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Recently my transmission cooler line sprung a leak, that's all replaced now. Here is my question, how do we check the fluid level? I would need to jack the car up to get underneath it to check the level and the reading would be inaccurate... I have read about accessing the the transmission from the hump inside the car and that would solve the angle problem, but the carpet looks old and brittle. How does one uncover the hump without cracking the carpet backing? Would you start at the cowl side or the seat side? Any help would really be appreciated!!

It's easier to do this: Get 4 car ramps (they're cheap at advanced or what not) and put them in front of the 4 wheels and drive up on. Car has to be warm and up to temp and you need to check it within a minute of shutting it off.

Drive it up on the ramps, slide under with creeper and check it. Once you get a feel for it, you may even be able to check it without the ramps.

For adding fluid, i have a funnel with a hose that wedges down b the starter. I pike the hose in and add, then remove hose underneath and check, then add as necessary.

Removing the carpet is kind of a PITA, and i don't like having fluid inside the car.

That sounds really scary! What if I went over the top? I have two ramps and I know they are too tall to go in front of the rear wheels...

Put the car on four sturdy jack stands. I put the front ones on the main frame rails right behind where the X-frame attaches. The rear one go under the rear axle as far outboard as possible this makes for a very sturdy and firm arrangement. Get the front on the jack stands first and then you can easily adjust the rear ones to get the car at an approx. level (let the rockers be your guide). They you can run the car and let it warm up, and then check the fluid level.

The above arrangement is how I have done all the underside work on my car. I also have one or two smaller jack stands that float under the closest frame rail near me while I am under the car. Just extra insurance in the event something happened.

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If you want to do it on the fly, perhaps you could work out something with a Jiffy Lube or similar for a small fee. Maybe even let them change your oil once--I would hope they couldn't screw that up-- and out here, then they offer a free fluid check and top off service.

Thanks for al the information! I will share this with the brother-in-law. No one mentioned how to pull back the carpet to access the hump. Is it the general feeling that the is not the best way to do this?? It just seems like this would be the safest way...

I did it many times on a 51 and 54 just by doing the passenger side so as not to have to work around the pedals but those carpets had jute backing and may have been thinner. Moved the seat back, and lifted the carpet near the seat and sort of folded in a triangle up into the foot area. Cleared the opening by an inch or so but that was just a small cover.

I think the big issue on yours is it would probably all have to come out and wouldn't that also require removing the brake pedal top and accelerator or are those carpets cut in such a way not to require that. Perhaps it could be folded in half or thirds and placed over the pedals to give enough access. Doing all that work just to check oil would be something to think about.

I am not familiar enough with the rubber padded carpet and problems that may arise. If the carpet is OK and just the backing cracks, then probably not a show stopper.

Thanks Howard! I am not sure what to do, my thought is to drive it to an oil change place that will let us use the pit or lift and do it that way. The tranny lost at least 6 quarts so my brother-in-law feels to drive it any distance puts the newly rebuilt transmission at risk.

If that much in question, doubt it would do well to move either so perhaps the jack stands or going ahead with the carpet would be best at this point. Too low and you risk damage, too high you get foaming and spillout.

You could remove the front carpet totally this one time and use the funnel method that others suggest --a long neck type should be able to reach the filler. By taking the time and carefully removing the carpet, should not be an issue with any damage. After that to keep an eye on it, the pit method.

Agreeing with HH56, if you lost ss much as 6 quarts, I wouldn't drive the car, period.

But the transmission will be just fine for a short trip with a fill of plus/minus a quart. Just jack up the driver's side, use a jackstand, and crawl under the car and check the level and top off. The fact that the car is not level isn't really that important if you're just driving it a short distance to have the fluid changes.

BTW, somewhat to my surprise I was told by someone yesterday that Type A transmission fluid is still available, didn't get the details from him but perhaps someone might want to track it down. He said the Redfield viscosity was slightly higher for Type A and Type F, and said the site also had other comparative data.