Transmission dipstick length?

superj7777

New member
Hi, I've been lurking around on this forum for a while now. Great resource! I just bought a 2006 2500 and so far love it.

My question is, can someone please tell me the length of the MB transmission dip stick? I bought one off fl-ebay that was listed as a genuine MB part, but clearly is not. It goes down the tube fine, but hangs out about 6". It's not getting hung on anything, becuase it clearly bottoms out, and comes up saturated in oil.

If anyone could just measure the distance from the end to the start of the ring/handle, I would greatly appreciate it:)

Thanks in advance!

-Jason
 

talkinghorse43

Well-known member
Overall length is not important because the shoulder on the top of the plastic tip bottoms out on the valve body and the rest of the tip hangs down into the fluid. BTW, it should be checked in P and the level is sensitive to temperature. Searching here using the tool in the blue bar above will allow you to find out how to check tranny fluid temp and the relationship between that temp and target level.
 

RoadHobo

2006 View 3500 T1N
Overall length is not important because the shoulder on the top of the plastic tip bottoms out on the valve body and the rest of the tip hangs down into the fluid. BTW, it should be checked in P and the level is sensitive to temperature. Searching here using the tool in the blue bar above will allow you to find out how to check tranny fluid temp and the relationship between that temp and target level.
Overall length may not be important but I measure mine anyway each time I check my transmission fluid. I have a 2006 NAFTA 3500 I-5 engine and my official MB dipstick
sticks out exactly 4 inches from the top of the oil fill tube to the top of the red handle.

I could care less about temperature and think that whole mumble jumble is only for the benefit of service technicians that can't take the time to drive the vehicle for 20 minutes to warm it up properly before checking the fluid level. Checking the fluid level on my Sprinter is no different
than checking the tranny on a Ford or Chevy. Take it for a drive to warm it up to operating temperature, park it on a level spot, put it in park with the engine running, put the dipstick in all the way, and if the fluid is full, it should read half way between the high and low marks on the dipstick.

It's as simple as that, and in my opinion is way more accurate than checking it cold and compensating for temperature. I pitty the poor customer who has his tranny serviced by a
Dodge/Sprinter technician who flunked math in highschool.

Darrell
 

talkinghorse43

Well-known member
Take it for a drive to warm it up to operating temperature, park it on a level spot, put it in park with the engine running, put the dipstick in all the way, and if the fluid is full, it should read half way between the high and low marks on the dipstick.
I recently checked mine and found that the fluid temp was 165F. At that temp, the level target is 55 mm, which is the top mark on my MB dipstick.
 

pdxh2o

Member
I assume y'all have done the install of the dipstick kit. Did/do you also change your fluids yourselves ? How much hassle is it and did you also do Dr. A's mod ? Thinking about all this as my service interval approaches...thanks !
 

General Disarray

2012 NCV3 170" Hightop
sikwan posted a diagram of the OEM tranny dipstick in this thread, and apparently it's 42.5" of snake, and 3" of plastic tip.

I just bought one of those same dipsticks off of ebay for $40, but haven't used it. So the stick doesn't catch at the end of the tube, but goes all the way into the pan? Did you have oil on the snake too? I guess maybe you could mark it at 42.5", right?
 

talkinghorse43

Well-known member
sikwan posted a diagram of the OEM tranny dipstick in this thread, and apparently it's 42.5" of snake, and 3" of plastic tip.

I just bought one of those same dipsticks off of ebay for $40, but haven't used it. So the stick doesn't catch at the end of the tube, but goes all the way into the pan? Did you have oil on the snake too? I guess maybe you could mark it at 42.5", right?
A shoulder (larger diameter than the measuring part of the tip) on the top of the plastic tip "catches" in a narrow place as the tip passes through the valve body. The measuring part of the tip hangs down into the fluid in the pan. No need to worry about how much sticks out, just make sure it's fully inserted.
 

jdcaples

Not Suitable w/220v Gen
The factory tool has a shoulder that will not allow the tip to bend against the bottom of the pan.

I own the factory dipstick tool. I inserted it into the dipstick tube. I put a piece of tape at the line where the tool stops, right at the top of the dipstick tube on my van.

The distance is 44 and 3/4 inches from that piece of tape to the tip.

This tape allowed me to discover that another forum member had a burr in the dipstick tube which prevented the tip from getting into the transmission fluid and properly measuring his ATF level.

What problem are you trying to solve?

-Jon
 

superj7777

New member
The factory tool has a shoulder that will not allow the tip to bend against the bottom of the pan.

I own the factory dipstick tool. I inserted it into the dipstick tube. I put a piece of tape at the line where the tool stops, right at the top of the dipstick tube on my van.

The distance is 44 and 3/4 inches from that piece of tape to the tip.

This tape allowed me to discover that another forum member had a burr in the dipstick tube which prevented the tip from getting into the transmission fluid and properly measuring his ATF level.

What problem are you trying to solve?

-Jon
Thanks for the info! That is the same distance I'm getting when I insert it all the way in.

Now I realize I really do have a bigger problem. I followed the step by step instructions on changing the trans. oil on my 06' freightliner 2500, had no problems.

Drained 7.7 qts of fluid out, including the torq convertor. Refilled with exactly 7.7 qts. When I insert the dipstick, fluid is about 1/4" PAST the highest mark. I can't figure out how I could have possibly overfilled it this much?

Any ideas? I thought I must have been inserting the stick to far, but I guess not.
 

