Hydramatic check

JFromm

What is the procedure to check the fluid? It reads full when cold. When I warm up the car and go through the gears and then check fluid when I turn off car, it barely registers on dipstick.
Thanks,
John

PaulButler

I was always told to check the fluid when it was warm as that gave a more sensible reading. So put the car in neutral and run the engine for a few minutes to warm things up then check the levels.

I'm sure there are more knowledgeable people than me on the subject but that process always worked well for me 

53jetman

Paul hit it on the button.  Make sure the fluid is warm, place in neutral and then check fluid level.

Frankvintagefullflowcom

You need to run it first to get the level to stabilize. Fluid will drain from the torus back into the trans housing during periods of non-use, making the level appear artificially high or, conversely, making it appear low after/while running since the pump will refill the torus.

F 

duncan

And please always apply e brakes on hard or jack up rear end with wheels off ground..Our 54 Hornet hollywood started to go in neutral because the tranny was low on oil.If I would have been in front of  car when it took off I would  have been killed.  Ray

Park_W

Implied above but not explicitly stated:  check the fluid with the engine running.  And as I recall, the manual says to run the selector through all the positions, then to neutral to check the level.

duncan

Our car jumped ahead and ran into bench and bent in rad support. also while doing this the car hit the shop vac that was in between the right front fender and our wood stove. Scratched front side of fender and pushed stove some distance.  I was bawling after everything had stopped..   Ray

DavidC

And please remember the above recs for securing a Hudson when adjusting the bands- seriously wants to go forward. Be careful, set brake, chock tires, or youll be chasing her down the road