hrtrworms

I was not aware that the transmission screen could be cleaned or replaced on 1st Gen. TL's. I was quite surprised when I saw an oil pan on the bottom of my transmission. I had always been told that Honda products didn't use a filter. Wrong. The screen is so fine, it might as well be a filter.

My 96 TL with 170,000 miles was experiencing a flare on the 3-4 shift (sometimes), and also in cold weather the transmission sometimes didn't want to go into gear. Cleaning the screen resolved my problems. I purchased a new pan gasket ($13), and cleaned the filter. Extremely easy procedure.

This is a new filter (Note, this is a 2.5 filter). The screen is so fine it is almost transparent. It is visible through the small suction hole. That dimple is behind the screen






My screen was really plugged. This is what it looked like after a finger was wiped across the screen.






Since they gave me the wrong screen, I cleaned the old one. This worked quite well.




It was extremely easy, and totally resolved my shifting problems. Completely! (I guess the ease of this change makes up for the starter mounting). Hope this helps someone with a similar transmission problem.

WolfpackBill

Awesome info!!! Thanks!!

This thread needs to be stickied!!

Ken1997TL

cali2.5tl

hmmmm...sounds rather interesting seeing as how im about to get my tranny flushed on friday at my local dealer... hmm could save me a pretty penny or two....

UnsanePyro

You will need to replace all the tranny fluid with this or no?

hrtrworms

It takes the same amount of fluid as the normal transmission service. I think it was 3 1/2 quarts.

cambo

its called ATF strainer (item #7 in the pic)
$40.67 from www.acuraautomotiveparts.org
look under AT main valve body

cambo

www.importec.com has the AT strainer for $39.xx and it comes with the $18 gasket included with it.

if you goto importec.com, look under transmission -> filter kit

ride'n96TL

can anyone post pictures or directions on how to get to this part, or how to get it off?

I don't recognize this part, even though I've drained/filled my tranny 6 times. But I wasn't looking for this part either. I also have 200K miles should I just buy a new screen/filter or should I just clean mine?

2doe

is a flush same as a drain and fill? thanks

timo

Just aquired a '97 3.2 and thought I should change tranny fluid and filter while I'm at it but: searching importec.com and elsewhere there is no filter listed (as there is for the 2.5). I'd rather not open up the pan until I have everything needed to do the job right. Does the 3.2 tranny have no servicable filter? Thanks for any advice.

clune

PICS for taking this part off and location pleasssseeee

youngTL

With a flush, they get out ALL the fluid and replace it fully. With a drain and fill, you only get 1/3 of the fluid out or something like that. Flush is more expensive, but worth it IMO.

bpjadhav

The dealership charges $180.00 for a tranny flush while chain outlets like Big10 charge around $100.00 for the same. Is the dealership worth the extra $80.00? Do other stores do a decent job of it? What do you guys recommend?

clune

If I am correct, the dealership does not do a power flush. Atleast they are not suppose to Per Honda/Acura. They will do a drain and fill 4 times to get all the old transmission fluid out. There are a bunch of posts here to do it yourself and you should definitley use the geniune honda ATF(Lots of posts on this topic also).

Now somebody please give me a location and picture for this screen damnit

UnsanePyro

Yeah, I have heard that it is best to use the honda ATF, and was expecting an outrageous price when I picked some up, but it was actually pretty reasonable

cambo

$5.15 a quart over here

hrtrworms

There is a danger in flushing a high mileage transmission that has not been serviced on a regular basis. Be prepared for the possibility of your transmission not working at all.

Somewhere on a newer TL board, the statement was made that once your transmission starts the shift flair thing and the cold weather initial shift problems, it's already too late and you need a new transmission. And that is really why I posted this thread. It was just sort of a fluke that I discovered the possibility of a clogged screen causing this.

After flushing my Accord transmission, it totally refused to do anything. Several people remarked AFTER THE FACT "Oh, that happens sometimes with high mileage transmissions, you need a new transmission." Same thing happened on a friends Dodge van. Ask the people that flush them, and they'll tell you that it's a very real possibility.

My transmission pump was making cavitation noises which indicated something wrong on the suction side of the pump. So in desparation, I took a 12" long 3/8" drill bit, reached through the drain hole, and perforated the filter body and screen ( the transmission was trash already and that wasn't going to hurt anything.) The totally nonfunctional transmission then started working. After removing the transmission, the blockage on the screen was very obvious. The big problem on the Accord is that you have to remove the transmission and break down the case to service the screen. And that's why most Honda product mechanics have never actually seen a Honda transmission screen. It's too labor intensive to just clean the screen and it possibly wouldn't fix a problem anyway. So they replace the entire transmission. However, on our TL's, you don't have to remove the transmission which didn't seem to be common knowledge.


The drain plug is located on the transmission's oil pan, on the very bottom. Remove the pan AFTER removing the drain plug. Immediately under the pan is the filter, bolted directly to the bottom of the valve body. It's the lower most piece on the transmission. Four bolts hold the filter on, and it's pretty obvious which ones they are. No rocket science here. You don't have to remove anything else. The screen inside the filter housing is metal, not delicate, and being metal lends itself to cleaning. I used the intake cleaner because I had it already, and it had the plastic tube to reach inside the filter.

And since my transmission is working, I'm NOT crawling under there for more pictures.

SurfingScotty

Is this for the 3.2 or 2.5?

Ken1997TL

The 2.5

Someone with a 3.2 should look under. I havent had time.

Cornflake

I will be getting a tranny flush done next week. I won't be cleaning mine, I am getting a new filter (MSRP = $100, I pay = $25, through my friend's tranny shop. So I'll let you know how the tranny feels after.

Adam_Schwartz

Another awesome thread - this is the VERY thing that happened to my tranny. My tranny would not shift out of 1st gear at low speeds or a stop. After getting the screen cleaned, the tranny began operating like normal again.

But as mentioned above, a full-blown flush was NOT recommended for my tranny since it has 150,000 miles on it. I have always replaced the fluid per Acura's recommendation, but never got the tranny flushed.

MichaelBenz

iTrader: (2)

Side note....while cleaning your transmission screens....its always a good idea to clean your pipe screens out while you are at it! (lol)

98_2.5_TL

the Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price on a transmission flush from your buddy???

haha

teekay3001

bringing this post back to the forefront for people with transmission issues