young03

what color is the dipstick for the tranny in a 97 3.0cl i need help im pretty sure its the yellow but not 100% sure. tried searching but couldn't find anything that really helped. thanks in advance

G22_Powered_YA1

im pretty sure its universally yellow

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)

Mine has a yellow rubber handle on it i think

young03

can i add atf fluid in where the dipstick goes???? i need to add some fluid but am not sure if i can add there or not...

Cocoa

iTrader: (2)

There is a bolt that reads "ATF" on top of you tranny. Refill from there.

young03

looking from top of engine bay where is the bolt located at thanks for helping. so u cant add fluid from the dipstick part??

Cocoa

iTrader: (2)

It'll take you forever from the dipstick. Stand by the driver side wheel, and look over your intake. If you look directly below it, you should find a bolt (17mm or 19mm), that says ATF on it. If you have an aftermarket intake, you should see it. If you have the stock one, you'll have to take it off most likey.

young03

so if i added a lil through the dipstick that wont hurt will it??? i have the stock intake so i guess that i will have to remove it. but once i remove the bolt i can fill it up right???

Cocoa

iTrader: (2)

The thing is, I don't think it'll go through the dipstick, and if it does, it might take you forever. If you remove the ATF bolt, yes, you just fill her up from there as if you were adding oil. It's very easy.

young03

ok thanks bro i will try tomorrow to add some i wanna try some lucas trans fix i wanna add some. so just look for the bolt that says ATF on it and remove to gain access to where the atf fluid goes

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)

Don't add any through your dipstick

There is an ATF bolt, it's 17 mm on the right side, on top of the tranny. You should be able to see it, but to make it easier, you can remove your battery and battery tray

young03

thanks.should i put the car in each gear and add a little fluid to each gear or just add it all at once??? i appreciate the help everyone im bout to buy a tranny cooler to help with my tranny

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)

Just put it all in, don't f with the gears, and once you put a tranny cooler put an extra half quart in

young03

i no that were supposed to fill our tranny with honda atf fluid but is there any other fluid that we can use also. i got quoted 75 for a drain and fill replace filter and drop pan what do u guys think bout that??? its a local mechanic that i go to to get my inspections done at, not wanting to really go to dealer. next question if i added some fluid through the dipstick my dipstick wouldnt be showing the correct amout of fluid in tranny right?? wouldnt it be showing a little of whats in the dipstick tube also. is there another way to check the level of tranny fluid without doing a drain and fill or sould i clean out the dipstick tube so i could get a more accurate measurment... thanks alot guys i really appreciate the help

STL+3.0CL

Forget about the dipstick, whatever you have managed to put in there already will eventually heat up and level out, so your reading will be accurate if you have drove around since you attempted to add fluid to it. The drain and fill is simply that with our cars, there is no filter changing and pan dropping unless the transmission is disassembled in which case it wont cost $75. If you dont want to take it in anywhere, grab some ATF from a Honda or Acura dealer and do it your self. The filler bolt is directly on top of the tranny on the drivers side, and the drain bolt is underneath behind the driver side tire.

Ohh, and people have used other fluids but I recommend only using Honda ATF!

young03

thanks a million bro i think im going to have to drain some of the fluid out cuz i think that there is too much in there its past both dots. where should it show on the dipstick???? i thought that the fluid that was added into the dipstick hole would mess up the reading but it makes sense tho.. if i added a full bottle of lucas trans fix and it seemed to overfill the tranny should i drain out some of the fluid and add some tranny fluid or add more lucas trans fix???

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)

Our cars don't have tranny pan, you have to drop the tranny out and remove the outer casing, the cheapest I found that for was $600. I don't think your mechanic knows anything about your tranny if he says he can drop the pan. Or he's going to put an external filter on which is what my tranny has. OR he's just going to tell you he dropped your pan and not do it cuz he can't.

young03

is the filter visible if im looking under the car???? and also if i added a full bottle of lucas trans fix and it seemed to overfill the tranny should i drain out some of the fluid and add some tranny fluid or add more lucas trans fix??? when i look at the dipstick what is an indication that the fluid is full or needs some fluid.

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)

The only tranny filter normally is inside the tranny and there is no pan to drop. I have an inline one that I got when I rebuilt my tranny and no it's not visible from underneath. Don't dump more trans fix in there if it's overfilled

young03

if the tranny is overfilled would it cause it to shift hard and slip a little bit???

STL+3.0CL

Young... I see you have 333 posts, which means you have been around long enough to search. You should know that the 1st gen CL's have an infamously horrible transmission life. There are a couple threads dedicated to servicing the transmission, If it is shifting hard and you think you might of overfilled it. Then you need to:

- Get the necessary tools to do this job (oil catch pan, socket wrench for the filler and drain bolts, Honda ATF 9qts) If you want to go one step further get Seafoam transmission flush.

- Drain all the fluid.

- Fill with 3 qts (check fluid level it should go up to the second dot) fill until Full is reached.
-- you can substitute half a bottle of Seafoam tranny treatment

- Shift thru all gears, and drive around at least 5 miles

- Drian and fill again. I recommend doing this 3 times driving at least 10m the second time.
-- dont add the Seafoam the second or third time.

- On the last drain/fill If you are going to add Lucas treatment, dont add the whole bottle. I use a 1/4.

If you search you can find a more detailed walkthru, bolt size and location, ATF recomendations etc..