Very interesting conversation with my transmission builder on the TL
 

I was talking to my builder who I used to work for. This guy has been doing this his whole life, owns his business, and sponsors many race cars.

We got into the TL for about an hour and I learned many interesting things.

For one I got to take a look at the trans disassembled. The third gear clutch pack is not undersized by any means. It has more than enough capacity for the TL and looks like it could support an extra 100hp easily. My builder agreed.

What he said causes the issues are the two pressure sensors going bad slowly. To make a long story short, they reduce line pressure and control shift timing in order to provide soft shifts. When one or both start to go, line pressure falls and third starts slipping. He recommended to replace both of these sensors at 50,000 mile intervals and says it will live a long and happy life if you do so.

Again, after looking at this trans first hand and especially it's frictions, there is nothing wrong with the holding capacity of the notorious third gear.

Sounds great but um, what are you talking about? :tomato:
Like, can I just simply change the sensors in my backyard or is there a lot to it? Is it a DIY?

^^^ditto.

Yeah he thinks all of us knows what he's talking about half the time meanwhile I always have a google page open when I'm reading his posts.. haha. What... give the tranny an ace inhibitor?

^lol.

╞╔╚Ä«╕\▓▒░╧»│╡¡¼ x 2 = formula for changing the sensors.

Great information! Just like they said, is this a possible DIY or do I need a professional mechanic to do? Or can you do it in your own garage with someone that knows there cars? So a Transmission cooler would be pointless since its the two sensors that causes our transmissions to fail? And does that mean a turbocharge is more possible since the transmission can actually handle a 100HP increase?

I think this is why some of the supercharged auto transmissions hold up fine while some stock ones die an early death. It's just the luck of the draw, who got the good sensors and who got the bad ones.

I haven't done it yet but I'm going to Acura after work today to order the sensors. They're external and the shop says it takes about 30 minutes to replace. I haven't personally looked at them yet.

Does this apply to the Auto, the MT or both?

If you could keep us updated and possibly do a DIY that would be great.

thse might be it,

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

12 and 13

this would save us alot of trouble and heartache. When I got my TL my tranny was grinding in the 3rd then I got the tranny fluid changed and it was fine but I am still feeling uneasy about it. If this is a good fix and it can be done by someone who owns a set of ratchets then this is awesome

Very interesting indeed. Subscribed to get more info.

i believe he is talking about the auto transmissions. seeing as the MT's dont "slip" per say.. they pop out.

however, i respect the fact that i could be totally wrong.

Looks like those would be easy to get to, i recall seeing that side of the tranny when i was changing wheels last night.

I'd hate to throw away 70 bucks on good switches, anyway to test a switch?

Cheaper over here, http://www.hondapartsnow.com/Page_Pr...e=&appid=11234

It should be very easy to get to.. just remove the battery.. idk why this didn't occur to me before.. I've seen the same problem with the 6th gen Accords.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3112/...8a12327f_o.jpg

So this are the ones i pointed right? They just added the 4th and 3rd clutch to it.

Yeah.. those are the right components.. Here's the Service Write-up for replacement. I guess it's much easier from below.. I'm assuming it can be done from up top too.. it's just the A/T temp sensor harness clamp bolts that can be tricky.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3664/...5c8b697a_o.jpg

IS this just for A/T, or both?

just A/T.

No kidding? I didn't know this was a known problem with the Accords. It made me feel very good to see the clutches in person. There is no physical problem, at least in the form of holding power. The clutches are of a good size and there are enough of them. This enforces what my friend said about the electronics causing them to slip and self-destruct.

I believe he said something about the Automatic Transmission Rebuilders Association recommending they be replaced as normal wear and tear at 50,000 mile intervals.

It would be neat for those of us that are going to do this as preventative maintenence to check back into this thread as the mileage gets up there.

I had a '98 Accord (3rd car).. It ran very well until I let my family friends wife use it to commute.. long story.. anyways while they were driving it she noticed third holding / slipping. Took it to an old school Toyota tech.. he used a solvent to clean the valve body and replaced the pressure switches. I remember him telling me that he sees the pressure switches going out over regular intervals. It ran well after.

Can someone elaborate about pressure sensors for those of us who are mechanically challenged? Are they located inside the transmission? How hard are they to get to and replace and what tools are required?

Why only 3rd?

What would be the cost of this process .. for parts and then labor approximately?

He told me about $100 for both sensors and half an hour labor so roughly $140 for everything. Maybe $180 if your shop doesn't do half hours.

this sounds like an fun and easy DIY....but I need a video....very nice i hate cars:thumbsup:

Good info, my tranny felt like it was going but I did the 3x3 flush and it feels fine now the slipping and stuttering went away. I think I am going to replace these as well now. I am a big fan of preventive maintenance and like many others on here I am very uneasy about the durability of my AT so anything that could bring me that extra piece of mind is great. I also see you have a transmission cooler, where did you buy that from? I want to pick one up.

I had the "D" light flashing on me last week, happened once but that's all it took, so I brought it into Acura to read the codes. Turns out it was code P0782 which is the 4th pressure switch. Part number is 28610-RAY-003 and list price is $81.10 CAD and of course the part is a special order so they didn't replace it yet. It's under warranty but maybe I should have the 3rd switch added to the work order.
Thanks for the info.

Nice! Good looking out for the auto guys. It is worth the 140 dollars.

Not to hijack the thread, but what about the 3rd gear issue for those of us with 6MT's?

So one of you guys hurry up and change this so i will know if it works....lol Im settin at 85,000 miles so i am thinkin bout this real hard.

I mean for a hundred dollars its not that bad of an investment at all.

o thank god. i was going to get a new clutch in my Mt, and i was like "gay what if it's something else!"

Guys, this is in no way related to the manual TL. Auto only. Two very different animals.

I'm going to do it but at 74,000 miles, I'm not having any problems so I'm not expecting any changes. If it does shift better or different I will definately revive this thread.

Subscribed.. highly important info here..

Thanks OP!

After reading this thread, and thinking that I am at 71K figured I would do this, placed the order for the sensors yesterday, gonna pick them up after I get off work today, and figure out how the hell to install them!

I'll try to take some pics, but its gonna be with my 'berry so pictures may not be up to par!

Bring it in & get it fixed under the TSB. Trans must be completely disassembled to fix it.

My TL-S is just at about 60,000 miles right now. This might not be bad idea to go ahead and replace those even though my transmission is feeling fine right now and I just had the fluid replaced.

I looked up the sensors on oemacura.com and see them on my 2001 CL. My transmission has 100k on it since it was replaced in 2005 under the recall, will replacing these help?

My car runs perfectly currently but I have no problem doing preventive maintenance.