Hal Lee

I know these types of questions have probably been asked a million times, but I really don't want to ruin my transmission.

I just took my car in for an oil replacement, and the dealer recommended a transmission flush. I'd like to do it myself. Is the '3x3 drain & fill' I've read about the same thing? Is a flush any different from draining and filling the fluid?

I've got 126,000 miles on my engine, and I know the transmission fluid was replaced back in August 2012, with DW-1. I've read somewhere that replacing the fluid is bad if you go a long time between flushes. Is there any merit to this?

Also, I want to use the . Do any of you have good experience with this fluid, or do I need to stick to Honda's DW-1? Do I need to do take any special precautions switching to the D3, beyond the 3x3?

Hal Lee

Sorry, I meant Red Line D4.

mfrench13

The 3x3 is the recommended flush procedure. Never do a power flush that some quick lube places will do. It can ruin your tranny. D4 from what I hear is a great fluid to use in these transmissions. I have not tried it myself but I am planning on switching from the DW-1 to the D4. Also it is recommended to change the 3rd and 4th gear pressure switches, there are DIY's on how to change them. They are very easy to do. takes about 20 min.

Sutitan

I just changed my transmission fluid this past weekend. Its a very simple job once you know what to do. The first drain is the biggest pain since you have remove panels and what not, but after that, its painless.

Just a quick overview of the steps I did.
1. Remove 2 10mm bolts holding engine fuse box
2. Unclip box (relay?) attached to fuse box
3. Remove undertray covering transmission (2 10mm bolts , 4 clips)
4. Loosen drain bolt (3/8in drive bolt), drain fluid, clean magnetic drain bolt off. replace bolt
5. Remove fill bolt (18mm and lots of extensions. might need breaker bar). multiple funnels might be needed to reach fill hole.
6. Replace same amount of fluid that was drained (ussually 3-4 qts depending on how high its jacked).
7. Replace fill bolt.
8. drive around for a few minutes. run it through all the gears. mix up that fluid good!
9. start again from step 4.

Torque specs are 33 ft/lbs and 36 ft/lbs. I dont remember which one is for the drain and fill, but they are close enough that you can probably just set it to 33 for both and be fine.

Also for reference. I used DW-1. Transmission feels amazing now. I had been on the old fluid for 80k miles (i had gotten a new tranny at around 40k when my first one failed)