Can’t find dipstick

[OldManBeard]

Just saying that with a bit of a of luck, they might not all be going down the path of "Lifetime fill"

I really hope not, because that makes no sense. The transmission fluid not only gradually loses important properties but it picks up contaminants, not all of which are removed by the filter. "lifetime fill" only makes sense for machines with an extraordinary short lifespan. Still, as long as it gets past the warranty period the manufacturers couldn't give a shit.

 

[landmannnn]

What's interesting is that for example BMW and Jaguar claim their ZF transmissions have a lifetime fill.

ZF themselves recommend that the "lifetime fill" fluid should be changed at 160k Kms.

I suppose the average new car buyer won't give ATF changes a second thought.

 

[OldManBeard]

I suppose the average new car buyer won't give ATF changes a second thought.

Quite right, as they will generally trade them in every 2 or 3 years and certainly won't put many Ks on them. New car buyers have no notion of the things we old car buyers treat as routine maintenance, like transmission and brake fluid changes, timing belts/chains, water pumps, etc., etc. I've known people who consider the car too old if they even need to replace the tyres.

On the other hand, those of us who only ever buy second hand and keep them for 10 years and more need to be able to service them. I, for one, have never even considered the resale value of anything I buy. I normally keep them until they are either end-of-life or get to the point where it's no longer worth spending the money that's needed to keep them on the road. Consequently, they need to be serviced and maintained while I own them.

 

[Cuda]

Noooo, not on our Navara. It's an Allison.
Just saying that with a bit of a of luck, they might not all be going down the path of "Lifetime fill"

I often think when I am changing the filter that its design and placement was decided by a jap who was still upset at losing the war and was going to exact his personal revenge.

 

[joe2006]

Until reasonably recently, I had the D40 serviced by Nissan and then by an ex Nissan mechanic. Not sure whether the trans fluid was replaced every 40,000ks as per the service book and although it didn't look too bad on the dipstick, it was black when I drained it.
Only 4 litres comes out so there is a fair bit retained in the TC etc.
Doing a change every 10,000ks atm and hoping that after 3 fluid changes, I can go back to 40,000k service's.
Maybe the fluid was fine, but it was always my understanding that the fluid should be bright red.

 

[OldManBeard]

Until reasonably recently, I had the D40 serviced by Nissan and then by an ex Nissan mechanic. Not sure whether the trans fluid was replaced every 40,000ks as per the service book and although it didn't look too bad on the dipstick, it was black when I drained it.
Only 4 litres comes out so there is a fair bit retained in the TC etc.
Doing a change every 10,000ks atm and hoping that after 3 fluid changes, I can go back to 40,000k service's.
Maybe the fluid was fine, but it was always my understanding that the fluid should be bright red.

I had a very similar situation in a car years ago. When I got it the transmission fluid was of distinctly dark grey colour and the transmission would sometimes misbehave. Automatic transmissions are one of the few things I won't work on, so I took it to a transmission specialist. They said the fluid appeared not to have been changed, possibly ever, prior to me buying the car. They flushed it out completely and did a full service on it and it performed perfectly for many more years.

Many moons back I asked why a row of C130 Hercules aircraft parked at a RAAF base were parked instead of being flown. I was told that because they had been left parked too long the entire hydraulic systems would need to be stripped and repaired or replaced before they could be flown again. The reason is that hydraulic fluid is hygroscopic, meaning it absorbs moisture, so the aircraft systems would have rusted from the inside. Transmission fluid, with the possible exception of 100% synthetic fluid (is there such a thing?) is essentially just hydraulic fluid, so keep that in mind when considering any auto that has been sitting around unused for more than a couple of years. The same applies to brake and clutch fluid. During normal use, the fluid becomes pressurised enough to boil out any moisture before it can become a problem.

 

[rohnandonohue]

Until reasonably recently, I had the D40 serviced by Nissan and then by an ex Nissan mechanic. Not sure whether the trans fluid was replaced every 40,000ks as per the service book and although it didn't look too bad on the dipstick, it was black when I drained it.
Only 4 litres comes out so there is a fair bit retained in the TC etc.
Doing a change every 10,000ks atm and hoping that after 3 fluid changes, I can go back to 40,000k service's.
Maybe the fluid was fine, but it was always my understanding that the fluid should be bright red.

Couple of notes, with your Allison trans, id assume its in a Light or Medium Truck, if so they have retained alot of serviceability due to their use scenarios.

And as for ATF being "bright red", not always the case, and not always an appropriate manner in which to gauge fluid quality

 

[OldManBeard]

And as for ATF being "bright red", not always the case, and not always an appropriate manner in which to gauge fluid quality

While that's true, I'm pretty sure the fluid being black, or close to it, is a fair way to judge that it's past its use-by date.

 

[joe2006]

Couple of notes, with your Allison trans, id assume its in a Light or Medium Truck, if so they have retained alot of serviceability due to their use scenarios.

And as for ATF being "bright red", not always the case, and not always an appropriate manner in which to gauge fluid quality

It's the 1,000, so the baby Allison.
The Nav did a fair bit of towing and no TC lockup in mine, except in overdrive, so that probably didn't do the fluid any favours.

 

[Phunk]

Sorry I'm a bit late to this, I literally did a change of fluid on my 2013 VSK last weekend.

Yep, they removed the dipstick but left the spot for it covered over with a plate.

On the drivers side from under the car you can feel the 2 x 10mm bolts that hold the plate over where it should be.

1 of the 2 bolts also holds in a plug that they've used to close off the hole that has an O ring on it.

I dropped the fluid using the sump plug along with changing the filter and gasket.