RoadHobo

2006 View 3500 T1N
Thanks for the info! That is the same distance I'm getting when I insert it all the way in.

Now I realize I really do have a bigger problem. I followed the step by step instructions on changing the trans. oil on my 06' freightliner 2500, had no problems.

Drained 7.7 qts of fluid out, including the torq convertor. Refilled with exactly 7.7 qts. When I insert the dipstick, fluid is about 1/4" PAST the highest mark. I can't figure out how I could have possibly overfilled it this much?

Any ideas? I thought I must have been inserting the stick to far, but I guess not.
It sounds like you don't have a problem with the fluid level....it's perfect.

You need to get rid of that oddball dipstick and buy a real MB stick. The high/low marks
on your current stick are probably in the wrong place.

Darrell
 

superj7777

New member
Parked on level ground and idling in P when checking?
Yup, just went outside and double checked (still at temp.) I'm ready to drain some out, to get the proper level, but now I'm scared that somehow I'm not getting the right level, and I may run it too low.

The only thing I can think of is, it was overfilled to begin with (when I bought the van) and not all the oil drained from the oil cooler when I did the change. It did have the MB Service cover ripped off the tube when I bought the van, so I know it wasn't being serviced by a dealer...or maybe, I have known some pretty bad 'factory service techs'
 

talkinghorse43

Well-known member
The only thing I can think of is, it was overfilled to begin with (when I bought the van) and not all the oil drained from the oil cooler when I did the change. It did have the MB Service cover ripped off the tube when I bought the van, so I know it wasn't being serviced by a dealer...or maybe, I have known some pretty bad 'factory service techs'
Thinking more, the above scenario seems unlikely to me. Whenever I change fluid and filter, it takes a full 8 qts, so you should be low in level if anything. If I were sure of the dipstick reading & if I were presented with the same symptoms after a fluid & filter change, I would suspect I didn't push the filter home and air is being sucked into the pump and system. A mixture of air & fluid where only fluid should be would allow more fluid to collect in the sump.
 

blan

New member
Sorry for reviving such an old thread but I wanted to warn you guys that some of the dipsticks sold on eBay claiming compatibility may not be long enough to check your tranny fluid level. I just received one that claimed it was compatible for my 2008 Sprinter NCV3 and its total length (of the snake) is only about 34". I came to the forum searching for the correct length and finally found a post saying that their dipstick was around 44" total length. 10" short? That's nuts.

I had a hunch there was a problem because when I put my dipstick in the filler tube and never hit any significant point of resistance other than the curvature of the filler tube itself. Obviously it never read any fluid even when it was buried all the way into the top of the tube. This might be why there is so much confusion (by some) in doing what should be a very simple task. In this case, it's better for the dipstick snake portion to be too long than too short. At least you'll get a reading if it bottoms out properly.

For those of you posting how far your dipstick sticks out of the filler tube over and over, that doesn't answer the question and it's worthless information to someone asking the for the length of the dipstick. If you know you have a genuine MB dipstick and 3-4 inches sticking out is the magic number then great but it doesn't help people who were possibly sold the wrong tool. In the words of Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane, "Enos, You dipstick!"
 

Nautamaran

2004 140” HRC 2500 (Crewed)

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blan

New member
I like those graphical representations you provided. I hadn't seen those before. I guess my next question is do you know if the T1N and NCV3 both have the same length/design? I realize that I posted in T1N but now I just bought an NCV3. I may just weld an extension onto the top of my dipstick rather than wait for a new one to arrive. I believe the bottom plastic piece is the same.
 
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Nautamaran

2004 140” HRC 2500 (Crewed)
I like those graphical representations you provided. I hadn't seen those before. I guess my next question is do you know if the T1N and NCV3 both have the same length/design? I realize that I posted in T1N but now I just bought an NCV3.
:idunno:
I’ve never laid hands on the real deal (2006 T1N VA-SM calls up a MB 9336 dipstick, or Millar 8863A, or 8863B tools in various places)

My challenge was determining the distance from the “ears” down to the zero-point of the tip, which I scaled from photos found online. The hot range is 6mm to 16mm below the lower apex of the ears, and that apex is 68mm above the zero-datum reference level used on the temperature charts found in the service manuals.

The stick’s required length is shorter for the Jeep vehicles, which only require 36” dipsticks (as below) but use the same eared tip.

My fluid was 53mm above zero datum, which was correct for the measured 130’F transmission fluid temperature.

-dave
 

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220629

Well-known member
...

For those of you posting how far your dipstick sticks out of the filler tube over and over, that doesn't answer the question and it's worthless information to someone asking the for the length of the dipstick. If you know you have a genuine MB dipstick and 3-4 inches sticking out is the magic number then great but it doesn't help people who were possibly sold the wrong tool. In the words of Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane, "Enos, You dipstick!"
:idunno:

If you verify the dipstick in question as correct to pictures of the proper stop ear tip, the handle bottoms against the dipstick tube, and you have no extra sticking out, then the dipstick you have is too short.

The design is such that the tip ears need to hit the round plastic tip receiver which stops the ears at the correct place. There needs to be extra space between the dipstick tube end and dipstick handle.

It would be nice to have the actual measured length from the ears to the handle included when giving the "handle sticks out" measurement, but not really critical. If the dipstick has the proper ears, and the handle contacts the dipstick tube then per the design, the dipstick is too short.

:2cents: vic
 
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