adversary

Hey there,

I did not want to do the brake flush myself (call me lazy) so I took it to my dealership and paid about 100 bucks for it to get done. I have been going to this place for my oil changes and they give great service.

When they finished, they told me that my transmission fluid needs to be flushed out. My car is roughly at 42k miles, and I do quite a bit of spirited driving with my car. What do you guys recommend? Dealership wants 240, and an independent shop wants 150 for it done. The manual says 60k is recommended to replace. Is it too soon, or should I just get it changed?

Thanks

TSXV6Guy

Is it automatic? If yes then it's easy to do - actually easier than an oil change as there is no filter to replace.

Very important to use honda fluid and not any aftermarket one due to the presence of additives etc in the fluid that affect shift quality.

You'll need 3 or 4 quarts and the gasket. (get 4 quarts just in case, depending on whether you jack the car on one side etc and the amount of fluid drained). Engine / transmission should be warm before draining. If 4 cylinder, then fill from the drain plug. V6 had a fill plug on top of the transmission - access from the engine bay.

adversary

should i do it myself then? is there a step by step guide?

adversary

what gasket?

and what transmission fluid should i get?

adversary

can someone give me a step-by-step on what to expect?

i think i am going to do this myself, it seems pretty easy. i want to do the 3x3 method.

kball

a YT demo...but in 'stills' and not sure if 1st or 2nd gen has any difference

adversary

so it looks like all i have to do is:

1. jack car up
2. remove shield (????)
3. loosen bolt and drain fluid out with a pan underneath
4. ????

a. do i have to remove the shield to access the bolt underneath the car?
b. where do i put in the new transmission fluid?

bagwell

iTrader: (1)

I put mine in thru the tube on the top where the dipstick is.

adversary

so there's no bolt up there to take off? i just put the funnel into where the dipstick goes and then pour it right in?

jonnys_honda

Correct. Should take 3.1 qts

adversary

So is this what I literally do?

1. jack up car
2. remove engine shield
3. unscrew screw at the bottom to let old fluid drain out
4. tighten the drain screw once all fluid comes out.
5. take out ATF dipstick
6. funnel new transmission fluid into the same pipe where the ATF dipstick is
7. put shield back on
8. lower car
9. start engine, let it run for 2 minutes.
10. turn off engine
11. check dipstick to see if fluid is between the 2 holes of the dipstick?
12. drive car around for 5 min.

am i missing a step?

thanks. i really do appreciate the help. ive never done this before and dont want to fuck up

Mercedes>BMW

And do you guys think it's good to do at 42k? 18k before recommended

adversary

the dealer told me that it's all black. dont see why not.

TSXV6Guy

0 purchase DW-1 auto transmission fluid from honda/acura and a drain plug gasket.
0.1 warm up engine to operating temperature
1. jack up car
1.1 put jack stands underneath for safety
2. remove engine shield
3. unscrew screw at the bottom to let old fluid drain out
3.1 clean the magnet on the drain plug and make sure the one-time use gasket is off
3.2 use new gasket that you would have purchased from Acura
4. tighten the drain screw once all fluid comes out. don't overtighten
5. take out ATF dipstick
6. funnel new transmission fluid into the same pipe where the ATF dipstick is
7. put shield back on
8. lower car
9. start engine, let it run for 2 minutes.
10. turn off engine
11. check dipstick to see if fluid is between the 2 holes of the dipstick?
12. drive car around for 5 min. <-- no need to - just double check later to make sure fluid level is ok and there are no leaks underneath.

ceb

Color is not a reliable indicator of fluid condition.

These services are often referred to as a "wallet flush" because it unnecessarily flushes money from your wallet.

musty hustla

I thought there was a triple drain/fill technique to remove more of the old fluid.

