were is the transmission dipstick

I can not find the dipstick tub on my 2002 mercury montaineer that i just got.I would like to check the fluild level

There is none. This is a sealed transmission that requires a special tool to check the fluid from the underside. Do some digging and I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for.

It does not require any special tool. run the truck for a few minutes to warm it up and with the engine running in park on a level surface you remove the small bolt in the trans pan. If fluid dribbles out then it's full. If not then it's low. No special tool is required to fill it back up either, just a standard brass fitting available at any hardware store and a fluid pump from the auto parts store for about $10 bucks. ONLY use Mercon V fluid!!!

thank you

Your welcome. It may help to place the truck up on jack stands if you can't fit under it.

If you read the Ford service procedure they try and scare you by saying that you need a special service tool and a code reader that also reads the trans temperature. Just a bunch of BS to scare you into taking it to a Ford dealer.

You want the trans temp to be around 110 degrees if I remember correctly, Once you start it up and idle it for a few minutes that shouldn't be a problem. You can always feel the pan & get a general idea of if it's warmed up to around that temp. The special tool is nothing more than a brass fitting with threads on one end and a barbed fitting on the other end. It's a 1/4" x 17 NPT thread pitch, the barbed end will just have to fit over the hose of the suction pump. It's just basic common sense, You see what I'm talking about once you crawl under there. They stopped using a regular dip stick simply because the owners were using the wrong trans fluid & damaging the trans.

There are shops all around me that'll do a transmission flush for around $70. That's not really a lot to pay to avoid a hassle. You may just want to look into that.

I would STRONGLY advise against a transmission flush.

If you want to have a filter & pan fluid change then that's good a maintenance practice & I would recommend that. I would never flush a transmission though. You will just open up a can of worms. I've been doing this for a long time & have seen what can happen. It can stir up metallic particles & can clog up or cause sticking in valves in the trans. If you have a high mileage transmission this can kill it by washing away the clutch material. Either way it's really not a good idea.
Ask a reputable mechanic about this, not a quick lube shop as they are pressured into selling transmission flushes.

truborich is giving GREAT advice here. Listen to him.

I have an incredibly well maintained 2002 EX that I had a transmission flush at 50,000 miles and unfortunately I didn't think of doing it again until around 110,000 miles. I NEVER had a transmission issue, as it got very little 4 wheel driving and this thing has never, ever been beat.

So I bring it into my local transmission flush service and after 2 and a half hours later...that should have been the first warning...the young kid says, "Ah Mister. The tranny ever slip before?" I said "Nope. Things been rock solid". As he's looking at his shoes he tells me "Well...it's going to now".

He goes on further to tell me...while there's four other customers in the waiting room..."Yeah, we've had several of these Explorers that we've done and almost everyone starts to slip after we flush the transmission." I was pretty civil about the issue (under the circumstance) but I told him that the ethical thing for them to have done was to have told me that before they even touched my truck.

Sure even, 2 miles down the road it started to slip. Brought it to a transmission specialist and the minute I told him it was an Explorer he wished me the best of luck and said these things were grenades. Less than a month later, the tranny was ruined.

Unless you have had the transmission serviced EXACTLY at the required intervals and had the dealership sign off on it, DON'T flush the tranny. You're asking to become $2,000 lighter if you do!

Vette76, Thank you! I appreciate it.