DIY - Acura RDX Tranny Fluid Change
09-26-2010, 03:16 PM
#1
Intermediate
Thread Starter
DIY - Acura RDX Tranny Fluid Change
I drained and replaced the tranny fluid today. I have a Acura 2008 RDX.
First, I used Castrol Import Multi-Vehicle ATF instead of the Acura (Honda ATF-Z1). Castrol says it meets the requirements of Honda Z1 and I don't think Honda formulates something that has to be used. I think they say that so you buy their product. That's just my opinion and I'm sure many will disagree. Anyway, back to the project...
The toughest part is finding and removing the fill plug. It's located under the brake fluid reservoir (AND it's not labeled, as noted in the maintenance manual) and you have to remove the turbo cooler plastic cover and the turbo air feed. See photo's to follow. The other hard part is snaking your funnel thru all of the hoses to get it into the fill hole. Take your time with the help of screwdriver to feed it down while bending it into the hole and you'll be fine.
I also used ramps which I wouldn't do next time since I know where the drain plug is and by having the car up so high, I needed more speedy dry since tranny fluid is not like oil... it splashes all over.
Material needed:
4 Quarts of New Tranny Fluid (I drained 3.7 to 3.8 quarts)
Speedy Dry or Kitty Litter
rags
Tools Needed:
17 MM socket & ratchet and THREE 6inch extension
3/8" ratchet
Philips-head screw driver
Regular slotted screwdriver
Mics tools:
long funnel
fluid measuring device (I used and old 5 quart container)
Step one:
Use ramps or don't... I did, but won't next time. See comment above.
Remove plastic decorative turbo cover and the turbo fresh air intake tube.
Step two:
Find fill plug and use the 17mm socket with three 6" extensions (unless you have other sizes to make up the +16inches requires) and remove the fill plug. It's important to do this since if you can't remove the fill plug, you will have a hard time replacing the fluid using the dip stick tube. Note: Some people use the dip stick tube, but it's very small (like 9mm) and it takes longer.
Once the fill plug is removed, make sure you can snake your funnel into the fill hole before you start draining the fluid. Once you're sure you can replace the fluid start draining...
Step three:
On the underside of the tranny, facing the passenger side close to the front of the vehicle there is a drain plug (it's not labeled). I used a regular 3/8" ratchet without any sockets installed to remove this plug. Once remover, the fluid comes out very fast. Once it stops draining, clean and replace the drain plug (use a new crush washer) and tighten.
Step four:
Pour used fluid into a container so you can measure how much was removed. I used an old Mobil-1 5 quart plastic container. I drained around 3.7 quarts, so I put back a little more since I spilt some fluid on my driveway. Like 3.8-9ish. Now that you know how much fluid you removed, pour the same amount into the funnel making sure it's in the fill hole.
Step five:
Once fluid is replaced, remove funnel, reinstall & tighten 17 mm fill plug with new crush washer, move back any displaced hoses that were moved snaking the funnel, replace turbo fresh air hose and turbo decretive cover.
Start car let run for a little while and check fluid. With the RDX the fluid is check 30-60 seconds after the engine is shut down. If all when right, the fluid should be OK since you replace what you took out.
First, I used Castrol Import Multi-Vehicle ATF instead of the Acura (Honda ATF-Z1). Castrol says it meets the requirements of Honda Z1 and I don't think Honda formulates something that has to be used. I think they say that so you buy their product. That's just my opinion and I'm sure many will disagree. Anyway, back to the project...
The toughest part is finding and removing the fill plug. It's located under the brake fluid reservoir (AND it's not labeled, as noted in the maintenance manual) and you have to remove the turbo cooler plastic cover and the turbo air feed. See photo's to follow. The other hard part is snaking your funnel thru all of the hoses to get it into the fill hole. Take your time with the help of screwdriver to feed it down while bending it into the hole and you'll be fine.
I also used ramps which I wouldn't do next time since I know where the drain plug is and by having the car up so high, I needed more speedy dry since tranny fluid is not like oil... it splashes all over.
Material needed:
4 Quarts of New Tranny Fluid (I drained 3.7 to 3.8 quarts)
Speedy Dry or Kitty Litter
rags
Tools Needed:
17 MM socket & ratchet and THREE 6inch extension
3/8" ratchet
Philips-head screw driver
Regular slotted screwdriver
Mics tools:
long funnel
fluid measuring device (I used and old 5 quart container)
Step one:
Use ramps or don't... I did, but won't next time. See comment above.
Remove plastic decorative turbo cover and the turbo fresh air intake tube.
Step two:
Find fill plug and use the 17mm socket with three 6" extensions (unless you have other sizes to make up the +16inches requires) and remove the fill plug. It's important to do this since if you can't remove the fill plug, you will have a hard time replacing the fluid using the dip stick tube. Note: Some people use the dip stick tube, but it's very small (like 9mm) and it takes longer.
Once the fill plug is removed, make sure you can snake your funnel into the fill hole before you start draining the fluid. Once you're sure you can replace the fluid start draining...
Step three:
On the underside of the tranny, facing the passenger side close to the front of the vehicle there is a drain plug (it's not labeled). I used a regular 3/8" ratchet without any sockets installed to remove this plug. Once remover, the fluid comes out very fast. Once it stops draining, clean and replace the drain plug (use a new crush washer) and tighten.
Step four:
Pour used fluid into a container so you can measure how much was removed. I used an old Mobil-1 5 quart plastic container. I drained around 3.7 quarts, so I put back a little more since I spilt some fluid on my driveway. Like 3.8-9ish. Now that you know how much fluid you removed, pour the same amount into the funnel making sure it's in the fill hole.
Step five:
Once fluid is replaced, remove funnel, reinstall & tighten 17 mm fill plug with new crush washer, move back any displaced hoses that were moved snaking the funnel, replace turbo fresh air hose and turbo decretive cover.
Start car let run for a little while and check fluid. With the RDX the fluid is check 30-60 seconds after the engine is shut down. If all when right, the fluid should be OK since you replace what you took out.
Last edited by ptrapper65; 09-26-2010 at 03:29 PM.
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