How Do You Check Gen 3 Transmission Fluid Level?

[dfw62]

Can anyone provide the official procedure for checking the transmission fluid level on a Gen 3? I cannot find anything on this topic in the over 740 page owner's manual.

So far this is what I have been able to find in another F150 on-line forum:

"It needs to be between 5-6 at operating temperature which is 206-215 degrees Fahrenheit. Drive it around for a while and make sure you park it on level ground with truck running in park."

Is this correct?

Once I can confirm the procedure I will deal with the added hassle of needing to remove a skid plate to access the little "dipstick plug" located down low on the side of the transmission from under the truck that Ford replaced the simple to use conventional dip stick with. WTF?

 

[castine917]

I can't really help with info on the gen 3 but I believe that I read that some gen 2 owners found a dipstick add on for their transmissions. Maybe you can find something similar and consider doing that too.

 

[letsgetthisdone]

Can anyone provide the official procedure for checking the transmission fluid level on a Gen 3? I cannot find anything on this topic in the over 740 page owner's manual.

So far this is what I have been able to find in another F150 on-line forum:

"It needs to be between 5-6 at operating temperature which is 206-215 degrees Fahrenheit. Drive it around for a while and make sure you park it on level ground with truck running in park."

Is this correct?

Once I can confirm the procedure I will deal with the added hassle of needing to remove a skid plate to access the little "dipstick plug" located down low on the side of the transmission from under the truck that Ford replaced the simple to use conventional dip stick with. WTF?

The average person has no business check transmission fluid. Same reason the coolant temp gauge is a dummy gauge and doesn't show actual temp.

That being said, that procedure is correct. Make sure trans is at 206-215*F, and with the trans in park remove the dipstick plug thinger and check the level on the dipstick. The level on the dipstick should be between 5 and 6. The other numbers are there for other vehicle models, so don't go off of any of the other numbers.

 

[TomDirt]

 

[letsgetthisdone]

You have to drive it somewhat hard, key is to make it shift a lot. So use the paddles, and downshift it. Downshifts will make the most heat.

 

[slimmytimmy]

To answer you question of how do you check it, here's what I did:

Put the truck on a lift.
Remove the skid plate.
Loosen the dip stick slightly.
Pull up the transmission temperature guage on your dash listed under Raptor Info measurements.
With the truck in park, bring your RPM's up to about 2,500 - 3,000. That is the only way I was able to bring the transmission to the required temperature.
Put on a welding jacket and welding gloves. If you don't have any, buy some. You're still most likely going to get burnt a bit.
Check your fluid level.

One of my 2022 Raptors came from the factory almost two quarts low. Another one of my 2022's came from the factory about 1.25 quarts low. Working with Goosetuned, this seems to be a very common issue. I thought my transmission was going out, but by getting the fluid to the correct level, the problems went away.

I performed a flush because the fluid was bad. I will be performing another flush, along with filter changes soon. You can buy the tools on Amazon for less than $200. Here's a picture of the bad fluid. The fluid was bad in the truck I abuse, and also the mellow one.