chayos00

So my car is coming up to it's 60K mark here shortly. I want to do fluid flushes/drain & fills on all of my fluids. Coolant/antifreeze, power steering, brakes, transmission, and the standard oil change.

I know most of the things that Acura prints is use the Honda/Acura xxx or equivalent without really pointing out what is equivalent. So I need some assistance in finding out what the equivalent's are so I don't pay like $40 for a gallon of antifreeze ect... I have searched the net for like 5 hours today looking for information, but can't find anything conclusive.

Coolant - Acura Long Life Antifreeze/Coolant Type 2 or equivalent - Anything equivalent yet?

Power Steering Fluid - Honda power steering fluid or equivalent - Anything equivalent yet?

Brake Fluid - DOT 3 - DOT 3 & 4 are equivalent's (I will use a brand that the local auto store has.)

I am using Mobile 1 5w30 and have been for a long time. I have been using Redline D4 since the 5spd auto tranny was replaced when I used the Redline Type F, but now I have 15K with the D4 and no issues.

I am looking for some help on the two items listed in red. Since we don't have a maintenance section like they do over on t4r.org for my Toyota, figured this would be the next best place for this.

I hate cars

PSF= Amsoil. Its the only non OEM fluid I would use. Has the higher viscosity and zinc requirements.

Coolant= Honda. Save a few bucks over the identical Acura brand. In theory anything that meets the phosphate and silicate requirements will work. I don't like premix because youre paying for half coolant, half distilled water. That brings me to my next point. Coolant protects the metal, slightly raises the boiling point, lowers the freezing point, and lubes the water pump. However, it also hurts heat transfer and cooling ability over straight water. A 50-50 mixture is extreme overkill for most climates. The car has to be ready to drive in any climate when its sold but a 70/30 mixture is more than adequate for 90% of us and will give better cooling with no downsides. Or in other words if you live in an area that does not see extreme cold, you can save some money by buying a $1 gallon of distilled water and dilute it.

chayos00

Good to know about the PSF, but as far as I can tell I would have to order Amsoil stuff over the net versus buying it locally.

For the Honda/Acura stuff, I'd go to the local Honda dealer as they are about 10 miles closer than my nearest Acura dealer. So whatever Acura/Honda stuff, it would be from Honda.

So no real equivalent coolant? Not even those Prestone all cars all models fluid?

I hate cars

No such thing as a universal coolant, just one that won't screw things up too quickly. Ordering fluid is no big deal. Just place the order a week in advance. No additional trouble, it saves you a trip to the store and Amsoil fluid has immediate benefits that can be felt in tbe cold and will reduce wear and tear on the pump and rack. At 60k miles don't worry about doing a flush. Drain and refill the radiator. Takes about 5 minutes. Suck the fluid out of the psf reservoir with a turkey baster and refill. Takes almost a pint. No need to ever do flushes if you do a drain and fill in a reasonable time frame.

DeathMetal

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I have personally been running AMSOIL for all fluids with 0 issues over +80k miles.

lilsid112

iTrader: (7)

Speaking of coolant, has anyone ever added water wetter to their system?

I hate cars

Absolutely no need for water weetter in a tl. Last I checked its not compatible anyway. Its more for an older car like my GN where I run straight distilled water, no coolant and its a cast iron block. It gives some anti corrosion properties and lubes the water pump which is important since I don't run anti freeze.

chayos00

I have used it in my 94 ranger after I did a major flush on the coolant system after I started having overheating issues. Not sure if it was the flush and the cleaning the bugs from the radiator or if the water wetter helped but it ran cool here in the desert.

I did buy a container for the TL and my 4Runner, but not sure now if I should use it.

chayos00

Not sure if this product has been brought up before, but I came across this while looking for the correct fluids for my Toyota 4Runner that I'm about to do the same process for. If it works and is okay to use then I would just need one fluid for both of my vehicles as they are both Japanese.

