Allison 1000 - Fluid level low on Dipstick

[caheath]

I recently had the Dexron III fluid in my Allison 1000 drained and replaced by a mobile lube service. The tech drained 8.5 qts, not including what was in the spin-on filter. Then he replaced the filter, and added back 9.5 quarts of Mobil Delvac Synthetic (we'll do one more drain in a few months before I consider the transition to synthetic complete).

A couple days ago, I loaded up the motor home, hooked up my towed car, and drove 45 miles on a hot Texas day. During the test drive, the tranny shifted fine... nice and smooth. But there are only a couple gentle hills in the area and so I was not able to really task the tranny.

After the drive, I parked on a level surface, left the engine running in Park, and checked the tranny fluid level with the dipstick. The fluid level showed almost half-way between the COLD and the HOT marks. See the photo below. My concern is whether there is a sufficient quantity of fluid in the tranny. The mobile lube tech will come back out and add more fluid, but we are both worried about overfilling the tranny.

Can anyone offer advice as to whether we should add fluid? Any idea how much?

Thanks in advance!

[Skip426]

I'd be tempted to recheck the trans fluid level cold , and if it's not below the cold mark then you're fine.
Between , the marks would only be a quart, so if you tested hot and the level was on the cold line you'd add a quart.

[Tony Lee]

Some Allisons have an oil level check via the shift keypad. If so you could double check using that.

[Skip426]

Originally Posted by Tony Lee

Some Allisons have an oil level check via the shift keypad. If so you could double check using that.

99.9% sure that the 1000 series Allison , was only available with a shift lever, not the push button pad that the 3000/4000 series have.

[caheath]

No keypad... that would've been my first choice, if available.

[Scotty1973]

Originally Posted by caheath

No keypad... that would've been my first choice, if available.

You can buy the push button setups aftermarket for the 1000/2000 series if you really want them. They are quite expensive as they require an actuator on the transmission also. They still wont give you the fluid level on the shifter though

Shift-By-Wire System | Curtiss-Wright

[mgscott4]

Why wouldn't it be enough fluid. The level is between the hot and cold marks when hot. You have 9.5 quarts in it.

If it ain't broke-- don't fix it.