One of those palm to the forehead moments...lol Making a trans stick out of your OIL dipstick.




I like watching this guy on Youtube when I have the time to kill.

 

What do you do if the little tube everybody talks about is just not there? I've watched countless YouTube Videos, have the Haynes Manual, read all the posts, seen all the pictures, been working on engines 45 years, I can tell you the dipstick tube on my 2015 is not there. Guess I'll have to buy the FCA FSM (DVD) to find out what's up with this.

 

Had same issue. Turns out they designed it to only be checked at a dealership. However, of you are willing to go to some great lengths you can add your own stick and service it yourself.

 

just my two cents.
Yep, No Dipstick. on my 2012 Crew. annoying....

But, my good neighborhood auto mechanic can check it.
I think I could too if I wished to learn this machine in more detail..
Basically, as I understand it, there is a transmission fluid check port with a cap on it. You have to remove the cap at the port and measure the depth of the fluid to be bottom of the tranny at that port.
Piece of cake.
Of course you should take into consideration the temperature of the fluid. Need some kind of table of depths and temps..

Stupid idea for us decent home mechanics....I get mine checked before any major trip.

John

 

This is the kind of crap that makes me swear I'll never buy another FCA product. What a nice, easy revenue generator for dealerships, eh? Will they be removing the oil dipsticks soon?

FWIW, both AutoZone and Advanced Auto sell somewhat generic dipsticks, but come with charts that tell you where the levels should be at depending on temperature. Don't know if OBD-II readers can give tranny fluid temps.

 

If you get the dipstick from a parts store it covers a ton of vehicles. My wifes 2011 Patriot CVT and my 2018 Grand Caravan are both covered by it. Dorman makes it and it's like $24. The dealer wanted $99 for a dipstick so no brainer here. The torque pro app on android and a bluetooth OBDII reader were sufficient to read the accurate transmission temp. You have to use the "Jeep before 2012" reading in the extra PID section for some odd reason, despite there being a Dodge 2012 and latter option.

 

My 2015 62TE does not have anything like a full tube, so I am at a loss as how to ever fill this thing. I am more of a realist regarding transaxle fluid and filter changes, and like to change mine out at the 60km (40k miles) at the outside- remembering that you can only really drain about half the fluid, as there is no torque convertor drain like in the old days.
My dealer once told me that they get these things from FCA on a pallet and just change the whole trans out in the case of problems.
There is always a way, though, I'll take out a bolt and fill it somehow.

 

Please note that the scan tool referred to in the FCA Service Manual on CD Rom, is the dealer's FCA scan tool - it has a lot more capability than our everyday OBD scanners and is used for service communication with the entire vehicle's systems.
Kudos to those who have a version of the 62 series trans with a fill tube, mine doesn't, but almost anything long enough that will fit in the tube can be used as a dipstick, even a piece of wire rope. When I drain mine I will measure how much fluid comes out and use that as a guide for refilling.
Also for reference my FCA Service manual indicates about 5 liters for refill, which is close to 5 U.S. quarts.

 

Take another look, I have yet to see a 62TE transmission without the tube.

The picture below is a 2016 Grand Caravan with a temperature probe sticking out of the fill tube. The picture was taken from near the front of the drivers side front fender. You can see the radiator hose in the upper left, the battery on the right, and the transmission connector at the bottom center. The tube will have a black cap with "Dealer Use Only" molded on the top.

 

Thanks very much for pointing out that the location of the fill tube. It has been changed - yet again! It is now at the front of the solenoid cover, which kind of makes sense, but will be a bit of a challenge to access and refill through that tiny little tube. I am not as worried about temp readings, but I will make sure the level as at factory fill as a minimum - the 62TE is based on the 41TE, with the substitution of a Compounder in place of the previous transfer shaft, but the old 41 series didn't much care whether it was a quart over or under. I can see that maybe they are more concerned more with temp though with the amount of power now being so much higher, my big concern is with the differential which looks a little too much like that of the old 41, which was the Achilles Heel of that transaxle - and that was at only at about half the power and torque now being handled.