Hey there gang, i was going to do my 3-time refill as my 04 TL is on the 30,000 mile mark and would like to know why there is a return pipe going to my fill bolt. I check the DIY on the AT drain and refill and the illustrations show only the bolt, with nothing attached to it. Well, i'll let the pics do the talking. I would like to mention the pipe was covered with ATF fluid, which means it drains fluid back to the top, could this be the fix for that second gear issue?


This is how it looks from the top with the pipe removed,




This is how it looks closeup with the pipe right next to it on the right,




and this is how it looks with everything put together. The bracket is only held by one 12mm bolt.

 

What's it connected to? Is there some sort transmission cooler installed?

 

odd...mine isnt like that...

 

I have no idea, its raining right now so i wont be able to check it out until it stops. It'll be cool if it did lol. This was a 1 owner vehicle, a nice lady i met at the dealer when i went to buy it, she had traded it for an RL, not more than 2 months before i got it, and my owners link says the 2nd gear issue is fixed. I bought it certified, with the extended warranty so im not sure. We'll see. It is tight in there so it'll be tough to get to the bottom of it, i'll let you guys know. BTW, my car has been running great smooth shifting and all, never a problem. Im just doing the refill because i know how honda trannies are, i had an 00 accord v6 supercharged lol. Had that thing rebuild a couple of times, and once before the SC went on.

 

interesting more info pleeeaasssee id like to know what that is =)

 

Well, i tried to see where the little pipe goes to, and there seems to be a rubber hose clamped to it further down, about 6 inches from where the fill bolt is. Im a big guy so my hand wont go past that little opening. I'll try to get some pics to see if you guys can help me out.


On the other hand!
WOW, just WOW, and im here thinking my car was running smooth and then i added the first 3 qts. Absolutely mind-blowing, to think honda trannies can really run that smooth.

 

Ok, more pics, it seems that it runs from the front side of the tranny, to the fill bolt, and from there, to the rear, right on top of the axle shaft.

This is the rubber hose i was talking about, from there, it seems like it splits in two,




This is where i believe it splits to first,



and this is where the socond and last split is,




By the way it looks, it is just a method of re-directing fluid to other parts of the tranny, for added longevity maybe???

 

all second gen tls have that. it was supposed to fix the tranny problems but it didnt.

 

ill look it up in the book tonight i have the 04-05 book. also look at the build date of the car thatll explain somethings as well. its on the drivers side pillar

 

ill look it up in the book tonight i have the 04-05 book. also look at the build date of the car thatll explain somethings as well. its on the drivers side pillar

 

That's what was installed on the 2G for the recalls. Our 05' TL has it well, as I thought all 3G came with it from the factory...

It however doesn't fix and was never meant to fix the problems we had on the 2G TL. Most of the 2G failures were the 3rd gear clutch pack... The recall was to install an oil-jet onto the 2nd gear shaft, which is what the recall dealt with. (Or something like that). Those failures didn't happen very often, but it is what the recall was for.

 

i have an '05 that was built in november of '04 and uhh mine definitely doesn't have that.

 

Ohh, cool, thats good to know. Mine was built in 03, thats probably why it has it. What is the difference on these trannies and the newer model ones, aside from the oil jet?

 

Alright fellas, this was done as the repair process for the 2nd gear recall, here is what i found out from a letter,

What is the dealer looking for when inspecting the transmission?

Vehicles with less than 15,000 miles - The technician will update the transmission with a simple modification to the oil cooler return line to increase lubrication to second gear.

Vehicles with more than 15,000 miles - The technician will inspect the second gear for discoloration of the gear due to heat damage. If there is any evidence of heat damage, the transmission will be replaced. If discoloration is not present, the dealer will perform the modification to the oil cooler return line.

What is this "simple modification to the oil cooler return line"?

It is a relatively simple repair involving the installation of an "oil jet kit" that is mounted on the top of the transmission. The modification works by taking a portion of the transmission fluid that is flowing back from the cooling system and spraying that fluid directly onto the affected gear, eliminating the potential for heat damage.

How can I be sure I won't have problems with this repair in later years, after the warranty period has expired?

For vehicles affected by this campaign, installation of the oil kit provides a permanent repair.


Ok, so the fact that they stated the oil kit provided a permanent repaired worried me a little, but since lubrication was the main issue with that second gear, and the oil jet pack (sounds really cool lol) sprays on that gear for better lubrication, i dont think i'll be having issues in the near future.

