Am I level? Where do I check, you ask?
 

I know this may be painfully obvious for some and some of you may just think close enough is good enough, but not everyone shares that sentiment, so be nice. :)

OK. So I'm about to change my AT fluid and the procedure is pretty specific about some details, i.e. exactly how much fluid to put in, how much to drain out, exactly what temperature the AT fluid is to be at, making sure the vehicle is level.... and from what I understand, if it's not just right, it won't shift correctly and I only want to do this once!

Now since I have to do this using 2 different sets of jack stands and on a garage floor that is already NOT level (and most garages are not, mine was a full 2 inches lower where the rear tires sit as compared to the front tires), I got to thinking, where is the best spot to place my 2 foot level to make sure my car is indeed level, once I'm up in the air.

So I drove my rear wheels up onto 2 inches of wood then found a nice, easy spot to check, turns out, right on the door threshold is just about perfect.

http://i.imgur.com/XcJdOvX.jpg



As far as side to side, the intake manifold makes for a nice place to lay your level. (as you can see, mine is off just slightly right to left but my floor is off that same amount)

http://i.imgur.com/FBNgwb8.jpg



Floor left to right (for comparison sake)

http://i.imgur.com/mFTLuAz.jpg

You might be overthinking this. As long as you are generally on flat ground, this should be a non-issue. Your car needs to be on flat ground so when you fill up the transmission, the fluid will seep out when full. If you are on a pronounced hill, you may overfill or underfill (depending on orientation). However, on a very minor slant such as your 2 inch difference in your garage, I don't think you will encounter any issues.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

I second this notion

I completely understand and maybe that 2 inch difference doesn't matter, but once the car was up on jack stands, who knows if maybe I got it even lower in the rear, now it's 3 inches out. Where do you draw the line? :iono:
I was just looking for a good place to slap a level on, just to make sure I had a good point of reference. Might as well know where 0 is.

Wow!! I just love this forum! Always learning something new to consider and worry about!

Well, I was going to suggest a posh lazer level as spirit levels are prone to deviation due to air pressure and whether the reading is taken at sea level.

Nothing wrong with peace of mind. I suggest referencing the flange for the pan. Not the bottom because that's set at an angle.
**edit: Or I could take a crack at the service manual where I would discover that the car should be level. I agree with the door threshold reference.**



Try a google image search for "tx6a transmission."

http://scionparts.villagetoyota.com/...ze/358360A.jpg

Thanks for being Level headed!

Oooooo... *cough cough*

In Subaru land things come in 4's and flat! But not level according to bottom flange on the pan.

I had the same issue (sloped garage floor) when doing my MT trans fluid and rear diff fluid. Like OP I used a level on the door sill. No issues, worked fine.

I'd check the car level on the pinch weld rail, not on the engine or the interior.

the paranoia in this thread is real

Is this your own opinion or are others saying the same?

OK, got the car leveled (yes leveled!) up on jack stands and checked a few other places for reference, for all the paranoid, detail oriented, even anal people out there that like to do things right, everyone else can just suck it. :)

Pinch weld, Rocker panel and Threshold are all pretty much on the same plane, so checking any of those spots will work, it's just the threshold is more convenient.

Transmission case is definitely not level, it's exactly like the cutaway view of the drive line shows, about a 5 degree decline. Bottom side of the pan is much closer to level but it still angles about 1.5 degrees toward the rear, which make sense since the main drain plug is at the rear of the pan.

Yes, but tip too much and you'll drip too much. Unlike the manual transmission, the Auto is much more sensitive to fluid level. If I'm going to put it up on stands anyway, why not throw a level on it and make sure it's right? Just sayin'. :thumbsup:

?? Not sure what picture you're talking about but the door threshold and the bottom of the door aren't the same thing. The threshold is parallel to the ground, the bottom of the door isn't.

Here's a picture:

http://st.automobilemag.com/uploads/...de-profile.jpg

Ok, OP, I just reviewed the maintenance manual.

The incline of the base of the oil pan matches the incline of the transmission in your transparent view. It is parallel to the bottom of the car. This is the best orientation to extract the most possible fluid out of the pan when changing it.

The first steps of the process are:

Quote:

1. AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FLUID FILLING CAUTION: • Perform procedures when the automatic transmission fluid is sufficiently cool. • Always be sure to switch to oil amount adjustment mode when filling automatic transmission fluid. • Slowly add the fluid. Adding the fluid rapidly can cause the fluid to hit internal parts and splash around resulting in fluid flowing out of the refill hole. 1) Lift up the vehicle and maintain in a horizontal position. 2) Remove engine under cover No. 1. 3) Remove engine under cover No. 2. 4) Remove the refill plug and O-ring. 5) Remove the overflow plug using a socket hexagon wrench.

I retract my earlier suggestion. The car must be level.