I have about 75k on my car and dont know if the fluid has ever been changed. I am going to do the suggested drain and fill, drive 10 mins, and drain and fill again. How much fluid should I pick up from honda? I was thinking like 7 quarts. Anyone know how much the fluid runs per quart?

 

you need 9 qts to do the 3x method of fluid change
~3 qts come out with each draining- total capacity is 10 qts
so this way gets as much as possible exchanged

Drive 15 minutes to really warm everything before the first draining
Only drive 5 minutes between drains or it will be killer hot under the car!

 

Sounds good, thanks man

 

My Acura dealer wants $6.95/qt, but a local Honda dealer told me that it lists for $6.05 and he thought that was too hight so he'd sell it to me for $4.75. He';; also sell me the Honda Type 2 coolant for $13/gal., whereas my Acura dealer quoted me $22. Moral: shop!

 

honda is usually less $$$ on parts that are dual use than Acura-

someone has to pay for that fancy showroom and free loaner cars!

4.75 per qt is a score!!!

 

Honestly if it hasnt been changed yet im not sure i would change it

 

Changed it today and boy was it dark. Had some shavings on the magnet also. I did the 3x method and its shifting nice a smooth now

 

When the fluid is clean is it supposed to be pinkish?

 

lawlz, next thread: Tranny problems.

Ideally you should change it every 10k or don't change it at all.

 

Can someone please tell me exactly what the 3x method is?

 

drain 3 quarts of trans fluid- thats all it will give up at a time
refill and drive 5 minutes
drain 3 qts
repeat total of 3 times for 9 quarts of fluid
thats as close to a full change out of the 10 in the system as possible

hence 3x3

 

~SOME~ metal shavings on the magnetic drain plug are normal
Thats why they put a magnet there!
Clean with carb spray and shop rag
The next changes should not have large amounts or there is a real problem

All transmissions drop a bit of metal as the parts wear together
Think of it as brake dust! It happens!

 

Awesome thanks. So I get my car next week with a rebuilt trans. Should I do this every 10k?

 

It wouldn't hurt! I've talked to a couple Acura techs with TL's and their cars have gone strong!

 

I just want to do whatever it takes to get a few years and about 30k miles out of this trans hopefully without having to baby it all the time. So if the Acura techs do a 3X every 10K then so will I and hope I dont have to put a 4th trans in there.

 

Ha, a 4th is going into my car any day now. I just hope that the tranny doesn't die while I'm making the drive to Cali.

 

Do some normal break in miles before your trip to get the trans working smooth
Then if any probs on trip- stop or have towed to nearest acura dealer
the replacement unit has its own warranty and is good nationwide

 

Mega

when was the date of the last replacement?

I am trying to figure out how long after 2/05 that the old style was no longer being distributed thanks

 

Why is this?

I haven't got mine changed since I've had it, about 32K miles. I was thinking about changing it with the 3x3 method, but then came across this. I also bought it used and don't know if it was changed regularly before I bought it.

What would happen if I started doing this every 10K miles like I am supposed to to try and make this tranny last?

If I mess it up, it will just be an excuse to do the 6spd swap

 

i changed mine every 8-10k and that trans lasted the least amount of time of all my trannies, it wont help keep it lasting any longer

if the trans has high miles on it and hasnt been changed the addition of new additives(stuff thats in the fluid) may be bad for it.

 

If the person before me did it, I would be right on schedule for the recommended 30K mile interval.

I don't believe that it won't make it last longer if you change it. The Honda technicians put it in the manual and put in the interval for a reason. You may have had a few defective trannies and they didn't last long when you were changing the fluid often, but is no reason that changing the fluid like the technicians said to do in a good tranny won't make it last longer.

Your transmission was obviously defective failing after 30K miles and should not be the defining case for all to follow.

I know you were just giving your , but believe that your case does not represent the majority of the cars out there.

 

Not changing the fluid is asking for trouble when it comes to warranty claims; because that is a sign of lack of maintainance, which dealers will definitely find no time to give you the reason why you are not cover.

