98 Honda Civic manual transmission fluid check?
 

ok, this may sound dumb, and i probably am. i know that there is a plug that i need to remove to check the tranny fluid but on all other vehicles you need to have the engine running and at normal operating temperature. now this sounds unsafe since you need to remove a part from the engine and sticking something in the tranny, probably my finger, so i guess i need to know if the engine needs to be running, or just have it warm with the engine off or what. thanks for the help.

no dont have it running.. you have it running if it's an automatic transmission.

look on the firewall,there is what is called a slave cylinder,check the fluid the same as your brake master cylinder.if low,use brake fluid to fill.the slave unit itself may need to be replaced or repaired. do this soon or you will be out for a tow job.

since it is a manual transmission. DO NOT have the motor running when you remove the plug.Fluid will splash out since all the gears are freely turning inside. There is no dip stick, after the plug is removed, stick a screw driver in and down about a half inch. if there is no fluid, fill it untill it just begins to seep out. that is the proper level, provided the car is level and one end is not raised higher that the other. You do not need to warm it up first.