roadmax

What is a reliable way to check the transmission oil temperature for proper level.
Would IR thermometer be acceptable reading from the plastic oil pan ?

twh

If you have a multimeter it may have a temp probe attachment. My Fluke meter does. That's what I used when I refilled the transmission fluid in wife's X5.

roadmax

Should IR temperature reader be good, reading from the pan bottom?

ripley

That's what I used and it worked OK.

cmyachtie

Get INPA and hook up,your laptop,thru the OBD port, will show you the tranny temp.

cakes

The IR thermometer on the pan works fine. It takes longer than you think for the transmission to get to 40C.

roadmax

Depends what is the initial temperature but for example if 30C it will take less than 5 min to get to 40C.

twh

40C came pretty fast when I did wife's X5. I used a hand pump that fit the liter bottle. Got as much in as the car would take while turned off. Once I started the car and started to pump more in...then came out from under the car to run though the gears and then back under and pump more in until it runs out...exceeded 40C and I had to shut the car off to cool down. If that happens you *must* put the fill plug back in as the fluid taken up by the moving parts of the transmission will start to flow out the fill hole.