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Plugs beside shift solenoid filled with transmission fluid
Hello. Currently my car had shifting problems, and P0780 popped up. Upon examining the plugs beside the shift solenoids, there is transmission fluid inside of the plug. I cleaned it using a contact cleaner, and the car drove fine for 5 minutes. I parked it, drove it again for a few minutes, and the shifting problems came back, and there appears to be more fluid in these plugs. I've provided a picture as to what plugs I am referring to, they are the ones right beside solenoid A and C. If anyone has ever dealt with this, please let me know. I know that it is likely I will be needing a new transmission, but I want to check everything before jumping to a transmission swap.
Firstly, are you 100% sure there isn't a leak dripping onto those connectors?
If fluid is leaking out of solenoid and into those electrical connectors that you circled, then it might be time to replace.
First try replacing o-rings to see if that is the problem (cheap fix), then go for the whole solenoid.
Good Luck!
That could be a possibility, I'll look into it.
Is this usually the first indication of a failing transmission? It engages every gear, but shifting from 2-3 is very bad where it will continue revving up until I left go of the gas, and same situation with 3-4 gear.
That could be a possibility, I'll look into it.
Is this usually the first indication of a failing transmission? It engages every gear, but shifting from 2-3 is very bad where it will continue revving up until I left go of the gas, and same situation with 3-4 gear.
These transmissions have their problems, but many find that fresh fluids (3x3 drain and fill) and a solenoid screen cleaning get them going well. Sounds like you might be in a similar boat... Hopefully. Use nothing but Honda ATF and search for 3x3 in the forum.
Funny enough, recently did both. 3x3 drain and fill last month (Honda ATF), and screen cleaning around 4 months ago. I love the car too much to give it up, so I'll probably end up doing an AV6 swap if it comes down to it. Thanks for the reply.
Funny enough, recently did both. 3x3 drain and fill last month (Honda ATF), and screen cleaning around 4 months ago. I love the car too much to give it up, so I'll probably end up doing an AV6 swap if it comes down to it. Thanks for the reply.
Well the next thing to tackle after that solenoid would be the pressure switches, but that gets pricey.
Do you have the jetpack installed? (hose coming out of fill hole)
What was the fluid like when you did the drain/fill?
How much metal was on the magnetic plug?
How long did you wait between drain/fills?
You can pretty much tell you got a dying transmission when the metal shavings keep clogging solenoid filters and showing up on magnetic plug in excessive amounts along with the burnt/fishy smelling transmission oil.
I'm not too sure what a jetpack is. The magnetic plug had very minimal debris. By how long did I wait, do you mean how often I have done this? I first did a drain and fill when I first purchased the vehicle in 2018, then did another one about a month or two ago, the fluid was dark but definitely not black. All I did was drain the fluid, measuring how much is draining, and filled back exactly the amount I drained. The solenoid filters had absolutely nothing in them to clean, to my surprise, which is why I'm stumped about what I should do next. I checked the voltage of shift solenoid C (easier to get to) and it was at 18ohms which I believe is still functional. Solenoid A is much more difficult to get to, so if one of the solenoids is bad, I'm assuming it may be solenoid A.
These transmissions had a design flaw that restricted oil flow to the gear packs. To help alleviate the issue, an oil jet was installed from the fill hole directly to the gear packs. Not all vehicles got this service done, most did.
If this is what your fill hole looks like, you got the oil jet. Otherwise you'd just have a 17mm plug.
Usually when you perform the 3x3 service, the three drain and fills are done more closely together. Each gear needs to be used with load to ensure you're getting all the old oil moving. I did all three of mine in the same week with fantastic results.
Since you have a leak, be super aware of your transmission fluid levels, if you are just a little bit below the minimum you can have problems similar to what you are experiencing.
Hey TZH, any updates on your car now that it's been a couple of years? I too have had issues shifting from 2nd into 3rd gear. I replaced my 3rd gear oil pressure switch and that certainly helped, but didn't fix shifting into 3rd gear entirely. Maybe once a month it still intermittently mis-shifts as if the car is in neutral. I recently discovered 'Shift solenoid valve C' also plays a role with shifting into 3rd, and I too found transmission fluid inside the connector. Everything on the outside was completely dry. I'll still probably replace the entire valve C, but I was wondering, if you replaced this part, did you notice any other improvement in shifting quality? My transmission also shifts slow and flares on every upshift, except into 2nd, if I don't ease off the throttle. It's been doing this for quite a few years and now that I have the money, I'm debating on also replacing the double linear solenoid (A/T clutch pressure control solenoid valves A and B).
Hey TZH, any updates on your car now that it's been a couple of years? I too have had issues shifting from 2nd into 3rd gear. I replaced my 3rd gear oil pressure switch and that certainly helped, but didn't fix shifting into 3rd gear entirely. Maybe once a month it still intermittently mis-shifts as if the car is in neutral. I recently discovered 'Shift solenoid valve C' also plays a role with shifting into 3rd, and I too found transmission fluid inside the connector. Everything on the outside was completely dry. I'll still probably replace the entire valve C, but I was wondering, if you replaced this part, did you notice any other improvement in shifting quality? My transmission also shifts slow and flares on every upshift, except into 2nd, if I don't ease off the throttle. It's been doing this for quite a few years and now that I have the money, I'm debating on also replacing the double linear solenoid (A/T clutch pressure control solenoid valves A and B).
Hey. Unfortunately needed a tranny rebuild lol. Transmission has been holding up after the rebuild for a couple years now though.
11-06-2020, 04:28 PM
