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I changed the transmission fluid around 80k miles, now its around 142k. I hear there's harm in changing it once it's been in there for so long. I need some hard facts here from some knowledgeable people. I haven't had any trouble with the tranny *knock on wood* but I want to change the fluid now. And want to know if I have some options other than leaving it in.  Thanks

Manual or auto?

I haven't heard that its bad for the tranny to change the fluid after a certain amount of time.  You have 60k on that fluid, you should change it.

Why would it be bad to change the fluid?  Fluid breaks down and needs to be changed.

He has an auto.

I have heard this in the past, and in my case my Tranny went 6k miles after changing the fluid at 74k

^Were you ever able to determine if that was due to the use of non Honda fluid?

The folks that rebuild it said nothing seemed abnormal about the fluid. So I'll assume that the right stuff was used but, I don't know.

Like Bill said, auto...


Not sure of the specifics but with 60k on the current change, I'm sure the fluid is gummed up a bit, not sure if I changed it, would I gum up other areas or not. I know nothing about our transmissions, that's why I asked.

The issue that I could see is that it has been working gummed up so now if you un gum it up it may cause problems.

That's my worry Mike. I might talk to a Honda tech when I'm ready and see what their 2c are, for what it's worth.

With 142k on it, I would love for it to last a little longer, closer to 200k. My own fault for not changing it sooner.

So it seems that no one has answered the OP's question yet. The reason you don't want to change out suuuuper dirty transmission fluid (like gunk) is because you can dislodge gunk or debris from somewhere in your tranny and it may end up in your valve body causing a solenoid to stick open or closed.  Once that happens, you pretty much need a new valve body...  Drop your pan and see if your fluid is gunk. If it is, you can try to do a fluid change, but don't expect the best. It can't really hurt trying the fluid change.

What about multiple drain and fills pretty on the same day? I'm waiting for my case of tranny fluid to come in to get it changed.

Well, with no room or time to do this myself, I will be taking it to Honda. The dipstick shows a dark red but it doesnt look too bad.

It's easier to do then an oil change and Honda will ass rape you. They were going to charge me $100 to do it so I just bought the fluid and went home and did it in my garage. You dont even have to jack it up.

+1

It's very easy to do. Especially if you're not going to replace the tranny filter (which involves removing your intake). That part was annoying for me, lol. It cost me $85 for a case of Honda Z1, $20 for the Magnefine filter (because I wanted to do it), and free for the labor.

If your that far over due it would be very very wise to change the filter.

Like I said, no room (someone buy shit in my FS thread) or time for this. I believe last time it was around $80 for Honda to do. I dont mind paying someone to do it,especially if it's Honda, if it saves me time on my back. $100 bucks is nothing in my eyes, if they do it right.  But like I said before, I wanted to make sure it was ok do it, esp with high miles on the current fluid.  

60k doesn't sound too bad. If you had waited the 142k then I'd say it was a bad idea. yes its over the recommended interval but you should be okay. Just follow what everyone said especially replacing the filter. All else fails, you could always do a manual conversion. Now whether you do a 5spd conversion or 6 spd is up to you. Obviously, the 5spd is much cheaper.

Here is what I would do and reccomend.

1) drain fluid, replace filter
2) fill with new fluid +1qt (yes over fill it)
3) with the car on jack stands and the rear wheels chocked start the car and run it thru all the gears to rinse out all the clutch packs and solinoids, doing it this way you do not have any load on the transmission other than the wheels themselves
4) drain the fluid
5) repeat 2,3,4
6) replace the filter again and fill to proper level with fluid

This will replace 90% of the fluid in the tranny and get any lose particles into the filter, this is why you are replacing the filter twice since the filter that is on there now is almost definatly bypassing the fluid and no longer filtering fluid, the second replacement is because the rinse out will kill that filter.

It's always shifted clean and smooth, but since I'm taking back ownership of it, I want to bring all maintenance items back up to date. Tranny fluid being my #1 concern.


I'll never sell this car so if the trans ever craps out, 6spd WILL be put in it's place. I'll call Tim/Skip to help with that (free room/board/beer) :)

Now I'm just going off what I'm told by Honda. They said that our trans does NOT have a trans filter. I didnt specify an auto or manual. I'm not going to talk trash about the dealership, I'm keeping my mouth shut....Although they did say they can drain and replace the fluid for 80 bucks.

I'll bad mouth them. We do have a filter. I think Jeff has changed his. Here is a picture:
(http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa22/csmalser/Misc/I4AT.jpg)

On high mileage transmissions, fluid change is a crap shoot because one has no way of knowing the extent of internal wear. When the old fluid gets burnt and worn out, the transmission experiences excessive internal wear, this causes the unit to heat up, heat causes the glue on the clutches to become brittle and to crystallize. When new fluid is introduced into the unit the high detergent aspect of the new fluid scrubs the old glue away from the back of the clutches rendering the transmission useless. Take it to the dealer, have them drop the pan to try to get a handle on the extent of internal wear then proceed from there.

Thanks for the pic Bill, crazy Honda service advisers....Above is a good example as to my previous questions. I guess I'll just have to drop the pan and see how bad it is....I would hate to have good intentions and a few hundred miles later my trans craps out.

Bill is correct. I replaced my tranny filter with a Magnefine one. The flow goes towards the firewall.

(http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/9193/dsc0738b.jpg)

It's easy to do, just make sure you have some towels to catch any fluid still in the filter/hoses.

I'd follow Paul's and Brian's advice.

I'll give you my $0.05 based on my high mileage experience.  I have 170k miles and changed my tranny fluid twice.  1st at 70k and 2nd at 150k.  I have never used the Honda fluid, based on extensive research at the time, I found lower cost alternatives that lubricate and protect as least equal to the Honda fluid.  This is my 5th Honda and I've never paid the ridiculous price for Honda tranny fluid.  My previous Accord went over 200,000 miles and the tranny performed flawlessly.  Simple drain and fill.  Believe 3 drain and fills are detailed in the manual.  Most I've done is 2.  As the mileage increases I will increase the frequency of service.  Thats about it.

I wouldnt be worries about changing it now.  Your car will thank you!

Thanks for the info Jason, much appreciated....But wait, *gasp* you didn't buy Honda fluid??

Nope.  Options of 1 are never good options.  Second *gasp* ....  I've never changed the "filter".  Per Honda its not a serviceable part, so why spend the money when it wasn't designed to be changed?

**flame shield up**

LOL after seeing the filter that they pulled out when mine was rebuilt I would strongly suggest changing it.

im not 100% on the whole thing about changing honda fluid. But i have flushed toyota transmissions with over 100k in them. haven't had any problems. if i was going to change it though. i would follow paul. with the process.

I've never changed my filter... I didn't find it necessary. Although I'd stick to Honda ATF-Z1 because it has special additives for the transmission. I'm assuming its for better lubrication and keeping the temps lower for transmission longevity. In other words, if the manufacturer calls for it, I'm going to use it.  You can really mess parts up if you don't use what's recommended.

Thanks for all the input guys. I'll be changing it next week.