LeonsTL

im goin to drain my tranny next weekend...does anyone have any suggestions on the best tranny fluid for the 99 4-speed automatic tl. and how much does it take to fill'r back up.

yield2s

if your just going to pull the drain plug then your only going to get 2.7 of the 7 quarts that the tranny holds. so stick w/ whats in it now for the refill.

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

DO NOT USE ANYTHING BUT HONDA ATF. There have been problems reported with using other brands. I've heard people use Redline, but I can't confirm. Stick with the Honda ATF.

em17henry

I just started to use redline, and I added a cooler, there's alittle difference, but I wouldn't go back to honda's atf though, I would rather have an atf that cools more quickly than the ones that are made for our cars, our cars need alittle aftermarket addictives inorder to make it run better.

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

With the clutch pack and tranny fluid flow problems I wouldn't change to anything but Honda ATF if you paid me.

sjdb1

Comptech recommends redline with S/C's, I was using it til my first tranny went out.
I will Only use Acura recommended brands now to play it safe.

eric06303

i only use honda atf cause of warranty issues. if my tranny fails on me, they can choose not to warranty the transmission by saying that not the correct atf fluid was put in the car. the manual specifically says to use honda atf z1 and if it's not available to use dextron 3 but to switch back to honda atf z1 asap.

em17henry

seriously I am using REDLINE D4 ATF with a bottle to Lucas or Lucus and I just added the tranny cooler, Eric did you always used redline before the tranny failed? and which fluid did you used, b/c there are many of them. Do you have problems now? I can't tell if I am or not b/c I was used to the hard shifting from Reverse to Drive to Park in the past, and I can't remember if it was any difference.

eric06303

my tranny has never failed on me and i've never used redline, IF it does, honda may say that they won't warranty it which is what the dealer guy told me.

asloudasitgets

how do you do a tranny fluid change? is it the same as a oil change?

unbolt drain plug, drain fluid, plug back in then top her off with new fluid?

eric06303

yup...it's exactly the same as an oil change except without the oil filter part

asloudasitgets

oh cause i am under the immpression that you need to flush it 3 times?

cause when i got my tranny checked the dealer went ahead and changed the fluid and said they did a 3 flush process. is this normal?

and what does this mean?
if your just going to pull the drain plug then your only going to get 2.7 of the 7 quarts that the tranny holds. so stick w/ whats in it now for the refill

eric06303

hmm...i'm not sure about the flush process, when i did it, i changed the atf, drove around, came back and looked at the level, it wasn't enough so i added more...that's all i did

car_lost

how can i drain all the fluid?

carcaze

is there a DIY for transmission fluid change ? My car have 65K on it now so I wanted to do it.

thanks

Daggra105

from my understanding, to completely drain your transmission fluid you will need to repeat the process of unplug drain plug, drain transmission fluid, plug and fill transmission with Honda ATF fluid, three times. For $150, go to the dealer and have the dealer suck the transmission fluid with their vacuum machine. The vacuum IMO cleans the transmission better by removing metal debris than DIY transmission drain.

Type-S1

How would Acura know that your using Redline vs. Honda ATF... Isn't all tranny fluid red..

sjdb1

Comptech told me DO NOT mix honda/Acura fuild with Redline.
So, the first time I had it serviced I told them it the tranny needed topping that I had a gallon of Redline in the trunk.
It did make me seriously wonder why it would be such a serious statement.

nortondlcl

nortondlcl

I put mobil 1 tranny oil in my 2002 tl type-s after the first day it i notice hard shifting into 2nd & 3rd gear.I drained it out and went back to honda ATF

sjdb1

Same here, I don't want to give Acura the slightest exuse for an argument, they already seem to have one for any issue you bring up!

em17henry

why when we change our tranny fluid, why don't we also change our tranny filter?

webmastir

didn't feel the need to start another one of these 328923898 tranny fluid threads... have a question tho


i'm currently using dextron(3 or 4 can't remember) in my rebuilt tranny .
i've driven about 7k miles with it in there -- still good color & smell. what's the best advice to do from here? plz spare me the "you f'in moron" speech. im aware after reading quite a bit that it's not a wise choice to use.

anyway, can someone point me to the right thread that'll explain the process i'd need to do to drain & refill (somin about 3x3 method?) on my 03 TL-p. will it hurt anything to change after 7k miles on dextron?

