Dodge Charger transmission fluid level.

[Zac Aleksovski]

I have a 2008 Charger, 3.5L that has a the 4-speed 42RLE transmission that does not have a dipstick. The oil pan has begun to rust & started a small leak so I need to replace the pan. I’m using an old engine oil dipstick & have a thermocouple & temp meter to read fluid temp. I found a level vs. temp chart online. My problem is that the level in my trans is higher than the chart says it should be for a given temp. I’ve owned the car since new and have done all the service after warranty ran out. The car is 5000mi past the recommended trans fluid service so the rusty oil pan is forcing me to do that. I even checked it against the NAG1 5-speed trans chart & my level is higher than even that. I have looked at charts published by several sources and are basically the same. Anyone out there have luck checking trans fluid in these cars? SMA Eric O & Motor City Mechanic have pretty good videos on checking levels on a Chrysler FWD transaxle. Maybe I have the one model that makes fluid.

Thanks!

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[Richard Kirshy]

My suggestion to you if your attempting a fluid change on a “sealed” transmission would be track down the specific procedure for your vehicle and follow it to the letter.
Having too much or too little fluid will cause issues that you really don’t want.

[hondaguy453]

I wouldn’t suggest touching the pan if it’s rusty. You may end up breaking one of those bolts or stripping them. You won’t get much fluid from the pan anyway since most of it is in the torque converter and if you want to drain all of the fluid you’d have to fill/drain the trans while the engine is running somehow. It’s easy on Toyota’s but I wouldn’t recommend it because it could lead to catastrophic damage if done wrong. Just take it to a shop and they can do it with their trans fluid exchanger which would get all of the fluid.

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