rabican

Hey guys i have 40k miles on my 05 tsx (manual) and i wanted to replace the fluids, how many bottles, quarts or w/e will it take to replace (bleed the brakes) the brake fluid and the same question about the manual transition fluid?

Any good links to buy them from, or is a local acura dealers prices comparable with online.

thanks.

PACman

About 2 bottles for the brake, 3 bottles for MTF. You can pick it up at Acura or Honda. I figure shipping/handling and taxes online will equal me going to the dealer on my way home from work. It was about $35 for those 5 bottles.

afici0nad0

^

you did you complete mtf flush?

i did a mtf drain and refill, and it totaled to a little more than 2 bottles.

PACman

I remembered reading the MTF change took about 2-3 drain and fill cycles to get all the old MTF fluid changed out (or nearly all). I did 2 drain and fill cycles, so I ended up purchasing about 4-5 bottles.

rabican

jesus... 4-5 bottles? 2-3 refill cycles?, isnt that excessive?

LukeaTron

That's for the AT. You can't fully drain it without taking it apart so you drain all that you can which works out to be something like half the fluid. Then you drive it for a bit and repeat that twice more. The idea is that you're diluting the dirty fluid with clean fluid and then taking out half the dirty fluid. After three flushes, you've got about 12.5% dirty fluid diluted in 87.5% clean fluid (assuming you drain 50% of the total volume each time).

With the MT, this is not needed as nearly all the oil can be drained in one go. Just get the car good and warmed up by driving it and then when you drain the fluid, let it sit and drain for a good long while. The last 5% will take twice as long to drain as the first 95% because it just trickles out.

By the way, lots of people claim the GM synchromesh MT fluid makes the already butter smooth transmission even smoother. I intend to switch to that at some point this summer but I haven't found the time yet.

dBski11

wats a good MT fluid recommendation??

jlukja

That is correct. Its the AT process. I did this for my AT at 30K mi.

LukeaTron

Reading > you. See the last paragraph in the post directly above yours.

jlukja

You can't go wrong with Honda fluid. Also see LukaTron's post right above yours.

edit: Luke is fast.

rabican

...i read on another forum that redline is good but then others say its too slippery for our cars, and the gm stuff is similar...does it really make a big difference/is it better for the car?

thanks.

LukeaTron

Well there have been no real problems reported with these transmissions either way so which is better for the transmission is a moot point. I have also seen the Red Line recommended but it seems most who have used both prefer the GM stuff. It's mostly a transmission feel thing. The GM/Red Line MT juice is supposed to make the slide between gears even more effortless. Both these products have friction modifiers added that help the synchronizers work better. That said, the "too slippery" issue would seem to be anything but.

rabican

everyone on the TL forum loves the stuff though...so id assume it applies for our cars the same.

rabican

...so I need 3 bottles of GM FM MT fluid, GM part #12377916 (www.gmpartshouse.com)

and

2 bottles of Honda dot4 brake fluid. (Honda dealer)

Thanks!

LukeaTron

Any quality DOT 4 (and DOT 5? It will say on the reservoir cap) will work. There's nothing special in the Honda stuff. Power steering fluid on the other hand, you have to use the Honda sutff or something that is specifically made to be "Honda compatible". IIRC the difference is the lack of a certain ingredient that damages the material Honda uses for the seals.

PACman

Looks like I went overboard on the MTF change.

nbtx

Wrong! Never DOT 5, it's silicone. Use only DOT 3 or 4.

aaronng

I'd use only Honda MTF or Redline Superlight. What is the viscosity of the GM fluid?

afici0nad0

this has been the impression i get too when reading about gm synchromesh reviews for honda mt's.

i'll have to wait for another 30000kms before trying this out, as i just completed a drain/refill with oem honda mtf.

ThirdLane

Right now I use the newest Acura MTF with Lucas oil stabilizer. Next time I'll try GM Synchromesh. I've heard a lot of good things about it

The Dougler

iTrader: (1)

FYI, there's only like 3 GM dealers in the GTA that carry GMSMFM fluid. I got mine from the one at steeles and woodbine in markham. And they knew right away it was for a Honda as soon as I asked. The part number is different too and it's labeled AC Delco, but if you peel off the label it has the old one behind it.

The Dougler

iTrader: (1)

Here it is, I found it in a thread on the TL side.

GM part#10953509

You can see the edge of the original GM label in the top corner.

peter_bigblock

I use Motul RBF 600 brake fluid, it's a little more $ than Honda DOT3 and works much better for the occasional track day. For MTF, I use Amsoil's Synchromesh but I think the Honda/Acura MTF is excellent, too.

Just to reiterate: NO DOT 5 in our systems.

Zigen

Thanks for this tread.
I was about to do a search on MTF.
Save me time.

ThirdLane

Unless you do a complete braking system flush. Mixing DOT 3/4 with DOT 5 will lead to brake system failure as the mixture will turn into a gelatin like goop. IMO DOT 5 has only one advantage, its not hygroscopic. But as previous poster said do not use DOT 5 unless you're willing to completely flush the system and dissamble your braking system

nbtx

Without knowledge of seal compatibility, use DOT 5 at your own risk. But I'd venture that you could never completely flush and clean remnants of the old fluid from the ABS controller.

PLEASE folks, use ONLY DOT 3 or 4 if you value your wallet and life. Your wallet because an ABS controller replacement is going to be expensive. and your life because a catastrophic brake failure could be very ugly.

One other thing: DOT 5 is not hygroscopic but it IS compressible so you lose your nice firm brake pedal. A personal aside: Early disc brake Corvettes began having caliper leakage problems after ten years of use. The fix was to replace the worn factory calipers with stainless steel sleeved rebuilt ones. DOT 5 (silicone) fluid was the recommended fluid at the time. So when my 67 Corvette needed new calipers I went with the procedure of the day. Bad mistake ! The brake pedal feel went in the dumper and it took forever to get the little bubbles out of the fluid from pouring it out of the can. As it turned out, the DOT 5 did not destroy the system seals of the 1970s, but you can't guarantee it will be compatible with the Honda systems of the 2000s.

Audioserf

Anyone have a link to a good DIY for MTF flush/refill on our car? I'm at almost 46k on my 6MT and am noticing increased notchiness on my shifts (Comptech shortshifter, metal bushings all around, Maven shift knob - this thing used to be BUTTER). I want to do the job but haven't done it before and am curious.

Thanks!

LukeaTron

Oops, sorry about the DOT 5 thing. I was thinking that 4 and 5 were the two that are compatible instead of 3 and 4 (which are generally). Brain fart on my part.

I'm not exactly sure what the difference between 3 and 4 is but I've noticed that some systems can take both while others can only use 4.

PACman

It's a long read, but it helps explain - http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp...fluid_1a.shtml

afici0nad0

thanks man. gm dealer on steeles/woodbine? the one 3-4 lights north of steeles?

curious, how did the dealer know it was for a honda when you asked?

what are your thoughts on the gm mtf? much better than oem?

afici0nad0

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...ighlight=drain

mball

Don't forget to flush the clutch as well.

aaronng

Instead of flushing the MTF with excess fluid, just drain, and fill it back up, but change it religiously every 30-40000 miles.