01tl4tl

get the dextron out of there TODAY- no kidding- it eats acura transmissions.
In fact- the 3x3 is for when you accidentally `Topped Off` the fluid level `in an emergency with dex3`- thats from the owner book!

you will need 12 quarts of Honda ZR auto trans fluid (same stuff as acura-cheaper at honda or some import parts stores) total capacity is 7.3 with over half hiding when you drain
in reality with yours- 14-15 qts to be sure every drop of dex is out would be a safe idea- more than the total capacity would push it all out

procedure:
with car cold- on ramps- ck the drain plug will come out, its a standard ratchet goes into the plug, lefty loosey, may seem superhuman tight or may be correct torque on 29 foot pounds since its a rebuilt- might be easier to remove

tighten it back up

go for 10-15 minute freeway cruise to fully warm trans fluid
On ramps, block behind rear wheel-
open drain plug with normal oil catch can under it
remove large bolt with ATF stamped on it- top center of trans from above, thats the fill plug- use a long skinny funnel to get fluid in.

will drain approx 3.2 if you are patient
replace drain plug- refill new fluid
drive 5 minutes in the neighborhood- manually gate shift, us each gear up and down 2-3 times- including Park
On ramps- drain fluid- replace-drive 5- repeat 3 times-done

anything else? oh iirc its a 19mm head on the atf fill plug

01tl4tl

cars with the recall installed- external oil jet kit- basically those who do not have an acura warranty replaced trans:

remove the funky thing with a 10mm bolt and a small oil line to it on top center of trans- pull straight up- thats the normal filler hole- add fluid through there

dudeinaTL

iTrader: (1)

How much you guys usually pay per qt for the Honda ATF?

01tl4tl

sorry, its called Honda Z1 and i said ZR oops
Its about 8 bucks a qt at honda and specialty import parts stores
Call a few places and see
Acura gets 2 bucks more for the same product with acura on the label

01tl4tl

100 bucks in materials to do it the way you need in this situation
In the future do 3 qts every other oil change/once a year

dudeinaTL

iTrader: (1)

Wow that's expensive. I'm lookin for a new tranny but was hopin I could buy a little time on my current one with a manual ATF flush. Might as well keep that 100 bucks to go towards my new tranny.

pimpin-tl

Go get Amsoil ATF or ATD or Redline D4 and call it a day. Way better than Z1 which is a crappy fluid anyways.

01tl4tl

dudeinTL- you dont want a full 12 changeout like that on a dying trans, will put the quick end to it
Do a 3 qt and see if it helps for a while, clean the selenoids, see DIY list

0196tl

Oh well, if your're reading this far here a couple of links you might find interesting. Hope they help.
http://www.in.honda.com/Rjanisis/pubs/SN/B08010A.PDF
http://accuratecars.com/blog/2008/12...35&PID=3144472

And for those looking for that little known transmission filter:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...mission+filter

Later, Steve

jdjohn84

I did a 3qt change using Amsoil ATF, and it stopped the intermittent shuddering I was experiencing between 2nd and 3rd (or was it 3rd and 4th?). That was about six weeks ago. I'm doing another 3qt change this weekend, eventually getting to 100% Amsoil. I'm doing this over time instead of the 3x3 flush.

I dropped about $100 on my Amsoil order last week. 3qts ATF, 5qts 5W20 synthetic motor oil, oil filter, and air filter. I will be doing the SeaFoam treatment to my oil before changing.

kriz2fer

So it's not good to change 12qts of trans fluid if you think your tranny is starting to go? What about the 3qt fluid change? Will that hurt your trans if it's already goin?

01tl4tl

if the trans is slipping already- into 2nd and 3rd- no fluid change will help now

If its just rough but no slip on full throttle 2nd gear testing or 25 and 35 mph D5 stomp the throttle and ck downshift response hookup and forward motion- if its slipping it should do it then,,fluid change wont help

If fluid smells burnt on dipstick--not good sign

back to rough shift but ok hookup- 3 qts of same fluid thats in it should be ok

Note- doing 3 qts a week/month does NOT change the fluid over- it mixes new and old together- diluting and contaminating your special new stuff
The only safe way to remove 99.9% of old fluid is the 3x3 12 qts with 5 minute drive between, with use of each gear up and down a few times- that pushes old fluid to the pan for the next draining

change the secret external filter- that seems to help!
possible selenoid problems- those are easy to replace externally and have fixed many ziners probs when they though it was dead trans

a trans with 100kmiles and original fluid does not like a 3x3 at all- try a 3qt at your own risk

01tl4tl

aamco does free test drive and code ck for trans- get their opinion if its selenoids or serious

fsttyms1

Look in the DIY thread towards the top of the main 2gtl page. There are instructions on the Drain fill.

dudeinaTL

iTrader: (1)

Video of it on a CL but should be the same as a TL.

fsttyms1

You just need to remember that if you have the external oil jet, the fill bolt wont be there and you have to remove the oil jet by removing the 1 10mm bolt and pulling straight up on it to get to the filer hole.

dudeinaTL

iTrader: (1)

^ True, forgot about that. Figured I'm the only one with a pre-2005 tranny, lol.