Zerex® Asian Vehicle Antifreeze / Coolant

chayos00

Bump, anyone have any thoughts?

nfnsquared

OP, factory specs for coolant changeout is 120K miles/ 10 years. It's on the label on the underside of the hood. Thereafter it's 60K/5.

60K is late for brake fluid, unless you drive 20K/year. Service manual specs for brake fluid flush is once every 3 years, regardless of mileage.

AFAIK, there is no spec for PS fluid changeout/flush.

chayos00

As far as the factory coolant, I want to change it out now for peace of mind. I know companies say fluids are good for XX years or miles, but just like the factory Z-1 ATF that came in these cars, the fluid was long dead before the manual called for it to be changed. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think the consensus around here is like 15-20K for the Z-1 fluid.

Brake fluid is a bit old I agree, but I have never had any issues with brake fluid on any of my vehicles. My 94 Ford Ranger had the original brake fluid in it when I sold it when I bought my 4runner in 2008-2009. It had about 140K on the clock to. Zero issues, in fact that thing had the best brakes I've ever had on any vehicles... well maybe except for the TL. Sames goes for my wifes old Toyota Tercel it was a 97 with around 130k and original brake fluid, still worked like a champ when we sold it around 2009-2010.

Either way I want to change all the fluids just to freshen everything up, plus living here in the desert we get some hot temps in the summer. Better safe than sorry!

blueracer17

The difference between your Ranger and the TL is the fact that the TL has VSA. The VSA module is very expensive and is full of solenoid valves that regulate the fluid in the case of vehicle instability. I flush my brake fluid annually in order to prevent corrosion in this module. It's cheap and easy to bleed the brakes.

I hate cars

I bought my TL brand new and changed the coolant after 2 years. After seeing the amount of sand that came out of it, I suggest everyone change their coolant immediately if it's never been done before. I drain the radiator and refill. It holds a gallon, takes 10 minutes, with 9 minutes being watching the coolant drain out It's super easy, takes little time and if you drain and refill the radiator every couple years which is half of the coolant capacity, you never have to do a flush.

On the brakes and VSA.... VSA does not add any additional mechanical parts to the brake system. It's a program that uses ABS hardware to help adjust the vehicle. It won't help large slides much but it can help stop the beginning of a slide before it has a chance to become a big slide. It does add a gyroscope or whatever it's called to help sense the pitch of the vehicle but the brake system remains the same. Regardless, ABS introduces small passages which are sensitive to gunk. I do my brake fluid every year or thereabouts. In my dry climate, I could probably go triple that time but the wet boiling point gets lower over time and I want to keep mine at it's best. In fact, when choosing a brake fluid, I put more emphasis on the wet boiling point because that's more indicative of real world conditions.

Time is more important for brake fluid than mileage. I would do it one a year whether I drive 30,000 or 1,000 miles. Brake fluid is one of those things that regardless of the age will feel perfectly fine even if 10yrs old for normal driving. It's not until you have to brake hard from high speeds or repeated stops say going downhill that you realize you're in trouble when it boils at 180 degrees instead of 400 degrees like new fluid does. Pads will usually give a little warning before they fade completely, brake fluid is fine one second and you have no brakes the next.

Power steering fluid on my car gets a drain and refill once a year. It takes about 5 minutes. Suck out the old fluid with a turkey baster, add a pint of new fluid, done. Just like coolant, you never have to worry about a flush. I did one flush many miles ago when I went to Amsoil synthetic PSF. It wasn't necessary but I wanted to see if there was a difference between the two fluids. The Amsoil makes the steering noticeably lighter in the cold months and about the same in the hot months. Steering feel is much more consistent.

nfnsquared

Drained and replaced my factory fill coolant when I did my TB/waterpump change at 106K miles, coolant looked fine....

AcuraVic

I have 206,000 + on my 04/TL. Used all factory fluids till 100K, then started using Mobil 1 engine oil/tranny fluid. Switched to Redline D4 ATF at 204,000. Still using mobil 1 engine oil.
I've always used the Honda coolant fluid. She runs great, like new. Still pulls hard (like new).

