Thread: ZF auto dipstick oil level

depends on how much you over fill..

way to much and it blows the dipstick out then hot oil all over the hot manifolds and your engine bay catches fire then burns the car down.

hey, its an auto and me, I can live with that happening

a little too much and nothing.
a bit more too much and TX overheating can occur.
a bit more too much and you can blow out the rear seal.

dont know why they just didnt do the fill level bolt like on the gearboxes/diffs/swivels

Do these trannys have a remote breather tube like the diffs ?
If overfull wont fluid chug out the breather on expansion?

they did on the D2's and what a PITA that is.

the reason that they didnt just do a fill bolt that you check like a manual is simple theres nowhere on the box thats above the level of the pan seal thats easily accessable when its cold and off.

I'm just trying to get my head around this if its best to wait till everything is warm or even hot, and possibly driven to fill all the "nooks n crannies"
why would LR say check when cold, i just dont get the logic or maybe the physics.

I don't think it really matters.
I check mine when pretty cool,ie engine temp at normal to get idle speed but not driven .
I then check/fill to the top line. Never had a problem and no real difference when checked later.
Methinks you are agonising too much about this, although I must admit to overfilling and sucking out the excess with a syringe and piece of hose stuck down the filler tube. I also found the fluid in the bottom of the sump was filthy even after just changing the sump contents and filter screen.
Regards Philip A

Today I discovered that the dipstick on extraction shows no level on the stick .
Then on reinsertion the level has climbed well up the stick way past full approx 2 inches .
My diagnosis is that the 3 rings around the dipstick cap are sealing that well that theres an air lock in the dipstick tube then after removal the level fills up the tube to its true level .
I think Im overfull .

I think it would be correct to have engine idling cold with the dipstick removed then after running for a minute or so and passing through the selection of gears carry out the reading procedure .

On close inspection but not 100% sure It looks like the dipstick is actually shorter than the tube meaning the level marks are inside the filler tube and not a dip into the pan for depth .