mankaraja

Hi,

I have been driving a 1998 2.5TL for well over 10 years. It has served me well. Lately, whenever I start the car from stationary, I see heavy visible jerk as the gear changes from 1st to 2nd, 2nd to 3rd, 3rd to 4th (less visible), then it is pretty smooth. I have not changed the transmission oil for well over 30K miles ( the service manager at dealer recommended against changing transmission fluid for this high mileage car - I already have 254000 miles). What should do with car's transmission, put a rebuilt one? or get rid of this car as it is not worth putting more money into it. I put lucas tansmission fix fluid but it did not help.

main70072

You can change the fluid, just don't flush it. It is best to drop the pan, change the screen, o-ring, pan gasket, refill with DW-1 tranny fluid to the correct level and you should be good to go. These transmissions are pretty much bullet proof compared to other gen TLs.

adventurecrv

Agree 100% with main70072...

...if you had never ever changed the fluid I might say something different.

Indeed, never flush a Honda/Acura unless it specifically says to do so. Older ones are a never - not sure about the newer Honda products as the newest car I have owned was a 2000 model year...

9632tl

I had been noticing some poor shifts in my 3.2. I was underneath it a few days ago, poking around, and found that my transmission mount was all but torn apart.
Being that a new mount is over $200, I am using silicone to repair it. I'll let you know how it turns out

Problem2.5TL

Main thing I would check as well is your mounts depending on how hard the jerks are determines between mounts or fluid flush.

mankaraja

Your solution applies also for automatic transmission?
I have automatic transmission.

mankaraja

I once went to sears auto 2 years, I have been having this jerky movement since last 3 years. I thought it was transmission issue). The mechanic apparently had similar acura and he told me that it was an hydraulic mount problem with my acura. There are 4 engine mounts, two in the front (engine compartment - $350 each) and two connected to transmission ($100 each?). Does anyone know how much it will cost (parts + labor) to change them?
I also hear lately a distinct noise which comes and disappears at above 50 mph driving on highway - is it axle problem?

adventurecrv

That could cause some rough shifting/vibration. Here is a link to the parts:

http://www.acuraoemparts.com/delray/...All&vinsrch=no

You can find the front mounts cheaper on Amazon, ebay, etc. I think I got mine on ebay...

I did the right hand side, front. A bit of a pain, but it just took time. The left front I am told is a real pain as the axle has to come out...

Have not done the rear or transmission ones, but looking at things a few bolts will have to come out and the engine/transmission would have to be jacked up.

I would figure about 5 hours labour to do all of them. Just a guess though.

$368 each for the two front, $68 each for the two rear, plus about $10 each for the four beam insulators.

If you get underneath the car check for cracking/separation. It was easy to see on mine.

9632tl

I got my "fixed" mount back into my car today. The clunk from P to R and D is gone, and the shifts are smooth. 100% improved

adventurecrv

Most excellent! Hope your repair lasts.

mankaraja

Finally, I made major repairs ($2900). I replaced the following -
1) Front (Left and Right) hydraulic mounts (~$980) - original Acura mounts. The mechanic said the transmission mount and 2 rear mounts are good hence did not replace them
2) Exhaust Manifold, gasket, sensor (~ $1350 - the mechanic did not use OEM part but still it was expensive, the labor work much involved according to him)
3) Tuneup (distributor, spark plugs, fuel injector cleaning ..) (~ $350)
4) Oi Leak fix (~ $150 I think we 3 O-rings, the one leaking was near distributor cap?, the one connected to engine block was ok, so luckily saved around $600 dollars in part and labor for same, no more oil leak!!)
5) Power steering fluid flush and fixed some part I do not recall which if not fixed would have caused rack-and pinion replacement which is very expensive. The steering due to the problem was feathery light, is much more firm now.
6) Brake fluid flush
7) Radiator flush
8) Transmission related - pan gasket, oring and screen changed ( as suggested by one of the knowledgeable member here). Transmission oil changed (DW-1)
The mechanic told be to once ina while put techron fuel injector cleaner in gas tank.
9) The front axle passenger side was replaced

The Car jerkiness is much reduced. But I still feel the car jerk during the first gear changed (10 to 20 mph) albeit much less. The second and third gear jerkiness is much less pronounced.

Since Items 8 and 9 above ( which were done at a different mechanic) I saw the car vibrate at idle at traffic light. The vibration was way too much. After doing items 1 through 7. The vibration is still there but if move the steering right it goes away. If I move the steerfing to the left, it again starts vibrating. Sometime it vibrates at idle at traffic light, if I just move the steering left-right-left or right-left-right, the vibration goes away. What needs to be tweeked?

After doing Item 8 and 9. I hear strange sound coming from floor while making left turn. What needs to be looked at ?

Thanks for your help. With the fixes, I think I can drive this car for at least another 50000 miles to join the 300000 miles club!

main70072

Vibrations are one of the hardest things to diagnose. From what you are describing, it sounds like each time you turn your steering wheel the engine RPM gets a little higher (thus eliminated the vibrations) to compensate for the load when the pump is working. I have no idea why it would vibrate turning to one side but not the other, lol. What you can look at and maybe clean are the IACV and throttle body for good measures.

For the strange sound coming from the floor area, have the ball joints and tie rods checked out asap because you do not want either of those fail on you while on the road. Good Luck and can't wait for you to get to that 300k miles mark!