anyone know, what is the best atf transmission fluid for, my acura 1999 tl3.2??

 

Stick with Honda ATF. It is not cheap though.

 

Some people have had success with Amsoil ATF but I would stick with Honda brand.

And yes, Honda and Acura brand ATF are the same.

 

Do regular retail stores sell this? Like Autozone or the other chain stores, or will I have to hit up a dealer?

 

Dealer or online Honda parts retailer.

 

did a drain and fill yesterday and the old fluid looked pinkish still, which im happy about

but the bottle pic above is old. black bottle now...with honda atf in white letters.

 

did you notice a difference after the drain and fill?

 

^^ honestly no. my tranny was still running fine be4 i did it. i know i see people mentioning that it does feel better after, but i did oil change, ps fluid and tranny, and noticed nothing.

 

i was told the amsoil stuff has way more of the protective and lubricative additives then honda atf. any truth to that?

 

^ It may but with our tranny's made of glass, I wouldn't risk it.

 

Amsoil is the only other fluid i would even think about putting in our trans. They make a great product. Remember our trans dont suffer from a fluid problem itself, but a problem of fluid getting to necessary parts.

 

yeah, from what ive heard the amsoil stuff is supposed to work wonders compared with the other atf stuff. i need to change my fluid soon, so i was figuring on investing in that. my tranny was changed after feb 06 so i supposedly have the new design, currently bout 35k on it. so im pretty much due. i think ill give it a try.

another question, i heard i can use that same tranny fluid for the power steering fluid. true?

 

on a regular car you can use atf in the ps but NOT on the TL
Each fluid has special secret sauce for its purpose

Some import car parts specialty stores (not zone or kragen types)
carry the honda fluid line for good price- 7-9 bucks a qt on the atf

not cheap? compared to what- a new trans??

 

`I was told`--slavver - who told you that-

There is an amz rep on here that wont use their atf product in his own TL~
what does that say to you

 

A bunch of members have used it with zero complaints issues. I personally know it worked wonders in my Expedition trans, and my dads caddy trans

 

exactly as I said kris--regular cars... not the TL~ can use amz but one of their own wont use it in his TL trans

thats like those old school cars can use atf when the PS is low from the ongoing pump seal leak,,,no worries!
keep an oily rag and funnel under the hood for easy fluid replenishment too, now Thats schoolin it

 

I got a drain and fill today. depending on where your at its 9.10 a bottle but I got it for 6.50 from Acura..

And my bottle was Gray not black... I felt a difference since the person before me did not take care of the car at all

 

would it be a good thing to drain and fill every 2 or three oil changes?

 

hmm, thats interesting bout the amz rep. i was told by a guy i work with who got into amsoil dealing after checking it out for himself. he knows his way around cars so i do trust him, but some things i always like to run by the azine community.

coincidentally, he had his best experience with amsoil tranny and oil fluid on an expedition also. after that, he ran the oil in all his vehicles, which consisted of a civic, a dodge, another expedition, and on one of those 15 passenger vans. he said based on his experience, the stuff is better then anything else. im trying the oil now, and def feel a diff with how my engine responds and sounds. so thats why im thinking bout trying the tranny fluid too.

good to know bout the diff blend of power steering fluid tho. i wasnt aware of that

 

regular cars love amz in many places-
I have used it, we sold it at the shop, I'm also a redline fan- its gas cleaner is great IMO, and the 90 gear oil is in my bike diff
BUT
The TL is picky,, as we all know - on certain parts and fluids
ATF and PS fluid,, I am going to honda for- thats my opinion
flushing the ps is a good idea at 60k miles

It wont hurt to do a 3qt trans drain and fill every 3 oil changes- 15-20k miles
thats better than the most recent acura suggestion for the new cars and clean fluid is better than dirty, on that much we can agree

Now some have a weekend project!
Suggest you drive 15 minutes freeway.. not in town (that overheats trans for this purpose) to warm trans- and hopefully have the crud end up in the drain,
not hide in the TC
Dont freak about metal on the magnetic plug- wipe it clean-spray clean with carb cleaner
Its normal for some scraps- thats why the magnet~

 

Unless the local amz buddy/dealer has a TL of their own, with their fluid in the trans--you are the test pilot

 

so what if you were to fill the trans a little over the full wouldnt that lubricate the gears and what not better because i thought the trans oil sits at the bottom of the housing and the gears just spin through the sitting oil i donno im not a mechanic but thats what i thought

 

I wasnt talking regular cars when i said what i said. There are a couple of TL owners here that have used it with NO issues or complaints.

If i could have found it locally when i had my automatic (like the 3rd or 4th trans) i would have used/tried it

 

ok i was just seeing cause thats wat i plan on doing a drain and fill every three oil changes

 

We have MANY members on Bobistheoilguy who are using a multi-vehicle ATF in their Honda transmissions with fantastic results.

Amsoil is probably the best multi-vehicle ATF, but all of the over-the-counter multi-vehicle ATF products work fine. Lubrizol did a lot of fleet and bench testing before introducing the product to the market.

 

The new GM Dexron VI spec is synthetic and shows Honda Z1 compatible on the label .

 

There may be multi-vehicle fluids that claim Dexron-VI and ATF-Z1 compatibility, but they are not licensed Dexron-VI formulations.

The licensed Dexron-VI fluids are not ATF-Z1 compatible. A licensed Dexron-VI fluid is Group III.

 

That's confusing- if it states it is Z1 compatible on the label- ?

 

1. GM approved Dexron-VI fluids are for GM applications ONLY. They use a Group III basestock.

2. There are "Multi-Vehicle" transmission fluids such as Valvoline Maxlife that claim compatibility in Dexron-VI, ATF-Z1 and a variety of applications. These fluids have been bench and field tested by their additive supplier (i.e. Lubrizol) for the listed applications to ensure compatibility. They are NOT licensed or approved by any automaker. However, depending on the specification, it may actually be an upgrade in comparison to the approved fluid. In my opinion, that is the case with ATF-Z1-- I prefer a multi-vehicle fluid over the Genuine ATF-Z1.

 

Ok, so Amsoil > OEM?

 

In my opinion, yes.

 

I've been using Castrol ATF for Imports and have been very happy with it. While your at it you should change the external trans filter, call a Honda or Acura dealer for the part (they are the only one's that I could find who cary it). After changing the filter my tranny was noticibly smoother. Good Luck!

http://www.castrol.com/castrol/secti...tentId=7028224

 

I just tried this on my 98 Camryand it works fine. I was hesitant to use this on my Acura,so used the Honda fluid. A couple years back I used Dextron in my 88 Legend, then had to drain it and put Honda fluid in it when it started acting up. Even since then, I stick with it in my 2 Civics, Odyssey,and TL...and no trans problems on any of them.. I change 3 qts every 30,000 miles... (2.5 in civic)

 

Which ATF are you referring to ? - Thanks

 

http://www.castrol.com/castrol/secti...tentId=7028224

Castrol Fluid at link above..