Funny you mention the black fluid...many years ago Jiffy Lube told me to change the fluid because it was red from oxidation.

thunderbt3

I believe the triple drain fill method is drain/fill then drive around 5-10 miles and repeat again 2 more times.

bagwell

iTrader: (1)

I did mine @ 35K - easy to do. Not mandatory but personally I think it helps, especially since Honda has an updated tranny fluid (newer stuff is DW-1, fully synthetic which superceded the older Z1) http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...Number=2279388.

adversary

really appreciate the help guys.

but what is this gasket that you're talking about? should i buy a new washer too?

bagwell

iTrader: (1)

don't know anything about a gasket I think he's referring to the washer -- and I just re-used my old washer but get one if they have it.

adversary

there wont be problems then mixing this updated ATF into the ATF that is already in the car?

bagwell

iTrader: (1)

Nope...fully compatible with each other.

Simba91102

I agree with Ceb that about all you'd accomplish by letting the dealer do what they recommend, is to lighten your wallet, but it wouldn't hurt anything by doing a one time 3 quart change now if you really want to. I've done a number of changes, and never needed any more than 3 quarts to refill. There is no gasket, there's a washer on the drain plug (it's bigger than the oil pan drain plug washer). If you have a metal file, you can reuse it by filing off the ridge that is created when it's tightened (or "crushed"), or pick up a couple at the dealer. The Honda ATF is expensive (around $9 a quart), but there's no substitute. You can't get at the drain plug without removing the pan. And the plug doesn't have a hex head; you'll need a 3/8" drive breaker bar to remove it (especially the first time). You insert the bar into the plug, versus using any kind of a wrench or socket to remove it. I'm curious where you saw 60K as an interval for a change; that's the severe service interval, normal is 6 years or 120K miles. I've never waited that long, and I'd guess most here haven't either, but I'd bet you a weeks pay that the vast majority of Honda's and Acura's that are running abound out there have never had their ATF changed, so although it's a very worthwhile service, keep it in perspective.

TSXV6Guy

yes I was referring to the aluminum washer.

adversary

This is the correct fluid right?

Thanks again

adversary

oh. one important thing.

what is the torque for screwing hte drain pipe back on?

waaasobe

turn the bolt with the ratchet until its tight, good luck !

bagwell

iTrader: (1)

yep, that's it

adversary

i prefer the actual torque spec.

i found in the old 1st generation forums that it's 36 lbs.

Is it 36 for our car too?

TSXV6Guy

36 lbf.ft for my V6 - probably the same for all of them.

adversary

how do you guys measure how much of the fluid has gone out to know how much to put in?

do you guys pour the old fluid into empty quarts? or you just ballpark and check the dipstick?

Simba91102

I dumped it into an empty 1 gallon oil container, and since there's only 3 quarts, there no concern about it overflowing. The one gallon can has measurement marks on a window, so you can tell how much you've dumped into the can. After a couple of times doing this, I realized that it really doesn't matter. Just drain it, pour in 3 quarts, and the next time the fluid is hot, check the dipstick (always check it hot). It should be fine.

adversary

did it today. didn't die.

thanks

jonnys_honda

I believe this is the only method to completely have old fluid replaced with new. When draining the ATF fluid, it does not all come out at once, fluid is trapped inside the tranny. So by only draining 3 qts out and filling back up, you have simply mixed old with new fluid, and it's not going to be completely clean. And maybe that's ok.

I drained and filled mine 3 times over the course of a week.

2012wagon

So when a dealer does it, do they do it a few times, to make sure ALL old fluid is gone, or they basically are mixing new fluid with old?

iCrap

just filled my gas tank for the first time in over a month. I guess i need to get out more lol.

edit: wth i thought i posted this in the 2g chat. wut.

2012wagon

^^Geezus. I had to fill it almost 2x this week with stupid calls!

rawger

That's nothing, I do that on the regular, lol. I've only put a little over 3,000 miles on my car since I bought it, about 10 months ago.

2012wagon

Bought it 11/24/14


4500 miles since then.