It's time to change the transmission fluid. I'm not going to have the system flushed, im just going to let the gravity work it's magic. Whats a ball park figure of how many quarts of fluid that i will need? i've seen people say that you will need 3-4 quarts and in other places ive seen you will need 8-9. I don't wanna take a random shot at one or the other and fuck up the tranny. Any advise would be greatly appreciate. Thanks in advance.

 

I believe drain and fill required 2.3L

 

Wrong. Each drain and fill is 3 quarts. Have you even done it yourself before misinforming others?

Just buy 4 quarts just to be safe.

Remember that to check the transmission fluid level the transmission must be up to operating temperature with the engine off and the car on level ground. Reading the transmission dip stick with the engine running will not give you correct results.

I've done transmission drain and fill on my TL about 7-8 times.

The reason why you see some people say 3-4 qts and others saying 8-9 qts is because when you do a drain and fill only 3 quarts actually comes out of the drain plug. The other 5 quarts are still in various other parts of the transmission like the torque converter.

So if you're doing just a simple drain and fill than you need 3 quarts. I get 4 just in case your car has been low on fluid and you never realized it you can add more.

 

Look up threads for the 1X3 drain and fill. Drain 3 qts then add the qts, wait 1000 miles or so and do it again. Wait another 1000 and do it again. Then just drain 3qts and replace every year after that. The big thread will better explain why to do this then a complete drain and fill. Basically it will slowly integrates new fluids with your old so you dont have some of issues that go with a complete drain and fill. I would also recommend using Red Line Type F and D4 mix to replace on a 1X3 As they tend to be good replacements than stock fluids and does not have all the bad things our transmissions dont like.

I am on my first 1X3 with type F and D4. I can tell you already it shifts much smoother!

 

thanks for the the information. i already ordered the honda fluid so ill use that for now. once 1000 miles passes ill use the redline f and d4 mix. the car has been shifting pretty hard lately so i checked the fluid and it's looking pretty brown. thanks again

 

You don't have to wait 1,000 miles to replace your fluid. Doing a 3X3 replacement in my 5AT meant replacing 3 quarts, then driving long enough to make sure all of the gears were engaged. I did a 1X3 replacement every couple of days until the third was finished. There's nothing wrong with the OEM DW-1 fluid either.


Bear in mind as well that firm shifts are better for your transmission. Smoother shifts are more luxurious, but they allow slipping, which leads to wear. A firm shift will keep wear to a minimum. Of course I'm not talking about hard shifts where you can tell something isn't right.

 

If you haven't done it yet replace the pressure switches, its very important, and the Redline mix is a great idea..

 

pressure switches lmao you all will think im a complete dumbass but it's all good but what in the hell is that. by no means am i any type of car expert. i only know the simple things like brakes, oil changes, that kind of stuff

 

the car has always had a really good shift feel too it where it shifts hard and quick but now it's shifting really hard. im hoping she doesnt conk out on me

 

Yes I have done it myself, and it took 2.3L, just like the manual says it takes for a drain and refill... I agree its better to have more fluid on hand than less, but there are several variables that come into play that will change how much you actually need. Biggest factors are outside temp and engine temp based on how recently you drove the car.

heres a link to the 3G garage with good info

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/%2A-6-spd-tranny-fluid-change-%2A-3g-garage-c-013-a-558814/

 

Yes, mine had the overly hard shifts, and once I did the first 1X3 it still is stiff but much more of a normal stiff

 

I've been curious about this as well. Trying to find the "reason" in all of the threads available is well - just plain excruciating - there's too much info! Albeit great info!

Everyone does the pressure switches but why?
How do you know when they need to be replaced?
What are the immediate and long term effects?

FWIW my type s has 86K on it, is it time?

THANKS!!!

 

I have a question. ATF expands when hot. So if you drain 3 quarts of warm enough ATF, this has expanded (which is less than 3 qts when cold). Replacing it with 3 quarts cold will not exactly replace what was drained (putting in more actually). What do you guys think?

 

 

Sigh... This is not rocket science.

Drain the transmission fluid and pour it into a separate container so you can measure how much you just drained and than add back the exact amount you just drained.

 

Here is the link for the switches for the 04-06 https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/110-diy-guide-replacing-3rd-4th-gear-pressure-switch-3g-tl-2004-2006-a-729149/
The PN are; 3rd gear 28610-RAY-003
4th gear 28600-RAY-003
Washers X2 90471-PW7-A00
The switches are about $40 ea. on line at Acura dealers. I used www.acurapartsnow.com I hope this helps..

 

The immediate effects are "crisper" shifting long term of not changing them every couple of years is transmission failure, when you notice the shift problems its usually to late . 86k its time!

 

Yeah I'm just gonna go ahead and do that then, don't need to tell me twice.

I plan to keep this car a long time and take care of it in the process Thanks!

 

also assuming the dealer would never do that - you'd have to ask for it

I've only had the car less than a year and had the stealership do a once over on it but now go to local guy near my house.

Planning to do switches, brakes, etc myself from now on.

