What's the proper procedure to do the 3x3 transmission fluid change?

Is it:
Drain 3, fill 3
Drain 3, fill 3
Drain 3, fill 3?

Does that get all the old transmission fluid out or just some of it?

I'm sure this subject has been discussed numerous times, I just wanted clarification before I procede tomorrow.

I bought 9 quarts and they were $7 a piece! I have a extra quart just in case I need to add.

 

You got it! Doing the 3x3 will get virtually all of the old tranny fluid out.

 

Now is that a full flush or just a standard flush because in another thread 01tl4tl said this: "do a full `acura flush` using manual drain and refills~ its going to take 15 qts to actually get the old stuff out--holds 7.3...

dont drive more than 5 minutes with use of each gear up and down a few times in the neighborhood between drains
You want to move fluid thru- not mix fluids together- that defeats the whole purpose of the flush".

Of course he was saying this to a previous poster that had put dex3 transmission fluid instead of honda z1.

What's the point of 15 quarts if really the transmission holds 7. So 3x3 is completely getting all the old fluid out.

 

Well, it might take up to 15 qts to completely flush the tranny, but as I stated, doing the 3x3 will get virtually all of the old fluid out, whether it's OEM fluid or not.

I wouldn't go any further than 3x3.

 

Thanks dude! I will do the 3x3 first thing tomorrow. I want to remove all that old out. So the procedure is:

Drain 3, fill 3---drive for 5 minutes while upshifting and downshifting through all the gears (clutch packs) and then repeat this step 2 more times and then I'm done!

 

^

 

yes- my prior post was to rid a system filled with dex3- that needs a lot of fluid to get it all pushed out and for sure its gone

for normal 3x3, where 90 percent changeout is fine:
First- make sure the filler bolt and drains can be loosened easily- much harder to do when its already heated~

Get a $2 long transmission funnel to fill thru the filler hole/bolt- not thru the dipstick or you will be there till monday

warm up the car with 15 minutes on freeway cruise
warm fluid carries more contaminents with it to the drain
about half the total is hidden in the torque convertor- the very short drives with shifting move that fluid forward to the drain

be aware that up to 3.2 qts may drain out each time--for the 5 minute drives its ok to be .2 low but on the final fill get it perfect

for that test:
15 minute freeway then stop and ck fluid- should be `between the dots`
not at full- between low and full at that fluid temp

Hope that is clearer, and thanks for reading my post!!

 

park reverse and Nuetral count as gears for this - stop and shift thru each of them, drive slowly shifting up from 1 thru 5 then back down
Stop-- and p-r-n- r p
drive slowly 1-5 5-1 and you should be back home

 

I plan on getting a case next year; The [almost] local Honda dealer will do cases for $6.15 a quart x 12.
And then, I'll do the swap four times. This year, I did 4 x 3, the long way.
Buy three. Buy three. Buy six. But in the end, pink as grenadine.

I've done it cold, and gotten barely three quarts out, and done it pretty warm, and over 3.25 came out.
Take your time filling back up. I'm thinking the volume between the low and high holes on the stick is 4 ounces.
A centimeter high isn't the end of the world, but it isn't hard to avoid.

My favorite part? Wiping the magnetic tip of the plug. It got cleaner each successive drain.

What I'd like to find out is the exact volume [velocity] of fluid circulation.
Yes, it'd be cool to be able to swap out the oil without mixing it,
but exactly how, and how much to drive the car? I'm skeptical anyone really knows exactly.

 

Also, before checking, park on level surface & turn engine off.

 

yes, thanks totaled- stop, park, -engine off- use rag to wipe oil off dipstick,,,,

the one time I forget to put in every single instruction--somehow hoping that others might read a little bit back in the thread history...

 

thanks for the help guys! i did do the 3x3 yesterday. it wasn't a long process like i thought it was going to be. it was about 30 minutes of my time during the day and i did it first thing in the morning.

here is a pic of 3 bottles consisting of the 3 drains:


the first bottom to the left is the first drain!
the middle bottle is the second drain!
the last bottom to the right is the third drain!

that last bottom is pure red, the image is not the good but in person the fluid is red. its good to know that new fluid is flowing in the transmission and not old. its a huge RELIEF!

and 01tl4tl, i have a 4speed not a 5speed lol

 

doh on me again!!
I dont know when the switch was made from single coil and plug wires with 4 speed trans, to the 6 port egr- 6 coils -5 speed cars...somewhere between 99 and 00
I've heard some with 99s say they have a 5 speed--thought maybe late year production?
what do I know,,, mine is an 01

so you drove the 5 min between, and the whole job only took 30?-
you should work for a shop!

nice to have pics show that old fluid goes out and new fluid goes in behind it-

 

I hope that is just a sample of the fluid that came out and not all that came out.

 

with the amount of help he got beforehand,,,
I hope it didnt turn into
drain 3--drive 5 drain 3--drive 5-- drain 1.2
Ohhhh I was supposed to ADD 3 new each time????
and kiss transmission goodbye

just kiddin with you lost--all in fun--red ink implied on above statement

 

Quick question guys, I brought up this whole 3x3 flush idea to my uncles auto shop and they said it would be a lot easier to just do a full tranny fluid flush with the equipment they have at the shop. Is there any gain to doing it manually (3x3) or is it just a DIY for owners???

 

there is a big difference, completely flushing your tranny all at one time can do a lot of damage. Don't take the risk specially if you haven't changed your fluid in a while. A 3x3 is safe and effective and doesnt require any machines/equipment.

 

DONT! Our trans or any Honda trans isn't made to be flushed by the normal flush machine! Honda uses a proprietary Flush machine that uses low pressure not like the ones in almost every shop. You can do a lot of damage to your trans with a flush.

