checking oil in tranny

To check oil level in a manual tranny, I was told to remove the fill
plug and stick my index finger into the hole. I was told the oil level
should be up the bottom of the fill plug.

Is this right?

Ron Tellus wrote:[color=blue]
> To check oil level in a manual tranny, I was told to remove the fill
> plug and stick my index finger into the hole. I was told the oil level
> should be up the bottom of the fill plug.
>
> Is this right?
>[/color]

Probably.

Lots of different types of gear boxes are checked this way.

"Ron Tellus" <RTellus@maxtel.net> wrote in message
news:S4OdneUE7MnOse_fRVn-3g@giganews.com...[color=blue]
> To check oil level in a manual tranny, I was told to remove the
> fill plug and stick my index finger into the hole. I was told
> the oil level should be up the bottom of the fill plug.
>
> Is this right?[/color]


You didn't specify your vehicle. To be sure, check your owner's manual. If
you don't have that, call your dealer and ask the Service Manager (and while
you're at it, order a new owner's manual from the Parts Department).

That said, all the manual transmissions, differentials, and 4WD transfer
cases I've ever seen specify that the oil should be filled to the bottom of
the fill port.

The problem with the "finger method" is that it can be a bit misleading if
you're not careful: 1) You have to be sure that the fill port is dry,
otherwise you might get residual oil from the port threads onto your finger
and think that it's coming from the oil inside the tranny; 2) People have a
tendency to hunt around with their finger "searching" for the oil, and might
bend their finger 1/2" or more below the fill port, thus giving a false
reading (they think they have the correct level when, in fact, their oil is
low).

What I recommend is simply topping up with fresh oil (of the correct grade
and weight) until it starts to trickle back out of the fill port. Then you
KNOW you have the correct amount of oil in there.

- Michael