Trans service but not enough fluid

Clubbs

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2008
Location
Blounts Creek
Took the Cummins to get the trans serviced at the dealership today. Has 171k on it and this is the second service. Picked it up drove about 50 miles and got home. Pull the stick just to make sure and it was dry. Took 2.5 qts to get in the "safe" zone.

Hope there's no damage. Should have checked it at the dealership but it wasn't hot.

I miss the days when mechanics knew more than the drivers and a mechanic was a very respectable occupation. Not that it isn't now, but seems to be mostly young kids punching screens everywhere I go. Where'd all the old guys go that know how to diagnose and actually fix things? Or that you have to run the truck in neutral after you think you've added enough trans fluid and top it off as it comes up to temp. Or that you siphon the fluid out of the pan and not drop a full pan dumping trans fluid all over the customers otherwise oil free chassis...

I hate working on transmissions, but might have to start again.
 
If you want it done right then do it yourself. My recent policy regarding car work lately. I don’t care if it is a premier dealership. I’ve still seen horrible shit. Pinky tight oil plugs. Leaking radiator hoses. Broken plastic clips left and right (all over the engine bay of our jeep renegade).

I swear they are either going as fast as they can or are forgetting things because they are busy texting or on their phone :rolleyes:
 
2½ qts low won't hurt anything. Probably holds 16+ qts total.

For a while, anything Dodge had to have the transmission fluid checked in neutral period because the pumps weren't circulating fluid in park. Lots of people didn't know that.

Pro tip: get you an aftermarket transmission pan that has a drain plug if the factory one doesn't. I like the PPE ones as they have a nice, large 1" drain plug with an o ring seal. Then just service it yourself. Dealerships are usually one of the worst offenders for crappy work anyway.
 
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Infamous1 said:
Alot of the old timers got tired of the BS. Longer hours, weekend work, same pay for new guys as for 20+ years experience..... I know I walked away from it after 25 years. It sux having to start over in my mid 40s but I hope it's worth it.
Click to expand...

Yep...seems like loyalty to a long-time employee from an employer isn't quite what it once was, unfortunately. Doesn't really seem to matter what industry.
 
That's one thing I like about the trans in my one ton crew cab dually, the trans has a drain plug. There are kits out there to add a drain plug to most any pan, well worth the money. But, you have to drop the pan at least once to install it.
For the OP, the best thing you can do is to go back to the dealership, find the tech who worked on your truck and tell him what you found, and what he did wrong. The best advice for any young and upcomming auto mechanic comes from experience. either from someone who is more seasoned, or from having to fix their mistakes. I try not to be too hard on these guys who are young and just learning, at least they are out there trying to do the job. There's a major shortage of techs these days. When you get the chance to school them, do it. Many others will benefit from what you teach them. I don't get the chance to work with my son very much, but, a lot of times when I do, I will see a littlee thing here and there that I can remember teaching him. I will say, it does make me feel good. And these days, in the world of fuel injection and computers, it's him teaching me. And long before he was a teenager, I started buying him tools for gift giving occasions. I think most of those tools are still in one of his tool boxes.
 
Infamous1 said:
Alot of the old timers got tired of the BS. Longer hours, weekend work, same pay for new guys as for 20+ years experience..... I know I walked away from it after 25 years. It sux having to start over in my mid 40s but I hope it's worth it.
Click to expand...
This.
Around here dealers are bringing in young and inexperienced techs are nearly the same pay rate as their established techs already there. That's an insult to the experienced ones. That was a driving force in me leaving the biz back in 2012. They brought in a couple of new hires at $1/hr less than I was making and expected me to continually fix all of their screw ups and misdiagnoses. (sp?)
They didn't have the budget to give me a raise. So I gave myself one.
 
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Jody Treadway said:
This.
Around here dealers are bringing in young and inexperienced techs are nearly the same pay rate as their established techs already there. That's an insult to the experienced ones. That was a driving force in me leaving the biz back in 2012. They brought in a couple of new hires at $1/hr less than I was making and expected me to continually fix all of their screw ups and misdiagnoses. (sp?)
They didn't have the budget to give me a raise. So I gave myself one.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it's like they have washed away the titles and increased pay of "Lead", "Senior", "Master", etc technical personnel. But they expect senior qualified personnel to perform the function without the pay bump.
 
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