THEReeM718

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[QUOTE=chayos00;14039480]So my car is coming up to it's 60K mark here shortly. I want to do fluid flushes/drain & fills on all of my fluids. Coolant/antifreeze, power steering, brakes, transmission, and the standard oil change.


How much do you think a mechanic would charge for this?

chayos00

[QUOTE=THEReeM718;14056687]Probably an arm and a leg, maybe a kidney too! IDK.... I always do what I can myself on my vehicle mainly because I can never find a trustworthy mechanic in my area. Plus I like to work on my own vehicles! It gets you to really learn your vehicle.

chayos00

So here is the story!

I purchased the OEM antifreeze from a local Honda dealer as they are closer to me. I found the Zerex® Asian Vehicle Antifreeze / Coolant at a local auto parts store for $15 and the OEM fluid is $21 a gallon at Honda, so I figured since it's only $6 more a gallon just to use OEM.

I also picked up the power steering fluid from Honda for like $6.5 a pint. As well as some Prestone DOT 4 brake fluid. I also bought a MityVac brake bleed tool to help me get this done.

Well it's time to get cracking on getting this done, enough goofing off on the internet! As I woke up around 8am and it's now 11:45am.

chayos00

So I did my entire round of fluid flushing.

Oil change plus filter - Mobile 1 5w30 w/PureONE PL14610

Tranny Fluid - Redline Racing D4, I'm on my 5th drain and fill so somewhere around the 90% all D4 fluid range.

Brake Fluid - Prestone DOT 4 (PIA to flush this, I had to use the big vacuum pump/tank that is pictured below.) Plus I ended up having to take the bleed screws out and wrap teflon tape around the top threads so I could get a better air tight seal around them. Otherwise I was getting nothing but very foamy old brake fluid that was taking forever to drain. Went much quicker after the tape.

Antifreeze - Flushed with 7 gallons of RO filtered water from the grocery store, using the water dispenser from outside the store. Followed up with 2 gallons of distilled water as the final flush. Then filled up the radiator with the Honda 50/50 antifreeze. Based on my prestone antifreeze gauge I'm around 30-40% of antifreeze to water. (Based off of this data "Things you should know about coolant" 30-50% seems ideal living in a hot climate) This gives me an 8-10% loss over water in heat removing ability. Plus I ended up using the Redline Water Wetter.

I found an engine drain plug in the back passenger side of the engine bay for some additional coolant to flush out.






Just to prove it's the correct connection for some additional antifreeze.


Power Steering Fluid - I sucked all of the fluid out of the reservoir and traced the lines running in and out of the res. So along the underside of the front bumper I found a tubing junction that I disconnected and used my vacuum pump to suck as much of the old fluid out from here. Refilled with the Honda PSF and I found that it was still discolored, so I assume that somewhere in the steering rack there is some fluid I was not able to get out. So once I get a chance to go back to Honda I'll get about 4 bottles so I can do another flush or two as the fluid kinda looks like chocolate milk still. Color wise, not frothy. To refill it it took about a 1.5-1.75 containers of the Honda PSF.





My handy dandy vacuum pump from Walmart or somewhere... can't remember for sure where I found it. Could be from HomeDepot too...

I also adapted the container that comes with the MityVac to this vacuum pump, as my hands quickly got tired of trying to pump that stupid little MityVac. The oil that is in the tubing here is what was left of the original power steering fluid. Which I imagine Acura changed out when they did the PS hose TSB. Some where around 30-45K ago.

geekybiker

That why I use ATE super blue. boils wet at 388F. That's almost as much as a lot of lesser fluids dry. I'll probably never need the high end of its range, but its pretty cheap insurance that your fluid will hold up the one time you really need it.

Undying Dreams

iTrader: (3)

Great thread, glad you created it OP.

I hate cars, you're awesome.