andreythedon

Hey guys...I just changed oil, rotated tires and took care of air filter. I'm trying to figure out if I should change my tranny fluid or leave it to the pros. Has anyone changed their fluid....good idea? also is there a special filter or pan that gets replaced with filter changes?? Is there anything to it more than draining old fluid and putting in new for the 04 TL?? Thanks

BradE

Try a search, there are thousands of threads on servicing the transmission.

OntheJob

Ive done it and its really easy, the fill bolt in on top of the tranny right below the intake arm, the drain bolt is near the oil drain bolt... its easy, search find the link on how to and the tools needed are
1. ratchet 3/8ths drive
2. ratchet extension 3/8ths drive, which is used to insert into your tranny drain bolt and drain.
3. 17 mm socket with a 3.8 drive to fit onto your 3.8ths drive extension for the fill bolt on top of tranny
4. breaker bar for additional torque for initially breaking factory IMO "way over tightened bolts"
5. and a long black funnel about 2 feet long to make filling your fluid easy... just add the 3 quarts dont worry about the 3.1 or 3.3 or whatever it calls for.

I think that should be it.... its so easy.. just take your time and have fun with it. Just make sure once you have the car in the air, you have a friend or family members car for running and getting any additional tool to help you get any tools needed to finish the job.

NOTE: always i mean ALWAYS loosen and un-do your FILL bolts FIRST, reason being if you loosen the drain bolt first and for some reason cant open the fill bolt because of lack of tools or whatever then you are STUCK and cant drive the car.. just a little FYI.... also this method will help with even draining and wont spurt and spew oil in gulps all over the place.

heres the link for when I did mine, and do the 3x3 flush it will improve your shifting dramatically.
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-performance-parts-modifications-112/royal-purple-review-796334/
enjoy

andreythedon

Thanks "onthejob" ...nice avatar by the way...Clean!

OntheJob

Thanks bud, dont mine the "search" or posts, most people in car forums dont realize that its impossible to never run out of subjects to cover, and there will always be subjects that will/need to be revisited by new or old members.. so rather then just helping they just yell at people.... My pleasure helping.. Although I am supposed to tell you to SEARCH

andreythedon

Yep....understood...I've searched; but I'm looking for 10 answers in one place. An average of 10 searches x 10 questions= 100 searches seems a little silly if someone knowledgeable can answer in one post. Solves my problem and aides future members... sigh.....lol

OntheJob

Here is what I used and everything you need, pics, and step by steps with videos included, happy motoring, and merry christmas.
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/my-30-000-mile-service-loads-pics-video-777798/
Note always save stuff like this on your computer under home page favorites or whatever.......

I hate cars

There are no less than 5 diy posts on trans drains and fills and about 100 others. When the same question gets asked over and over, the "pros" stop replying and the only ones that reply might not give the best answer. So the next time someone comes along and actually searches they have to dig through all of the BS posts before getting any useful info. It really hurts the board when people don't search first.

The step by step with pics is out there. The type of fluid to use is out there and discussed in detail.

"Has anyone changed their fluid" "is there a special filter or pan that gets replaced with filter changes?? "

^^^ That's just laziness. You could have searched and gotten the answer quicker than posting another question that's been covered hundreds of times and waiting for an answer. This is why you won't see many responses to threads like this. I just had to register at another car forum and I've spend the first day searching before I post.

andreythedon

"I hate cars"...actually a little disgusted by your post......HOWEVER. I typed in that search you just mentioned. Though the thread topic was not directly related to the search request...the thread did address the issue??? That is just as disturbing as not searching for somehthing and expecting new responses. I'll be a little more diligent in my searches as I have learned something new tonight.....HOWEVER, it's hard to get stay focused in a book entitled "Acura", but when you open it, it's talking about BMW's...You feel me? Metaphorically?

whudini3000

iTrader: (1)

"I Hate Cars" also hates people

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

IHC may sound blunt here but to be honest, he's speaking the truth. I've been here long enough that I scan through looking for new threads ignoring overdiscussed ones.

I also have been called rude by asking people to SEARCH but honestly it is a waste of virtual ink and time. And any forum I'm a newbie on I am considerate enough to search as well. Yeah I know it sucks we veterans sound rude and it sounds like we don't want to contribute. But we've already paid our dues and have always had good intentions to help. We've already spent hours answering your question, just search.

andreythedon

well...all that being said...a mod should probably close this thread as it is no longer contributing to the topic...(one of my initial concerns...thread topics unrelated to their content) anyhow...I appreciate all the input....I's be a guud newbie and surch lhotz frum nawh.
Seriously, I would like to thank all the veteran posters though for keeping the forum going....if it were up to minimally knowledgeable folks like myself, there would be few informative posts. I've always relied on car forums to keep myself out of auto shops...so thanks.

