I have just finished the ATF drain and replace.

As you know my tranny used to quiver and shake at 1-2 shift. In addition, the ATF level was in the middle of the range between the 2 holes on the ATF dispstick.

I bought:

3 Qrts of Honda/Acura ATF-Z1 ($15).
1 Sealing Washer ($1.6)
1 10" 3/8 Socket extension ($10)
1 10" "hosed" Funnel ($2)

Total $28.6

I had 32600 miles on the odometer.

After removing the ATF draining plug, I was shocked to see so much "black stuff" on the draining plug . It was covered by a thick layer of soft "black stuff". The oil itself was dirty, but still it spreads very quickly on a paper towel.

I cleaned the plug very well, plug back where it should, and I replaced 2.9 Qrt of ATF and I left 0.1 Qrt (100 ml) not used.
Finally, put back the filling plug and fired up my CLS ....

Time for a test drive,.....

Test drive Observations:

1) No more quivering, shacking or anything like that , the Tranny is shifting like a silk.....
2) Believe it or not, the tranny is shifting faster than before....
3) No more tranny noises or cluck cluck sound while shifting in R or out of P.....
4) on the HW the tranny is wisper quiet....


I am impressed, the ATF drain and replace is a MUST at 30,000 miles

 

Wow that sounds like it will fix all my problems. Freaky.

 

I know Spoon makes magnetic oil drain plugs I wonder if they make something for the tranny plug too? That way all the metal shavings will cling to the plug not the float around in the fluid. If they don't I think I just found a good product to sell on infomericals late at night.

 

should be part of the 30 K service anyway .

 

For my own peace of mind I changed it at 15k.

 

Yeah, my shop told me to do it at 15K too!! With the tranny being a little shakey as it is, it was well worth it!!!

 

I did even better than that - I changed the whole transmission at 16,800 miles!!

 

call me a real dork, but is it possible for someone to analyze this "black stuff" under a microscope??? if it's the lube used to coat the gearings, then it appears the lube's chemical structure may be decomposing, which could b a reason behind the tranny mystery


any indications on where the problems have been localized???

 

I JUST HA THE 15K SERVICE AND HE SAID TO ALSO CHANGE THE FLUID AT 30K BUT I AM GOING TO CHANGE IT NEXT WEEK I SHOULD OF HAD IT DONE WHEN IT WAS AT ACURA THE FIRST TIME.

NITROTIGER!!!!

 

Doesn't it take like 3 or so "drain/refill" cycles to do the ATF, as it only drains about 50% of the fluid each time?

 

Yes after my tranny change at around 30k the click noise went away when shifting from R to D5

 

SO.......is 15,000 miles too soon?

 

I agree...I also changed mine at 30,000 miles.

 

i'm changing mine to redline at 7000 miles. changing to redline oil 10w30 with k&n oil filter too. if anyone wants, i can get redline pretty cheap.

 

No ! My dealer included it automatically at my 15k service.

 

i changed my at 15k miles...

 

Guys the Tranny Drain plug is magnetized already. The black stuff is nothing but metallic particles which are produced from normal wear and tear in the tranny attracted to the magnet. It is nothing to be worried about and is 100% completely normal.

 

changed mine out at 3,000.. Yes, you read it right 3K miles. I changed it along with my first oil change. I also saw those black stuffs on the plug. The reason I changed so quickly is because I want fresh fluid in there and get rid of all those debrid after the break in period. Will do it again at 30,000.