Cambz

Just picked up a low mile basket case 2005 E320 sedan standard with trans problems amoung other things.

I need to buy a trans dipstick and I see there are many different ones, Chineese, Febi, Dorman, and OEM.

I also watched FCP Euro's video on using the Febi one they sell
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mer...e-140589152100

According to the video they instructed to just "stick it in until it bottoms out" then read it accordingly and length does not matter. Can someone confirm this gives a correct read on the fluid level?

And are the Chineese ones marked correctly or do I need to at least get a Febi or Dorman so the level/amount markings are correct?

Thanks the FNG

gafitanu

Depends on the transmission you have. The 7 speed does not have a dipstick tube, the 5 speed does and yes you push the dipstick until it stops. I would go with Febi.

kajtek1

The trick with 5G dipstick is that factory deign square stop at the end of the scale, while some aftermarket did not make it, making the scale hitting the pan bottom. That leads to about 6mm difference in reading.
Also factory dipstick is flat, what helps in making the curves . The one you linked is round cable and picture doesn't show if there is a bumper. .

Cambz

Picked up a Dorman locally as trans would not move and I wanted to at least get the car moving under its own power.

The Dorman is like the one on the left and it's all over the place. I ended up putting in 4 qts over multiple sessions but each time, I'd add some, let it drain, check the dipstick and after 2-3 times the indicator would be dry so I just kept filling it but I figured at 4 I better stop, that's half the entire fill.

​​​​​​I actually think I over filled it as the last 6oz it smoked when I poured it in ( thinking it,'s comming out the breather tube) but the stick keept coming back dry after a couple of checks.

I'm going to drop the guards, clean up the mess and see if I can figure out what's going on.

Cambz

Confirmed trans was overfilled.

FYI; when using the Dorman style aftermarket dipstick don't be gentle on it and make sure you push it all the way until it bottoms out hard. Otherwise you'll overfill the trans like I did.

Thanks for the help
FNG