4L (ish) came out from the drain so I poured 4L back in. (Penrite Multi-Vehicle LV)

At the front of the sump there is a small Allen Key plug that comes out, once the fluid slowly starts dripping out of there you know it's full!

I have a fluid / oil pump I bought ages ago off Ebay for like $25 bucks, it runs off the battery, I used the hose to feed the new fluid where the sump plug used to be when I removed that plate.

**Yes Nissan has made it 'difficult' to service the box, but not impossible.

**Lifetime fluid doesn't exist. We all know this. It's the lifetime of the box until it blows up.

 

[OldManBeard]

**Yes Nissan has made it 'difficult' to service the box, but not impossible.

True, not impossible but there's a world of difference between possible and practical. In theory, it's not impossible for me to become the Prime Minister one day but here in the real world, that's never going to happen (even if I was a big enough prick to want it).

My main concern about this trend of disappearing dipsticks is one or practicality. Should my auto start misbehaving in some way the very first thing I want to do is to check the fluid level. If mine had no dipstick and I happened to be way out bush what options would I have? I don't have a car lift at home and I sure as hell don't have a portable one I can carry around with me.

I happened upon an article a couple of days ago about Mercedes removing the engine oil dipstick and some models, arguing that only Mercedes trained technicians should ever change the oil. I wonder, just as an example, what a Mercedes owner would have to do if they received a low oil warning while in a place like Coober Pedy. Take it to a local mechanic who probably can't access the required information or special adapter? Tow it hundreds of kilometres to some suitable place?

It's bad enough for normal road cars. It's very much worse for anything suitable for, and therefore likely to be used for, off-roading or remote travelling.

**Lifetime fluid doesn't exist. We all know this. It's the lifetime of the box until it blows up.

And if that fluid is not changed regularly the likelihood of the box blowing up is magnified greatly. Perhaps this is really just part of the "planned obsolescence" strategy which is so loved by the automotive industry.

 

[Phunk]

My main concern about this trend of disappearing dipsticks is one or practicality. Should my auto start misbehaving in some way the very first thing I want to do is to check the fluid level. If mine had no dipstick and I happened to be way out bush what options would I have? I don't have a car lift at home and I sure as hell don't have a portable one I can carry around with me.

Mate I 100% agree with all of your comments and especially the one above.

Problem is that eventually you get "used to" being dicked around with stuff like this and it wasn't a surprise anymore.

The previous family cruiser was a Lexus and the current is an Audi, I know all too well on being screwed over and having to do a simple thing the hard way.

I've had to fork out and buy special tools and equipment solely to be able to maintain my own cars.

My biggest gripe with the Navara was that according to all posts on the net and videos, there was supposed to be a dipstick there. I searched forever. Just by luck I stumbled on an old post from 2014 where someone mentioned the blocking plate

 

[Marked]

Ford removed transmission dipsticks on theirs at least 20 years ago to stop home mechanics putting the wrong fluid in their transmissions and destroying them ... because you know they just have to run different transmission fluid; Formula "F".

 

[Cuda]

Ford removed transmission dipsticks on theirs at least 20 years ago to stop home mechanics putting the wrong fluid in their transmissions and destroying them ... because you know they just have to run different transmission fluid; Formula "F".

This is the same crap mentality that is running our country. In other words, Ford is saving us from ourselves and at that same time trying to drive customers to their dealerships. I would like to see the evidence of the number of people who have put the wrong fluid in their transmission that drove this decision. Plus there is a cost-saving to them.

 

[Marked]

When a parts store guy tried to give me the wrong fluid because the difference "slipped his mind" I could believe there were a sizeable number.

 

[landmannnn]

No conspiracy, the world moves on. For better or worse.

You may remember grease nipples, adjustable wheel bearings, adjustable track rod ends, distributor points gap, topping up batteries, timing lights, replacing king pins, bronze bushes, reaming, cleaning spark plugs, decokes, adjusting drum brakes, setting float levels, mixture adjustment, balancing carbs, I could go on.

 

[Phunk]

No conspiracy, the world moves on. For better or worse.

You may remember grease nipples, adjustable wheel bearings, adjustable track rod ends, distributor points gap, topping up batteries, timing lights, replacing king pins, bronze bushes, reaming, cleaning spark plugs, decokes, adjusting drum brakes, setting float levels, mixture adjustment, balancing carbs, I could go on.

I miss that stuff though.

I miss tuning my carb by ear, changing plugs, topping up the battery etc..

Although, I still have to adjust drums on the Navara though

 

[landmannnn]

I miss that stuff though.

I miss tuning my carb by ear, changing plugs, topping up the battery etc..

Although, I still have to adjust drums on the Navara though

I bought a 1925 Citroen a few years ago, almost everything is adjustable for wear, which I guess is why it is still on the road. I don't think my Navara will still be on road in 93 years time ( nor will I)

 

[Phunk]

I bought a 1925 Citroen a few years ago, almost everything is adjustable for wear, which I guess is why it is still on the road. I don't think my Navara will still be on road in 93 years time ( nor will I)

Am I reading it correctly? 1925?? I'd love to see some pics of the car mate.

I'm scratching 40 in a year or so, my first car was a 1986 Corolla, followed by a VL Commodore with a carby 308.

Corolla was the only toyota ever to not work properly, I learnt carby's inside out with that car.

Everything was done via a timing light, the dizzy and ear.. occasionally also by smell

 

[Marked]

I miss that stuff though.

I miss tuning my carb by ear, changing plugs, topping up the battery etc..

Although, I still have to adjust drums on the Navara though

Reason why I have a 40 series landcruiser in the workshop slated for ground up rebuild. If it breaks down, you can get it on the road again with fencing wire and baling twine ... and just about sit in the engine bay next to the motor to work on it.