The magnet plug is there to capture metal shaving in case some are floating around, but in our case the metal shaving is excessive; more than the magnet can hold which could lead to premature failure of the tranny. If you are going to change the fluid again in 10k, you will know what I meant; something must be grinding bad to produce that much of shaving.

Making the tranny last longer may not be a good idea. Lets say it would last up to 120k miles. By then, you would wish it rather had failed sooner.

 

What about every 30k like acura now recommends

Of course I mean only those with replaced trans not original hi milers

 

I am at 140K miles and it was out of warranty when I bought it.

 

When I checked with Acura Customer Service they said it never had the tranny recall done and I got it at 109K right after the warranty ended. I believe I am still on my original transmission.

 

Im not saying not to change it, What im saying is that there is no need to change it that often. Believe what you want BUT fluid change interval has NOTHING to do with our problems or making the trans last longer. There is NO need to change it every 10k. Change it at the recommended interval.
Oh and the trans that lasted the longest had the fluid changed at 70k, it died at 79k.

 

I just bought this car and have no idea if it has ever been changed. I am not going to start doing it very often, just a one time change. I was checking the fluid level and it was right between the marks, but looked kind of dirty (though I really don't know what clean fluid would look like anyway).

 

ks

make sure you are check the trans fluid with everything warm from 20 minute freeway drive
then shut engine off
pull trans stick- wipe replace remove read

Only mention it because most cars have engine running to check

 

Is there a clear DIY thread for doing the 3x drain and fill for the transmission fluid?

i have the "oil kit" the dealer installed for the tranny....does that affect this method at all?

i went to the current DIY thread for this but it still didn't seem that clear about the oil kit.

does anyone know if there is a clear step by step with pictures on this similar to replacing cabin air filter DIY?

Thanks

 

use the trans dipstick tube to refill instead

the drain plug is marked ATF under the car and is on the driver side of the car
drive 15 minutes before first drain- drive 5 minutes between drains,
none of this--- drive a day and do the next 3 qts- thats nonsense

 

I wouldnt do that. I would just pull the oil jet out. Its even easier to do that trying to remove teh normal filler bolt. 1 small 10mm bolt pull straight up on the oiljet stick funnel in and fill. You wont hurt the oil jet and you cant install it wrong. It will fill alot easier and faster

 

I hang my head in shame- having never done this job myself- as acura was kind enough to replace trans after I bought car and its not ready for its first change

My bad- sorry!

 

I dont know what the new designs look like but i would assume they have the standard ATF filler bolt in place?

 

No need to, its just quicker my way

 

My replacement trans has a giant bolt head with ATF stamped on it
Looks really easy to get to- since I rest the seafoam can on it when doing vac cleaning!

 

Thats what they all had till they added the oiljet kit

https://acurazine.com/forums/showpos...0&postcount=24

 

How about using tranny fluids other than honda ATF. Like Amsoil and Royal purple. Wouldnt those cut the heat down

 

http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/atf.aspx

 

Let me say that first I respect and value the opinions offered by the gurus in this forum. When I heard 3x3 10quarts method I just don’t understand why. If I drain 6.5 quarts and replace with the same amount intuitively speaking it should be my way of oil change. By doing the math this way will surely take out more old stuff. For the other point, I understand the rational not to change the old oil if it hasn’t been replaced for a long while. Yet I did the first transmission oil after 124K on an Accord, and here and there every 25k until 205K, the day when I sold it. I even used the Chevron oil from Costco, not the Honda stuff. It was just hand and dandy. I would change the ATF whenever I see fits regardless the mileage. The TL transmission may be a different story, time will tell. My 2 cent.

 

I was going to have my fluid changed until I looked at the dip stick. The fluid doesn't look dirty at all. It looks very clean. I think I'm going to wait another 10k and then just do it.

I bought the car at 60k and now it has 70k. I think it must have been changed since it looks so clean.