the dipstick.

The colour of transmission fluid can tell y'all a lot nigh the health of your car'due south transmission.

Fluid Condition

Now lay the dipstick on a white surface, such as a paper towel, to clarify the colour 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 cerise-pink colour; if information technology's getting to the betoken of needing replacement, it volition be dark-brown red. If the fluid is dark brownish or blackness, and so it'due south quite possible that yous will be replacing more than simply your fluid. Dark fluid with a burnt smell is bad news; in the worst case, you might find fine metallic shavings in the fluid too. Both of those symptoms bespeak to possible damage of your transmission'south internal components. This is usually a result of failing to follow the recommended service interval for replacing the transmission fluid, but it'due south not impossible that a manual could take a premature mechanical issue, just like whatsoever other component on the vehicle.

Low Fluid?

If your fluid is low, information technology doesn't necessarily mean you're headed for disaster, only it does virtually likely mean there is a leak somewhere in the system. Filling up the transmission and then checking information technology daily to see how speedily the level goes down can be a good style to appraise the severity of a potential leak. Also effort to visually inspect your transmission by looking under the automobile for whatever fluid oozing out of it. Does the car go out spots of reddish fluid on the basis after it'south parked? If the fluid is black, it's engine oil. If it's h2o, information technology'south likely condensation from the air-conditioning organization.

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If you do notice some transmission-fluid loss or find that your transmission is using an aberrant amount of fluid, contact a mechanic as soon as you can. We'd recommend seeing a reputable motorcar dealer who sells and services your vehicle as a outset stop. Its service department will accept the most feel with your make and model and might accept seen this issue before. If you take the luxury of letting the automobile sit until it can be inspected, do so.

Contrary to what some internet mechanics may tell you, a transmission-fluid replacement will not destroy an older vehicle'south aging transmission. Typically, when a transmission of a sudden has bug afterwards fluid replacement, it's because there was already an internal problem, such every bit a worn clutch pack. If your transmission is salubrious, so a fresh change of fluid will only assist its longevity.

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

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