Im glad to see what that thing was all about, specially when i had seen a couple of newer TL's without it. Thanks a lot fellas, i really appreciate the help.

 

Ok, so i called my dealer just to ask how many miles the vehicle had when the revision was done and i was told they did the repair on Feb. 3, 2005, when the vehicle had 10,648 miles on it. Thank god i researched for a couple of months before deciding on which TL to buy, this one was not only a 1-owner vehicle, but it had come out of the same Acura dealer i bought it from. Im a happy TL owner now lol. Thanks guys.

 

werd up good shit..... "one more for the record there mod man!!!" =)

 

I dont know how to break this news to you, are you sitting down?

Read the gen2 thread on transmission failure
The pictured item is the external 2nd gear oil kit from the recall.
Later transmissions have the thing built inside the trans, and there
is a now a different case design with better oil flow to the clutch packs.
That was appearently done starting approx feb 2005 for the gen2 replacement trans units.
They are holding up very well, but some still experience the clutch pack failure

With our cars being legacy, one can imagine potential problems for any trans with the external special cooler. and the trans in general- if you can buy an extended warranty on the powertrain- do it

 

Just out of curiosity.......being an 04, about 30,000 miles, why are you refilling the tranny for the third time?

 

Wrong. It did fix the tranny. There are 2 issues. this only fixes 1

 

Im sorry, i wasnt specific enough, i meant the 3 step drain-fill flush acura recomends to get most of the old fluid out. This is the first i've done since i bought the car, and it looked like it needed it, as it was very dark.

 

Im sure you are aware there are 2 different issues with these trannies, one being the clutch pack, the other being the premature 2nd gear wear.


This is to resolve the issue with the premature 2nd gear wear due to overheating and lack of lubrication, not the clutchpacks which is a different problem all together, solved by the same fix which provides extra lubrication.

 

And yes, i did buy the extended warranty which i mentioned in my first post.

Having gone through 2 trannies with my accord, due to the clutchpacks, i know when the tranny is about to go, and when it is just acting up, my first tranny, the original on the accord didnt go until 60k miles, and the second until 87k miles, which is the one that had the surpercharger on. Believe me, this tranny is not going anywhere for at least 100k or more miles, which by then, it will most likely be on the 3rd pre-owned buyer.

 

"This is to resolve the issue with the premature 2nd gear wear due to overheating and lack of lubrication, not the clutchpacks which is a different problem all together, solved by the same fix which provides extra lubrication."

The external oiler does help cool the 2nd gear- gears/shaft
The real KILLER prob is poor oil passages and flow to the clutch packs. While replacements units made in/after 03 had the enternal oiler now inside the trans, the best fix so far is the post 2/05 replacement units which have a redesigned case and its internal castings for oil passages have been increased- enlarged- something to make them MUCH better than before
How long this change took to get into the production cars is unknown. I am guessing they used the warranty replacement units as test subjects for new ways to solve an old problem. Plenty of gen3 cars are having trans issues at 50k miles or so, just like the gen2s
If your fluid looked old and brown the next question is did it smell burned?
If so- thats a problem needing dealer attention asap

 

"Believe me, this tranny is not going anywhere for at least 100k or more miles,"

Who's turn is it to explain the azine proclamation curse
phee- where are you man?

 

LOL, mine blew at exactly 103k. and i thought everything was PERFECT!!! one day, just slipped and bang jumped into gear, pow, jerked the whole car. and i was at the dealer in 3 days

The worse thing about it is that i had mentioned that i was the lucky one who didnt have a tranny failure. seems like everyone who mentions this is a "marked man" in the words of kris

 

I believe it was 7 days after you STARTED a brand new thread as a new TL owner and azine member
(how much taunting of the acura gods do you really dare?)
about how wonderful your trans was, that it died without warning- out of warranty time limit according to customer service..........

Just like in Scary Movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(sound effects from Physco shower/knife scene)

 

I live my life my thinking positive, obviously you dont. I was told my accords tranny was going to go no more than 5k miles with the supercharger, and the final number?? 27k miles, and those where in about 14 months. How many trannies have you had replaced on your TL? WTF is Acura gods? is that how you live by? i know plenty of people with TLs that have gotten to 100k mile and more on there 04 TL. It all depends on how you drive your car. Hey, keep thinking your tranny will go one day, maybe it will. BTW, i might have joined about 7 days ago or whatever, but truth is, i have been visiting this site since 05, due to the fact some J32 parts like cams are swapable with the J30.

