EliteCM.net

This How-to is for the 4cylinder Automatic Sedan.
and steps should be the same in the coupe, and the v6's, but im not sure.


First Step: Remove Air Intake Box

Take off the Intake Box (top and bottom) by
Removing all Four Screws (4-head/phillips) - Red
And also the 10mm bolts - Blue

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/illomatic/IMG_1189.jpg)

Second Step: Remove hoses/pipes

Removes Hoses, AIT sensor (the thing with the wire), and clamp

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/illomatic/IMG_1187.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/illomatic/IMG_1188.jpg)

Third Step: Locate ATF Fill Plug.

Once that's out, everything should be good
look for a black plug ontop of the transmission
it says ATF on it, and has a "hook" on it.

Here's how it looks.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/illomatic/IMG_1192.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/illomatic/IMG_1191.jpg)

At this point, im assuming your car is on jacks, or you can get under the car somehow


Step 4: Remove Drain Plug
Get a socket wrench, and i believe it's the 3/4 socket (don't put any sockets on it, the drain bolt, is like a socket itself)
It's located on the transmission (the silver thing where the fill plug is, but on the bottom)
facing the passenger side.

Mine was "sprayed" with blue paint from Honda, yours might / might not.

and take the sucker out

dont worry about the "crack" sound you're gonna hear, its just the first time it's being removed.

let it all drain and screw it back on, firmly
Honda parts department told me the crush washer should be fine for a few changes.
then add 3 quarts of transmission fluid through the drain plug I spoke about earlier.


Follow the steps in reverse order to CLOSE the fill plug, and place the intake back

and go see how smooth your transmission is.


Enjoy guys.

Information was transfered from Gen7Accord.com.

I thought I saw some where else that you can fill the ATF thru the dip stick which seems much easier. Can anyone confirm this. I also read on handaaccessories .com that 4 cylinders do not have a filler cap holes which would answer my first question. Can some please clear this up because I'm planning ok doing this Friday.
Thanks!

For the 4cyl AT you can fill through the dipstick. For the manual 4cyl you need to fill through the fill spot (around the same area where the v6 fill spot is)

Suleman is correct.  I have only done a tranny fluid change in an Accord 5MT and TSX 6MT, but I have heard that you use the dipstick hole to fill the AT.

I actually had Paul do this for me almost a year ago as well as changing out the filter. Soooo smooth afterwards.

got a little creeped out until i read the whole "filling thru the dipstick" thing got a real answer haha
i was bout to say... mines running great right now and i did it the dipstick way

anyway... what a huge difference in color between what i had and what i replaced it with (72k old, not sure if it was ever changed before)
doesnt seem to make a huge difference but im sure my tranny more than appreciates

....also i did 2 rounds of tranny fluid so far..... prolly do a 3rd once i go another 5k (keep it like the maintenance book says)
is it really that important to do the 3 rounds?

I didn't think the transmission filter was serviceable?

yeah me too..how and where is the filter?

The I4 AT filter is part number 4 in the pic below.

(http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa22/csmalser/Misc/I4ATfilter.gif)

The V6 filter is part number 7 in the pic below.

(http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa22/csmalser/Misc/7thATFilter.gif)

See Paul's diagram above, I didnt know about it til he told me and most people dont know about it including Honda parts departments. They thought I was an idiot until I gave em the part #. LOL!

The yellow circle is the I4 filter.....

(http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa22/csmalser/Misc/I4AT.jpg)

is there a filter on the manual trans?

Not as such, there is a screen that at least on the V6 MTs is accesable, but if that is clogged you have bigger problems.....

I heard about this just recently at the Mercer County Accord meet last week.... Ima look into changing mine a changing the T fluid on my ride. Good stuff!!!

what is the part number on the i4 tranny filter? I am planing to do an automatic tranny cooler and want to make the car feel as good as it can be.

How much does the i4 Tranny filter cost and can I use any transmission oil or does it have to be Honda Only?

Not Sure about the filter, but you MUST use honda ATF.

25430-PLR-003


Around $15. Personally I would go with Honda only but I dont know if you have to.

Thanks guys, I will us Honda Only and found the i4 AT filter here (http://www.hondapartscheap.com/southbay/jsp/prddisplay.jsp?hidSwitch=&hidIrno=&catcgry1=ACCORD&catcgry2=2003&catcgry3=4DR+EX&catcgry4=KA5AT&catcgry5=AT++++++OIL+LEVEL+GAUGE-ATF+PIPE+%28L4%29&vinsrch=no&ListAll=&prdrefno=&act=&count=0&quantity=0). Part #4 for $13.86

Found Honda Genuine AT Fluid here (http://www.carpartsdiscount.com/auto/parts/2003/honda/accord/transmission_fluid/genuine_atf.html?3593=57029)[/size] at $9.55 a bottle. Also found Honda Genuine PS Fluid   here (http://www.inlinefour.com/oemhonpowste.html) [/size]at $4.14 a bottle.

thanks for the part number. I have 6 qts of the autotranny fluid for free since my uncle gave me some. He works at honda

In my experience from ordering chemicals online your going to pay a shitload in shipping. When I changed my ATF it was just cheaper to buy the fluid at my dealer. Just something else to think about.

Ya I don't think you save much by buying it online. Probably would end up costing the same amount when buying at the dealership.

how many do you guys need? I have like 10 bottles and am more then willing to hook it up. I am probably going to use 3-4

Any tips on removing and replacing the i4 filter there?

How do you go about removing it safely?

