letsgoagain

weird readings on dipstick after I changed the filter and fluid. Measured what I had after I dropped the pan and what came out of the filter. right at 5quarts so I put in 4 quarts per the write here on the jk forum because I didn't want to overfill it. Drove it then rechecked the level which was at the lower cold mark. Added a 1/4 quart then checked again. Didn't move much on the dipstick so I'm thinking I need to match what I took out so I pit another 1/2 quart which now puts me at 4 3/4 quarts back in. Went to bed thinking all is well. Got up in morning and checked it cold and level is on the upper hot mark. Double checked it to make sure. So I'm thinking alright I'm going to follow the manual for checking the fluid level so I drive it 18 miles to get it hot, follow the procedure in the book for checking it and I'm in the operating range barely above the cold upper mark. What the hey now I don't know confidently where the level is.
Could use some experts guidance on where they think I' mat on the level. The cold tranny oil level being on the hot marks is what has me nervous. Anybody have any suggestions
I apologize for the long post but has me nervous especially since it shifted into 4th differently on the warm up drive. Seemed like it hesitated a long time before it would go into 4th and its only in the mid 40's here ambient temperature.
thanks for any help
2009 Sahara unlimited ,auto42rle.

jacksup

let warm up while sitting in placr work shifter through all ranges and reverse then drive abit and check again should work out mine did same when it was serviced

whitejeepjk

I had a question on this also, once warmed up and go through gears, should the transmission oil level be near top or bottom hole of the hot level on dipstick?

ronjenx

When you checked in the morning cold, was the engine running? If not, the fluid level in the sump will be quite high.
Regarding the shifting into 4th later than you thought it should, the toqrue converter won't lock up until the fluid in the sump reaches 80°F. With the added slipping, it may appear to not be in 4th.

The JK transmission has no set normal temperature like in the old days when the fluid was routed through the engine radiator.
Now, it varies quite a bit from around 80°F to well over 200°F.
With that in mind, you need to know the fluid temp to get a reliable reading from the dip stick.

Here is what the levels on the 42RLE dip stick should be a various temperatures:

whitejeepjk

How would you know the temp of the fluid?

ronjenx

Several ways.
Point an infrared temp gun at the transmission pan.
Get a gauge that plugs into the OBDII port, and will read transmission temp.
Install a probe in the pan with a gauge in the cab.

Anywhere in the middle after driving for a while will be good enough under most circumstances.