Thread: Secret to checking trans fluid level

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Bring me into the inner circle with the secret handshake and all. I have a Lokar dipstick on a 700R4 transmission. It's the nylon type and for the life of me I can't figure out what the secret is. With the engine warm and running in park I try to check it but the transmission fluid won't stick to the nylon blade to check the level. What's the secret? I have read on other sites that this is a common problem but haven't found any info on solution.

a wee bit hard to see ??? take a black marker first clean the stick with a clean rag and some thinner . take the marker and make the stick black were it full so you can see it . no secret hand shake needed

Maybe I explained the problem incorrectly. I can readily see the full mark, the warm oil will not hold onto the slippery plastic stick, it just runs off and doesn't stay on the stick where I can see the level. I am thinking about roughing up the stick with sandpaper.

i have used 4 of them stick on some builds and mark them all if you can see it wet them thats all you need to see . if that not good for you then drill a very small hole to hold the trans fluid there is no need for it to hang on the stick any hot tran s fluid is very thin its going to run off any stick

The hole works - a lot of OEM sticks used to use one or two holes to hold a film of fluid before they got so cost conscious. Probably costs them a few pennies a stick to add the hole....

I had the same trouble too, but since I could never get it to stop leaking, even the new two o-ring replacement version that Lokar supplied me with - so went to a locking Hughes.

OK - with that said, I do like Pat's 'fix' with the hole - or better yet, a couple, one at full, the other at add a quart (or whatever)

i use a razor knife you cut an angle cut in it. the fluid tends to hold in the fold some.

Thanks for the suggestions. Got this today from Lokar : "The simplest thing that you can do to this dipstick is to rough up the end of the Teflon inner wire with sandpaper or a scotch brite pad. After doing this you will want to spray the end of it down with a carb cleaner. This will give the oil a good place to adhere to on the dipstick." The use of Teflon definately explains why oil has a hard time sticking to it, which suggests to me that it would be in cross purposes with the item's intended use...but then again there a lot of things that seem confusing to me in my old age. I will file this with the others. I sandpapered it and it works like a champ.

You got your answer I have used sand paper in the past its simple and it works