I was wondering... what is the size of the hose that connects to the i4 filter? I never really checked. I think I'm going to grab a Magnefine filter for when I do my tranny fluid. Need to get the Z1 too.

How much does the ATF z1 go for now? I have a few bottles that I can't use. I can hook you guys up if you want.

My local dealer wanted $9.15 a quart. I was just going to go on eBay and get a case of 12 to store in my house and do changes every 15k or so since I do a lot of city driving.

Hey Ken, how many quarts do you have? I'm going to be needing about 10 quarts to do my tranny fluid. Unless I should go with a fourth drain & refill, otherwise I'll be needing about 12-13. Send me a PM.

Edit: I just called my local Honda and they want $6.88 a quart, and $82.56 a case (12 quarts at normal price   ), plus tax.

Sorry to bring this back up. I'm going to try to do this myself without a breaker bar and help from a family member. I see that it says to locate a fill plug. I know the 4 cyl sedan doesn't have one (mine doesn't) as I believe we fill from the dipstick hole. Why is the first line of the OP state its for a 4 cyl Sedan? Am I wrong?

Also, do I let it remove old fluid for about 5 mins then drop in 3 quarts straight from Honda? Then let it warm up and check the level? Another question. I bought a Magnefine filter, do I change that before I put in new fluid?

You shouldnt need a breaker bar or help from a family member, it is easier than an oil change. I am not sure if the sedan has one or not but I have a 4 cylinder sedan and used the dip stick hole to fill it with. I would let it drain for longer than 5 minutes if I were you. Some people do a series of changes, but it is up to you. As for the filter, I would think you could do it while the fluid was draining. Hope that helps. You dont even have to jack up the car. Make sure you have a long funnel. Hope this helps.

I figure it should be easy enough. I'm just waiting for my filter to come in at this point. I'm just trying to figure out how much to put in there, because I know all 3 quarts won't fully drain in the 30 mins. that I let it drain. I'm just not  wanting to overfill since I don't want to go through the process of taking out fluid twice. Also, direction of flow for the filter is towards the firewall correct?

Yes, the flow goes to the firewall. When I drained my fluid, It filled three 1-quart bottles of the empty Z1 almost to the brim. So I'd say that it's about 3.5 quarts.

What I did my first time was drained it, then filled in 3 quarts, drove it around for 5 minutes, then put in another .5 quarts if I thought that it was too low.

Also, when you put the Magnefine filter in, you'll need to strap it down using two zip-ties. I put the filter in while the fluid was draining.

Good luck.

Thank for all the help. Picking up my transmission funnel in between classes later and a container to store the liquid in. Then its playing the waiting game for the filter. I have a feeling I'm going to be doing this in the frigid cold this weekend, but that fluid is nasty LOL.

Hello once again! I managed to change the fluid which was NASTY. I wasn't able to get to the filter though. I tried, but had no tools to take off those annoying ass clips. Any tips? Want to get it changed as soon as possible and I don't want to take it to a mechanic.

I just used a regular pair of pliers... They were a wide kind though. If you can't reach the clip part of the clamp, just use some needle nose pliers to spin it around. That's what I did. Channel lock pliers should work as well.

I couldn't maneuver shit in there LOL. I tried some vice grips and nothing. Going to try when it's warmer out, I guess filter change will have to wait a few weeks.

Did you remove your intake? I found it to be easier after I removed my SRI.

I wanted to do it without doing that, but that's what I'm going to do for next time. It's going to be cold for the next week or so, so it'll have to wait if I'm going to be removing the intake.

so where is the fill hole on a 4cl 5mt sedan?

Above the drain hole.

do i have to pump it it or just fill it?

There's no real way to fill it unless you have a fluid pump.

I don't know if this would work on an Accord but, when I used to change the MT fluid on toyota's I used a squirt top bottle with a piece of hose. I would put the hose into the filler hole and go from there.

I kind of do the same except with an actual funnel and have a long hose attched to the bottom. The way I have that funnel set up is I can have it sit at the brake MC and pour fluid comfortably.

thanks for the info guys. i just dont understand how i would pump it in.? and with what?

Those methods will also work fine.  Status, there are fluid pumps that you can use.  It's a hand pump that has a hose on both ends.  One end goes into the bottle of transmission fluid and the other end goes into your transmission fill hole.  The rest is magic as you pump the handle.  I think there's gnomes or something that transfer the fluid.  Either way, I've used these pumps to fill my transmission fluid and it works like a charm.  I've also used the methods that Mike and Z have mentioned and it works just as well.

so the hand pump sucks balls, i ended up switching to a funnel. so now when i drained it only about 2 quarts came out and when i began to fill it only took about 2.5 quarts. i ended up with about 8 ounces left. i thought it was suppose to be 3 q?

Quick newbie question here. Should I always change the filter when I do this? Dont think the tranny on my car has been serviced for a while, I think its about time for a change, so I will probably change the filter out anyway, but just for future knowledge.

I would. The filter is fairly cheap so you may as well

Can the tranny filter be replaced while there is fluid in the system, or does it need to be drained first (the inline filter)? The last time I did it, it was when I had the tranny fluid drained, so I wasn't sure. I'm thinking about picking up another Magnefine filter.

is the filter on top in the 4cyl? I assume you would only lose fluid due to gravity

Not sure if i should post in and old thread or not, but I've seen it done using the return hose to drain while running the car on idle and filling at the same time. They say you can get more then half the fluid changed that way. Sounds like I could damage the trans that way if I'm not fast enough pouring it in. Does
this sound right to anyone here?

I wouldn't take the risk.