Southbound

Two questions...

1. Has anybody else had problems with shutting the hood? I am not stupid and have always done most of my car repair work for over 30 years myself. Yet, somehow EVERYTIME I go to close the hood, it fails to latch! It seems to take "just the right touch" to get it to latch. It usually takes me about 3-4 trys to get it right. I showed this to the sales person when I was checking out the car when I bought it, and he just said move over... He then proceeded to lift the hood to the proper position and dropped it, whereby it latched perfectly with a solid sound. Yet, I can never find this perfect spot. There must be a tolerance of about plus or minus a half an inch from where you drop it in order to get it to latch properly. Am I just an idiot, or is my latch misadjusted? Anybody else have the same problem?

2. Where the heck is the transmission "fill plug"? After all of this tranny talk, I am planning on draining my tranny fluid at my first oil change. (I always do my own oil changes). I just want to make sure that I don't see any metal shavings sticking to the drain plug magnet, etc. I am used to filling the transmission fluid back up through the dipstick hole, but the manual says to open up the fill plug to refill the transmission. I must admit that it will take a really small funnel to fill it up through the tiny dipstick hole... Yet, I've looked around and can't find any obvious "easy to get at" filler plug... Again, am I that stupid? Or are things just really hidden, like how you can't really see the level in the radiator overflow bottle worth a sh!t. That situation could be much improved as well. If a fill plug does indeed exist, is it more of a hassle to use instead of the dipstick hole?

I will plan to buy only HONDA transmission fluid to put back in. Does anybody know how much it will need after just one drain? If it shows metal contamination or color change after only a few thousand miles, I will be joining the paranoid crowd. On the other hand, if it looks, smells, and feels brand new... I'll be much more relaxed. It's kind of scary when even the owners manual tells you how to flush the system, by draining and driving about four or five times. I just want to check right away to see if everything appears fine or not

Thanks for helping out "Goofy goes to Mechanics School"... lol

fla-tls

The ATF filler plug is easy to get at, but not easy to recognize. It doesn't have a hex connection, but a 3/8" square one. Basically, you use use a ratchet with a short extension and no socket to loosen it.

Are you just going to drain and refill, or are you going to flush it more thoroughly by draining multiple times and driving a short distance in-between flushes?

You'll need 3 qts or Z-1 for a drain/refill (total refill is about 2.7 - be careful not to overfill).

You'll need 7 qts for: drain -> refill 2 qts -> drive -> drain ->refill 2 qts -> drive -> drain -> refill +/-2.7 qts.

Also, remember when checking the fluid, the engine/tranny should be up to operating temp, and the engine should be off (most cars require the engine on - not ours).

fla-tls

I just noticed your question was about the fill plug, not the drain plug... It's on top of the tranny and has ATF marked on it. It's deep down in there, but you can't miss it.

Bitium

This might help you. My car was in an accident. No a big one, but the hood was desalign. Anyways. Before the accident my hood use to close by just dropping it from really close to the latch or at any point over that. I would just close fine. BTW the hood does not close if you just let it sit on the latch and push down with your hands. That didn't matter to me, because I never close my hood that way.

After the accident I have to drop the hood at a much higher position and that is the only way it would close. It's not that bad, but it makes a louder sound. hope this helps

Southbound

Thanks guys!

I'm just planning to drain and refill the tranny UNLESS I see contamination. Then, I will do the flush routine. Basically I am only draining it at this point to check for contamination so that I can either sleep or NOT sleep at night... lol (even though it's not funny)

Thanks again!