Any opinions on just draining and refilling the auto trans fluid (approx 3 qts) during successive oil changes vs doing it all in one shot? I have 57k on the odometer of my 06 and change oil every other month on average at that rate. Also, is Honda ATF the best bet and what is typical cost? Thanks.

 

The reason you do multiple drain/refill is to try to have as much new fluid in the engine as you can. The TL holds ~7qrt (?) but when u drain you only let out a portion of it. So by doing it three times, you get about 85-90% new fluid in the tranny. Regarding doing it during successive oil changes, i have no clue. Prob can crunch out some numbers but have a midterm in 2 hours Its just your engine will never me exposed to near new tranny fluid.
I just bought some amsoil ATF and goin to put it during my next oil change but I don't know if better than the Honda ATF. Its just that I bought all my oil at once from amsoil. It costed me $160 (inc tax and shipping) for oil filter and enough oil to have 1 oil change and 3 (maybe 4, don't recall) drain/refill for the tranny. Ofc you will factor in the labor but I'm doing it myself so all is good.
Hope this helps

 

I got a price from Acura dealer for $90 to change transmission oil or around $10 per quart if you want to do it yourself.

I think H&A website has the ATF Z1 for around $5 per quart.

I think I will go that round and save money.

 

For 90 bucks they are going to drain 3 qts and send you on your way
ASK THEM

Do it at home with a set of ramps
Buy HONDA auto trans fluid at honda dealer (they charge less than Acura)

Dont waste your money with only 3 qts
Its 9 or nothing and do it once a year
Thats like replacing 1 qt in the engine oil- and no new filter!!
Would you accept that as being done right?

 

So, you change 3 qts first. How long is that before you change it again so the engine will get most of new fluid?

and how long do you need before the flush?

 

Fully understand your question..

Would it matter if you waited 2 months between transmission drain/refills? Other than adding another 15+K miles to the transmission prior to the "full" flush,, no.

I myself at 57K would attempt to do it more quickly than stretching it out.

Heres what I did: Like you, on the first day I changed engine oil & filter and drained/refilled the trans. Drove it to work and back the next day then drained and refilled the trans again that night. Did the same the next two days... Basically I drove 60 miles between drain and fills. I performed 4 drain and fills thus 12 qts were required. From my dealer I paid ~ $8 per qt of Z1(w/tax), thus ~$96 for the case.

A little extra time each night after work but I know I flushed the trans well and cheaper, and at no inconvenience to me from a trip to the dealership etc..


As for type of fluid. I would definitely use the Honda Z1 ATF exclusively.

Good luck

 

it's pretty easy to do, with the right tools. Also, you can find AT fluid that is compatible with the Z1 spec of Hondas (acuras)

read this, it'll help

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...ighlight=fluid

 

3 qts does not give you much new fluid. you are replacing ~1/2 of the old fluid. you'll have to do the 3x drain/refill. Look at it as feeding your car 3 meals. Do it in the morning, go out to eat breakfast, do it again then go out for lunch, finally do it one last time at dinner time and head out and treat yourself to a nice meal

 

GREAT...I just dropped my car off a few days ago to get its tranny fluid drained and refilled...along w/ some other stuff. DO THEY REALLY only drain half of it out? err...a quarter as some else mentioned above? WHY wouldn't they just let the car sit and drain it out all the way? C'MON! ugh...bad start to my weekend...hahaha

 

If you look at the manual, it can hold ~8 qrt. When doing a drain, you only refill only ~3 quart. What happened to the other 5qrt? well, it go stuck in the compartments (wrong terminology?). That is why in a drain/refill situation, you will drain/refill once, drive around (try to get the car to circle through all the gears) allowing the old fluid to mix with the new then do it again, and again. That is also why you can't completely have new tranny fuild in there. There's always a mixture of the old and new.
back to your question. This means it will be 3x the work, 3x the oil, but will you pay 3x the price?

 

The transmission is not like an engine. With the engine, once shut off, all the oil runs into the oil pan (and oil filter of course) and can be drained out (well, about 99% anyway....).

The transmission, like Porkipine mentioned holds 50+% of the oil in areas other than the transmission pan. The big culprit is the Torque converter and cooling lines. The torque converter will house 3+ qts itself... Thats why you drain, refill, then run and repeat several times to flush the old fluid out and replace with new. Sure your "mixing" on each event but after 3 or four drain and fills your percentage of "new/fresh" oil is near 99% overall...

 

The suggested method is drive 15 minutes to fully warm the transmission
Then on the ramps it goes
Trans will only give up 3 qts at a time as described above by KJS

Drain 3 qts
Refill with 3 new-
drive 5 minutes
drain - refill
drive 5 minutes
drain refill
Done
Just a short drive to push the old fluid futher in the system towards the exit
and 5 minutes keeps it from getting scorching hot under the car where you need to work

 

As others have said, the Z1 fluid at a Honda dealership will run you a few cents over $6. My wife's Pilot has the oil jet kit installed so I have to fill it up via the dip stick. I did the old turkey baster bottom / funnel trick and it worked like a charm. So well in fact that I didn't bother with the fill plug on the TL and just filled it thorough the dip stick as well. BTW, pick up a few of the push pin connectors for the bottom splash shield while you're at the dealership. I ended up messing a few of them up so it doesn't hurt to have one or two spares.

 

what about those machine that drain and fill the transmission at the same time. I don't know its called.

 

There is a large amount of fluid trapped in the trans convertor. Below is the percentage of fluid removed with each 3-quart flush.

By the way, I do a single 3-quart ATF flush while doing every oil change. Car is up on stands already, ATF drain plug is right there....

 

Do it right once and be done for a year or more
3x3 rules!!: nothing else is the correct method
Dont drive 3000 miles and drain another 3- its not the same people!!

 

acura quoted me $210 for the 3x3, is this a rip off?

 

yes if you have a little bit of know how and tools to do it yourself for under half that.

no if you have no place to work on your car, or tools like ramps/wrenches/drain pan.

 

yes that is a rip off unless you money to blow. this job doesn't even involve an oil filter...

mainly you would place your car on ramps and take the bolt out then drain the 3 quarts. bolt says atf i believe and you might have to remove your black plastic guard underneath your car. the atf bolt is located directly under the intake on the bottom of ur vehicle if not close. do this 3 times and ur done.

 

its more involved than just drain and refill on the 3x3 which is actually 12 qts total in- there is a specific 5 minute drive between drains to move hidden fluid towards the drain

I have changed my opinion from 2007 and now suggest following acuras guide of 3 qts- 3.2 if you are patient,, but more often than they think
Try one 3 qt d/r every 15kmiles/once a year...

also flush to replace your brake fluid once a year- really important with ABS

 

^ Hey 01TL4L - I'm happy to hear about your change of position on this subject. I'm doing mine every 20K and we're close in concept. I have issues throwing out 5 minute old ATF doing the 3x3 and still having just 90% new oil afterward. The cost savings can be applied towards some new AT 3rd/4th gear sensors instead.