Joecop67

I know I will get hammered for this thread, I just bought a 2004 tl 3 weeks ago. I ordered the pressure switches, the filter kit also.
The car has 131k miles. I'm the third owner. The second owner gave me some service records but I don't have everything.
I know the water pump, timing belt and power steering pump were done at about 110k at the dealer. I have the records for that.

I dont one know when if ever the transmission fluid has been done. I've read lots of posts and threads, both by Innacurate and I Hate Cars.
My problem is most of the good treads are about 7 years old at least, where people were concerned about warranties and had less mikes than mine.

Lets assume mine has never been changed. What oil should I use? I can get dw-1 at only 1 local store.
Everything else, I'd have to order.
Considering I live in central Ohio, which gets both hot and cold, which fluid should I get?
I have been reading about redline d4, redline racing, amsoil.
Locally, everyone carries valvoline max life dex/mercy and castroil dex/mer.

Also, I don't drive much, my work is 3 miles one way, that's about the extent of my driving. My previous car which I totaled a month ago, was a 2008 civic with 66,000 miles on it and half of those were put on when work was further away.

Joecop67

I also meant to include the fact that I will only be doing the 1 drain and fill, along with the engine oil change. If I try to tell my wife, I need to drain and fill it three times, she will say, we should have bought a different car.
Considering I now drive maybe 6,000 mikes a year in it and only need it to last about 3 years, I was planning on draining and filling the transmission fluid every other oil change.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Dare I write DW-1.

tbirdman

+1 on the DW-1. There are those who use other fluids, but honestly, for everyday driving there's no reason to use anything other than DW-1. It's not hard to get. You can use either Acura or Honda DW-1, they're both the same. Available at your local dealership. If you don't have a dealership local to you, or they charge you an outrageous amount, you can get it on Ebay.

Joecop67

Thank you.

TheSauceBoss

I used DW-1 in my 3x3 drain and refill as well, so I can attest to that. (a site called acura.bernardiparts.com has it for cheap)

Between the fluid, the pressure switches, and the filter, there was a VAST improvement of shift quality that I observed . I didn't know when (or even if) the trans fluid was ever changed in mine, because it was pitch black. Fixed my shudder between the higher gears.

Anyhow, the point I want to make is that the filter was actually the most time-consuming job for me out of those three. Having the right sized socket or wrench to access the bottom bolt of the filter housing was a bit tough - not much clearance for bigger tools there. There is a good writeup on here somewhere (I also used a youtube vid) to help you with it.

Pressure switches took me 20 minutes. I know you Pm'd me and said you lived close here in the 614 - if you find yourself stuck at any point, I may be able to swing by and help. Good luck!

Joecop67

Thanks. I’m in Westerville. I used to be a painter at a body shop, I still have my tools, so I think I will be ok as far as tools.
Just deciding which fluid to buy. eBay has 1 gallon of D4 for $48 and 5qts of dw-1 for $53.

I am an indecisive person to begin with. Lol.

thoiboi

has anyone else suggested DW-1 yet?

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

I'm going to go out on a limb and say DW-1

Really though, if it's functioning fine just stick with the Honda/Acura fluid. I've heard some accounts of the aftermarket fluids helping with slipping or rough shifting transmissions. But I've heard more of them doing weird things to an otherwise perfectly operating transmission. If it ain't broken, don't fix it.

Joecop67

Ok. Dw-1 it is. As Pontus Pilate once said “I wash my hands of it”.

Cheval

wow that's expensive! I bought a case (12 quarts) of DW-1 for $88.50 shipped off of Amazon.
I just finished doing a 3x3 on my 2012 Accord V6. Have 1 full unopened bottle left and about 1/4 of an opened one.

I'm also one of the people that did the Redline type-F racing fluid changes on my '08 TL with no problems and still no problems. I did notice the shifts became really snappy after changing it.

With all that said in your case I agree just stick with the DW-1.

Joecop67

I’ll probably get it from my local dealer. They have it for $10 a qt.
Easier to tell the wife, I need $40 for transmission fluid as opposed to $90,

thoiboi

but 3x3 means you'll need more than just 4 quarts, you'll need closer to a a case

Joecop67

Not going to do a 3x3. As i said earlier, I’m just going to drain and fill it.
I may not even put 20k miles on it in the time i own it.

thoiboi

Gotcha, missed that

Joecop67

I want to prevent things from getting worse by draining and filling, which I’ve read can happen.

thoiboi

That's fake news.

Cheval

me, too.

Cheval

Fake news, definitely, definitely fake news.

Joecop67

I must have read it on CNN.

thoiboi

Clearly

If it was going to die, it's going to die. A drain and fill is not going to exacerbate an already failing transmission.

mb.3g

for daily use: honda dw-1 will be fine. for performance: "Innacurate's" redline formula

"thoiboi" is correct. a drain and fill will not harm the tranny; however introducing too much new fluid to a trans that has never been serviced? very possible.

I recently introduced a redline mixture to my tl type s trans that had dw1 previously. 112k miles and no issues after first 1x3.