 

^^^ hear ya go

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=729149

 

The trans is going to be happy to tolerate a relatively wide range of fluid level. A decimal QT here or there should not be a major concern. As long as its over the bottom dot of the dip stick, you should be OK.

Without a doubt, buy more than you need. It's not a terrible thing to have spare ATF on hand, especially once you go opening things up and introducing the potential for a leak or other general mishap that results in you being stranded with not enough trans fluid.

Personally, I prefer to fill Honda AT's on the bottom of the upper dot. It's not a bad idea to check the fluid a few times over the next few days to a week before you go never touching it again for years. It's quite simple stuff.

You probably need a bit under 3 QT's, but buy at least 4 if you have none around. With a trans cooler, buy an extra QT.

 

I'll set the record straight for actual refill amount. If you have a factory service manual, you'll find the answer on page 14-308: 3.2qt or 3.0L. So you'll need 4 quarts of ATF to properly refill the transmission to this spec. The manual also says you need to measure the level 60-90 seconds after turning off the car. I don't fully understand that one, but perhaps the fluid expands and you might get a lower reading if you check a cold transmission.

Remember, you don't have to do a 3x3. That service is not called out for normal service and is only referenced if you should add some ATF that is out of spec and you wish to flush out 98% of fluid out of the AT. You would need to do a 4x4 to get closer to 100% and that's not worth it to gain a percent so nobody does this.

 

I'm speculating on whether the fluid in the car has ever been changed until i changed it. When that fluid came out it was black and i mean black while being very thin. Breaking the atf bolt loose was a seperate job itself. I put in 3 quarts of the new fluid and took her for a spin, didn't feel to much of difference. After the short drive i drained the tranny again. More pitch black oil came out while being significantly thinner since it was hot. I poured another 3 quarts in and after that the tranny does feel quite a bit better, but when checking the dipstick the color is still bad. It had a lot of funky oil in there no doubt.

 

You may have to do another 1 x 3 or 2 x 3 drain and fill to get the remainder of the original fluid out (to increase the percentage of new fluid in the tranny). What I do now is a 1 x 3 fluid change every other oil change to keep the fluid fresh (so roughly a 1 x 3 change every 15K miles).

 

Yea thats what im going to do. I'm just waiting for the fluid i ordered online to come in the mail. The honda dealer wants 9 dollars a quart which i sucked up and bought this weekend because i was really itching to get the fluid changed. Pep boys wanted 12 bucks a quart i bought cussed them out when the gave me that price

 

^amazon - 71 bucks a case - best price I found - that's for stock Honda ATF fluid

 

is that for the newer dw-1 oil or the older version?

 

What he said^^. There is a lot of info on this around that will help you. Redline D4 & Type F mix are your best bet. Its a better fluid that can handle more heat which will save your transmission, especially since ours have the design flaw.

 

Yes DW-1. Can't really find the z rated anymore.

 

I will have to find some of the red line. Autozone didn't have any and i havent had the time to check anywhere else yet. I have another question too. The plastic thing that covers the transmission on the bottom of the car, is that necessary to even have on or is it a cosmetical thing?

 

^ wouldnt want a rock or somthing damaging the tranny would u.

 

Seems like it would take one hell of a rock to cause damage to that thing. The plastic it self is flimsy as hell. I guess ill put it back on when i have the chance

 

well theres wires and sensors around it. I once ran over a cat converter that fell off a truck. that plastic thing helped.

 

For whatever it's worth guys I used to doo the 3x3 ie do it 3 full times in a row... It's pointless

U are just mixing the clean fluid with the old after the first one so you get less and less out of each time u do the trans fluid change if u do it back to back.

I do a trans fluid change every oil change. Just one time now. And it's more than enough.

On my CL it needs over 3 litres so just aheads up I would have 4 by ur side for a 1x1 and 7 if u are going to do a 2x3 and 10 for a full 3x3. Just to be safe. I empty it out into a single clear container so u can dump it, clean it out Then dry off with clean paper towels, and then refil to the exact same level. No need to check dipstick.

I buy my trans fluid by the case at acura and they give me 10% off lol

 

Please stop spreading misinformation. It's 3.2l of transmission fluid.

2.3l could be low enough to damage the transmission. If you are only getting 2.3l out of it I'm guessing only the front is up on jack stands which is not the correct way to drain the fluid. The car needs to be level. I literally just changed the fluid 200 miles ago so I very vividly remember the amount.

Here is a screen cap of the capacities:

 

Perhaps he mistyped 2.3 instead of 3.2?

 

I figured but he posted the switched numbers twice.

I think feynman thinks its a manual, which is 2.3 qts according to the 6spd trans fluid change he posted.

I think the OP has an auto transmission based on the 9 qt bit of his post.

Just want to make sure no one thinks 2.3 is enough for an automatic and do damage to their stuff.

OP:
The automatic transmission fluid capacity for a drain an fill is 3.2 us qt.

The Manual transmission fluid capacity for a drain and fill is 2.3 us qt.