Do a 3x3!!! Is totally worth your while..

 

Yeah, as these guys said.....DON'T risk flushing the tranny's fluid.
While it may take a little more time to perform the recommended 3x3 Drain & Fill process, it'll be worth the effort down the road.

It's really not a difficult process for ya to DIY in your spare time. Simply remove the tranny pan's drain plug and let about 3 qt's fluid drain out. Replace with Honda DW1 only. Buy a case and ask for a discount at your local Honda parts dept. You can do the remaining two D&F's at your convenience, doesn't have to be done all at once. If any doubts, check the "DIY" sticky and other previous threads pertaining to the 3x3 D&F.

 

i highly recommend using some Redline type f along with the Honda DW1, i've used it previously and had great results.

 

^^^ Yeah, the 3rd Gen guys seem to like it.
What was the ratio which ya used when formulated with Redline ?

 

i used a mix of 2 qt's DW1 and 1 qt Redline, on my 1x3 i also did the pressure switches and the transmission still has a few characteristics i don't like but its noticeably smoother than before (full dw1)

 

So, ya actually only have 1 quart of Redline in the tranny with the remainder, DW1 fluid ?

 

well i put 1 quart of redline and 2 quarts DW1 in each of my 3 drain and fills so i actually have 3 quarts Redline in my tranny and the rest DW1

 

^^^ Bad math alert. You might have 3 quarts of Redline if your trans held 9 qts of fluid...but it doesn't (7.6 qts). At best, you have 33% Redline in DW1 (or 2.5 qts).

 

What do you mean by did the pressure switches?
Anyone, pics of the pressure switches?

 

^^^ Pressure switches and shift solenoids on our electronically controlled tranny will sometimes get clogged up after time with dirty fluid particles getting trapped in the screens. Some folks will attempt cleaning the screens and make sure that the electrical connections are good to them. These parts can be rather expensive to replace, unless your'e sure that's the issue.

Here's a thread (post#18) with a diagram showing the tranny's components :

https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tl-1999-2003-98/3-x-3-question-914092/

 

this doesnt make any sense to me, no matter how much the tranny holds if you put 3 quarts of redline the tranny now has 3 quarts of redline no?

 

^ So how you controled what amount of Redline was drained every time? Take that into account, every time you drained DW1 WITH Redline.

In the first change the Redline was lost in all the OEM ATF, the second time it was just a smudge..
Third time it's what probably stayed a bit.. I calculate that there is as little as 13-15% Redline in your trans at the Moment.

The first change should have been all Redline so you could offset later in the 1q changes.
Or 1q, 2q, 3q..so it could have True 1/3 Redline/DW1 Mix.. We'll at least that's how my math adds up since the trans holds 7.5q.

I'm not counting quarts, I'm counting how much is actually effective to be of any use and 3 total quarts each change it's nothing.. Like I said you probably have around 15% a at max inside the trans.

 

oh i see yup makes perfect sense

 

Hey all,

I'm brand new to the forum and figured I'd bump this thread rather than start a new one.

I'm getting ready to do an automatic transmission fluid exchange on my 2007 TL-S and am planning on doing the 3x3 method.

My question: Is it necessary to actually drive the car in between drains/fills? Or would it be sufficient to leave the car on the jack stands and spin through the gears? Does the load on the transmission (from actually driving it) cycle the fluid more effectively?

I don't consider myself lazy, but if I don't want to get the car on and off jackstands three times if I don't have to.

Thanks for any input!

 

Is your car lowered? If not you won't even need to jack it up!

 

Welcome
-you are in the gen2 area, please see gen3 diy as the procedure FOR YOUR GEN is with engine running on jacks and going thru the gears at specific rpm's
The old way we use is driving around the block using each gear to move fluid thru the system,,its one or the other, not both

the clutch lockup points or something are different enough on gen3 and newer to need the ~new~ method acura issued some years ago - specifically for the newer trans as the way to really get the old fluid out

the directions will be in gen3 diy and your owner book may have it
USE ONLY Honda DW-1 fluid and ck owner book for correct reading of the dipstick--ours is not at the upper mark--its halfway between- overfilling is bad- don't know about gen3
Enjoy!!

 

Thanks for the info. Sorry, I had just realized I was in Gen 2 after I posted. I found this thread through a search and forgot to check which sub-forum it was in. I'll check the Gen 3 area.

 

no sweat- welcome to azine- gen3 has some really knowledgeable members, they can walk you thru every diy

 

FILL and drain x 3 ... WITH DIESEL FUEL. Cleans and flushes sludge much better at a fraction of the cost

 

Ummm, no, epic fail. Either you are a troll, don't have very good reading comprehension, or are trying to be funny; regardless, reviving an old thread where the last post was six years ago was a bad idea. In the future, please keep your horrible ideas to yourself.

 

Yeah, NOT cool! A new reader might come along and actually do it then wonder why his trans shit the bed.

 

​​​Ummmm.... I've done it SEVERAL times and just did it last night 😱😨🖕 The diesel flushes the transmission and cleans and frees sticky valves and ports. I've bought cars with slipping transmissions that have never had the oil changed and it works wonders. I have an 05 MDX with 270k mi that's had a slipping transmission for 5 years. Every time I flush it with diesel it's fine for about a year before beginning slipping again - AND I JUST DID IT LAST NIGHT ASSHOLE 🖕🖕 And a giant PS - If you use 5W-30 vs ATF it helps stop slipping as well

 

Just become some fecking idiot does something stupid, that doesn't mean it is a good thing to do. Take a hike Bozo.