 

Don't get too excited. This "fix" did not save my 03 CL-s. I lost 2 transmissions due to the 2nd gear problem, and that was with the recall/fix in place. And I only had 40k on that car. That's why I now drive a 6-spd. Acura was lucky I bought a second car from them after my 03 transmission experience.

 

As has been repeatedly pointed out- the "recall oil jet kit" was not the fix weak clutch packs and insufficent oil flow to THEM

I do live my life in the positive, If you dont think spending time giving many people valuable car repair advice is doing positive good work- well that your opinion and my god says I am doing good things by helping here. Members here saved over 20 K $ with my help getting things approved by acura as warranty

The 7 days starts from when you proclaim some magical knowledge of how this particular car you own will not suffer and prob because its working perfect now

My OE trans went at 68k, then started having some issues which the tech test drove with me and said come back when its worse for another replacement- no prob.
Now with 80k its getting worse- some more pronounced low speed clutch slip and gear engagement delay

Members who have read my post know the joking nature of some replies,
other members are all too familiar with the one true Acura God (no its not me lol)
and dont tempt fate.

If given the chance to get a replacment trans while still under warranty- I would want that more that a trans that I hope goes 100k

 

Regarding how driving effects trans:

My car was gently driven for 5 years by a lady with small children who followed the repair book, changed the oil all the time, washed and waxed only with Mothers and used Chevron gas.
Always garagred or carport parked, California car etc

It took less than a month before the flashing D5 light and the replacement trans went in~
So its not all about how you drive or if you use SS or whatever.
Low oil flow rate= high temps= cracked and damaged fiberous parts....

 

SpecTro,

What's the last 5 digits of your VIN?? My guess is that number is less than 14500.

I have an 04 TL built in Dec 03. I do not have what you have due to the last five of my VIN being over 16000. Some where around 14500 was the cutoff for TL's requiring the oil jet mod.

Interesting - I was always curious what they did, now I know...

Enjoy your TL

 

I undestand 01tl4tl, at the time, it works perfect, but believe me, this car will go before i even hit the 60k mark, by them, i might get the 3 series twin turbo BMW.


KJSmitty, my last numbers are 13129, so i guess i was part of it.


what i dont get is, why is it that i know guys from other forums who have gotten their trannies replaced on the 05 Tls. 1 at 46k, the other at 59k just to name a few. When was the last "bullet proof" tranny offered, 06?? I would have guessed anything 05 would have gotten a revised tranny.

 

I'm not sure if you meant when was the last or when was the first... :-) Either way a tough question

Even some of the 07/08's have had some issues. No more warranty on my 04 so all I can do is drive her nice and change the fluid regularly etc. AND I change my oil while wearing a pink prom dress because someone on AZine said it was a good idea.

 

id try it if i have a pink prom dress.

 

It's not that it was a good idea, it was required to maintain your warranty.

 

Hmmmm, pink prom dress huh? Now i know where the Tax refund money is going to. Can it be fushia, or hot pink? LOl

 

Based soley on what I read on azine threads: The 04-05-06 TL seems to have trans failure at 30-60k miles, thats far less than most of the gen2s trans survived.
Their failure thread is more of a horror story than ours, and they have service writers telling them things are normal, and then, things are out of warranty
They need to get a class action going like gen2 had

There is no bulletproof TL trans as of today. The same issues internal apply, clutch materials and more. Many people are working on the ultimate fix in their garages, but no winners yet

I misunderstood your 100k comment then- you plan to dump the TL before any trans prob, while many of us are planning long term ownership
I hereby apolagize to you

 

believe me, the same stuff is going on with the 6th Gen accords man. Tranny after tranny and not a damn solution. 2 generations of accords, 2 of TLs and 2 of CLs, and Acura still has no reputable tranny. Hmm, are they too focused on eficiency that they fail to address the issue? Either way, i'll still a damn fine car, quick enough, comfortable, smart, and most of all, good looking. I lived with the accord tranny after tranny, so i know i can handle whatever the TL brings me, I have my S14 just in case. We'll see what happens. Maybe the car just needs encouragement, thats why i bought the TL-S tail lights and side marker combo from the groupbuy lol.

 

Was that you that mentioned the dress?? :-)


For the love of God man!

I followed your direction while under warranty yet now my warranty is up!! Don't be telling me the pink dress Juju ceased to appease the TL masters last month!!!!???

Damn! All that $hit I've been taking from the neighbor's was for nothing....


OK, OK I've calmed down... So what, pink dress and no underwear now??