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

What was the mixture/ratio if you don't mind me asking?

mb.3g

you can find more info here: https://acurazine.com/forums/third-g...ng-atf-834299/

Joecop67

Aftet having read some of that thread, I'm now wondering if I should do a drain and refill (1x3) with the redline racing atf.
Assuming the single mother I bought the car from just had the local shop do her maintanence.

There is almost too much info on this forum. Lol

Joecop67

Damnit, reading more of that thread, wondering if I should do at least a 2x3 because I'm thinking she may have not have ever had the transmission fluid changed.
Although, she bought it used from an Acura dealership at about 110k miles. Would that have been something a dealership would do before selling it?

thoiboi

or a 3x3

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, I've spent many an hour trying to absorb the info in this forum. Google has become my best friend since the search function sucks IMO. redline site:acurazine.com

Anyway, I'm a little hesitant with the racing stuff since I have a 4G with the 6AT. It's got some sort of two-plate torque converter that I don't fully understand. Not sure how the fluid would affect that. I might just do a 1x3 with the redline lightweight racing.

Joecop67

I hear you. On one hand I’m thinking about trying to explain to the wife why I need to buy $100 worth of atf but then I think, with the few miles I drive, I may never need to do another transmission change.
I am having a hard time thinking that regardless of the miles I put on it, that the car is going to last me another 5 years. That puts it at 18 years old.
Brake lines start to rot, things just start to fall apart. Lol.
At 50, I’m starting to fall apart.

Joecop67

Just did the first drain and fill with 2 redline racing and 1 lightweight racing. The drain bolt was pretty bad, the fluid basically black, unlike what went in.
I think I will do another 1x3 soon. I also replaced the pressure switches which I have a question about. All the guides here say to replace pressure switch 3 and 4 but that implies there is a 1 and 2 doesn't it?
I also ordered the kit fir the filter which I will do on either the next 1x3 or the last.

I have another question. Have any of you not replaced the splash shield that is removed to get to the drain plug? The front 10mm bolt broke off in the welded nut. I used a zip tie to secure it till I can get over to my cousins shop to put it on a lift to use a tap and die set.
Unless you guys think it's ok to leave it off.

twigglius

iTrader: (6)

Too much Racing ATF is bad. Too much Lightweight is also bad. All D4 or a mixture is optimum. The FM values are too drastic with all racing or lightweight. You can also use Amsoil Synthetic. I have been using either Amsoil Synthetic, or a combo of D4/Racing/lightweight for about 150k. I change the Switches every 30k and the filter every 60k. I also do a 1x3 about every 15k.

It may be hard to read as I am taking screen shots and cropping my spreadsheet from my phone, but here is a look at the viscosity numbers for all the discussed fluids.

You ate probably better off doing a 1x3, driving 1,000 miles, then do another 1x3. Drive an additional 3k or so, then do the final 1x3. From there you can maintain a 1x3 every 15k (ish)
​​​​​​
Props to swooshie for starting this spreadsheet. I merely added Amsoil to it. Switch to Amsoil at 200k and slowly introduced it to the system over 10k miles. Ran redline from about 60k - 200k.

twigglius

iTrader: (6)

In 1,000 you may want to do a 1x3 (d4/race/LW) you are currently running very thick.

Splash shield... What's that? Lol. Removed that useless shit eons ago.

Joecop67

I followed the guide in "optimal percentage of racing atf" thread started by inaccurate.
Post 447 says:

• Refill #2 = 3 quarts Racing ATF
• Refill #3 = 2 quarts Racing ATF + 1 quart D4

As the thread goes on, the formula becomes:

• Refill #1 = 2 quarts Racing ATF + 1 quart Lightweight ATF
• Refill #2 = 2 quarts Lightweight ATF + 1 quart Racing ATF
• Refill #3 (and subsequent) = 1 quart D4 + 1 qt Racing ATF + 1 qt Lightweight ATF

Joecop67

I missed a line: Refill #1 = 3 quarts Racing ATF

Joecop67

I was going with the assumpition that I had still 66% of what is probably dw-1 in it also.

twigglius

iTrader: (6)

I also believe innaccurate as well as I Hate Cars also made later addendums to the formula. That's a long ass thread, and there are other threads so I don't remember every word.

I have run many combinations of the Redline fluid. Just offering my experience over 150k ish miles

hondeducation

what's a reasonable price to pay acura or a shop to install pressure switches on the type s auto tranny? and... would this prevent the tranny from going, or does it just delay the inevitable??

Joecop67

That is the amendment. Post #76 https://acurazine.com/forums/third-g...-834299/page2/

Joecop67

What combination do you recommend for my next drain and fill? If you think what I have in it now will harm it, I will do it asap.

twigglius

iTrader: (6)

07-08 has a different transmission, that has less issues. The switches themselves are pretty inexpensive on oemacuraparts.com but the dealer will probably charge you for about 1.5 hrs is my guess. It's an easy job to do yourself.
I think you are fine at the moment. You still have so much original fluid in there I don't feel there is any need to worry. I've ran what you are running before, but eventually switched to 1x d4, 1x LW, 1x racing and ran that combo for a solid 80k, and doing a 1x3 about every 15k.