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

andreythedon, take a look in the 3G Service Department: https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/3g-tl-service-department-aka-garage-questions-answers-check-here-first-553557/

The members of AcuraZine have spent alot of time putting all this information together. The information in there is very valuable. If you "search" for "transmission" in the 3G Service Department, you will find what you are looking for.

OntheJob

thats my point as well, I mean if it wasnt for stuff like this the forum would come to a crawl on the already slow revolving speed it is already on.

Anyhow in relation to "I hate cars" he may be grumpy, but he is a wealth of knowledge and I think under neath all the moody stuff is probably a stand up guy, whatever you do just dont debate with him about spark plug replacement.

Be a sponge and absorb info and give back to everyone on here, when you can, for the most part everyone is pretty cool

I hate cars

I may sound grumpy but I honestly don't want to tell a newb to search. I dont want to be rude to people or to run new members off. I'm really not trying to be rude.

What you're seeing is exactly what I wanted to avoid. When I registered back in early '06 I used the search function to decide which springs, shocks, swaybars, etc. It was quick and easy. Most of the posts were straight to the point and on topic. Today when you do a search there are many what I would call "watered down" posts where you don't really get the info you're looking for and you have to search numerous threads with the same title. At this point I understand it's not always the newb's fault because the search function is harder to use than it was years ago but it's for the very reason (too many new threads on the same topic) that it's gotten harder to use. Anyway, welcome to AZ.

I hate cars

To contribute something, yes you want to do a drain and fill.

If you plan on staying with OEM Z1, you should be doing a single drain and fill with each engine oil change. I highly reommend not using Z1 for multiple reasons.

There is an internal metal screen that can not be serviced without removing the trans and disassembly. There is a servicable filter in the '04-'06 Tls even though the Honda parts people don't seem to know about it. It's toward the top of the trans and prettey easy to get to.

OntheJob had great advice to loosen the fill plug first. It can be very hard to remove. Unfortunately it will stick again even if you don't tighten it that much.

I highly recommend going with Redline racing fluid. You will cut clutch wear by more than half along with gear wear too. After using this fluid, the drain plug magnet is perfectly clean where before with the Z1 fluid it had a huge amount of metal on it.

This racing fluid has no friction modifiers and Z1 is loaded with them. What you will get is better shift quality, much quicker and snappier shifts, and elimination of the bump shift. As I said, clutch wear is nearly eliminated.

You also want to replace the 3rd and 4th gear switches every 50,000 miles and 3 years. These are the cause of all of the transmission failures. They will solve any harsh cold shifts, harsh downshifts, shudder, and they will help the double bump when shifting to drive.

I guarantee it will feel better than new by replacing these two things.

If you use the Redline fluid and replace the servicable filter, you should be able to go an easy 50,000 miles or more between services. I know the factory says you can go 60,000 on Z1 but UOAs have shown it's heavily oxidized and pretty much wasted by 20,000.

OntheJob

crap sounds/feels like my tranny.... sigh... another service item added to what feels like the never ending pile. I guess Ill have to start searching for a DIY on these switches, for confirmation are those the "pressure switches" you were speaking about in your post about the convo with the tranny builder?

Inaccurate

Below are some of the principal transmission threads -

The RR Journals: ATF drain and refill 3G Garage #C-012 (click here)
C-026: DIY Changing ATF (with Pics) (click here)
Very interesting conversation with my transmission builder on the TL (click here)
Racing ATF (click here)
Time to change transmission fluid? (click here)
AMSOIL Synthetic Transmission Fluid VS Redline D4 ATF (click here)
Did a 3x3 today with Redline D4, with some first impressions (click here)
Advice for my first ATF change (click here)
Tranny fluid change at 17k? (click here)
Auto-trans fluid change method? (click here)
C-036: DIY Transmission Filter Replacment With Pics (click here)
C-036: Transmission filter change how to with pics (click here)
Time to change transmission fluid? (click here)
American Honda strongly recommends you avoid using aftermarket trans flush systems (click here)
Flush Systems: A Big Taboo (see page 3 of 4) (click here)
Auto-trans fluid change method? (click here)

wasupdog

iTrader: (2)

here's my one tip for changing the tranny fluid:

when you find the drain bolt and insert the wrench to loosen it just get down and give it a swift kick. that way you don't need to elevate the car enought to get a breaker bar in there and the bolt is perfectly positioned so that you can just give it a quick kick towards the rear of the car.

i normally find i waste a ton of my time or get stuck with installs on stubborn bolts.

P_R_N_D

And for god's sake... no matter what you do... make sure your funnel is black!!!!!!!