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This weekend I changed the trans oil on my V6 6MT, and some members have asked me to do a write up so here it is!  

Note:  I did mine on a V6 6MT, but I couldnt imagine the I4 5MT would be that much different.

Tools you will need:
- flathead screwdriver
- 3/8 in. rachet
- a couple of 3/8 extension or one longer one
- 3 qts of Honda Manual Trans Fluid (only use 2.5 qts)
- rags
- oil pan
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t268/tibies/2012-01-09191909.jpg)
Step 1:
Put the car in first gear with the handbrake on.  And jack up the front driverside of the car.  This may be optional for some, but I couldnt get my pan under the car with it just sittin on the ground.
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t268/tibies/2012-01-09192023.jpg)
Step 2:
Remove the intake tube behind the battery (the filler hole is below it on top of the trans).  This was pretty easy for me as I have the K&N Cold Air Intake which is two pieces, so I just had to remove that section.  I just used a flathead screwdriver to remove the rachet straps around the tubes and pulled it out.
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t268/tibies/2012-01-09192303.jpg)
Step 3:
Use the rachet and extension to open the filler cap.  No sockets required, you just stick the end of the extension (3/8 in.) into the square hole in the cap and twist it open.  Do this before you open the drain plug or it will be a PITA (something about a vacuum being created when you undo the drain plug).  Take the cap off and set it somewhere you wont lose it.
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t268/tibies/2012-01-09193025.jpg)
Step 4:
With you oil catch pan ready.  Find the trans drain plug, it is on the front of the transmission and has the same square hole in it as the filler cap.  Open it up and let the oil drain into the pan.  This will take a few minutes.
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t268/tibies/2012-01-09201724.jpg)
Step 5:
Put the drain plug back in when the oil has stopped leaking out.
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t268/tibies/2012-01-09203945.jpg)
Step 6:
Fill the transmission thru the filler hole with 2.3 qts (I just put in 2.5 qts) of Honda MTF.  Reverse Steps 3 and 2, take your car off the jack and your done!
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t268/tibies/2012-01-09204831.jpg)
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t268/tibies/2012-01-09210402.jpg)

I asked the guy at Honda what the change interval was and he said 30k miles.  I had my car for over 45k and I never changed it, and I have no idea the last time it was changed.  So I actually did the change twice.  I changed the fluid, drove the car around for like 20 minutes to get the fluid movin around and then did the change again.  Just as a little bit of extra insurance.

After about 10 minutes of driving the car around I felt a serious difference.  The shifter just slides right into gear now, with much less resistance.  Def worth the work for how easy of a job it is.

Hope you all enjoy this, I will post up pictures to help sometime this week. :D

Three notes off the top of my head:

• Make sure the car is level.  Changing the trans fluid with only one side of the car jacked up is not recommended.
• Regarding step 3, good point for instructing to open the filler cap first.  The primary reason for this is to make sure you can open the filler cap and are able to add more fluid.  Nothing is worse than draining your transmission fluid and not being able to add new fluid.  If you drain it first and cannot add new fluid, then you will not be able to drive the car.
• Make sure to use new crush washers for both the filler plug and the drain plug.

Good stuff, thanks for the extras Mark!

Good write up. Perfect timing too, I need to do this myself.

Good stuff Ryan. Thanks.

Hey Ryan, you left out the s in transmission in your title. Don't worry. I fixed it for ya.  :D

Good write up.  Now we need pics.  Bobby, if you want to do it at my place next Tuesday, we can take pics of the process for this How To.

I'll try to get pics as soon as I can.  Might be able to do it this weekend.  But its been rainin out and by the time I get home from work, its dark out.

Yeah that's not a bad idea at all. I'll get my hands on some Honda MTF. Of course, I don't want to thread jack from you Ryan so if you get the pics up then its no big deal. We'll take pictures anyway just in case.

Oh dude, no thread jackin at all.  Less work for me. ;)

And theyll be more "in process" pics, as I already did the job, so Im not gonna do it again just for pics.  My pics would just show where everything is.

I took a few pictures when I did this a couple days ago. Let me know if you want to use them Ryan.

Post them up. Either myself, Tim or Mike can doctor shit up. Unless of course, Ryan wants to take the reigns.

No that'd be awesome, def post em up.

Here ya go.

Tools and supplies
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t268/tibies/2012-01-09191909.jpg)

Step one. Obviously this one isn't needed but I threw it in just in case.
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t268/tibies/2012-01-09192023.jpg)

Step two.
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t268/tibies/2012-01-09192303.jpg)

Step three.
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t268/tibies/2012-01-09193025.jpg)

Step four.
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t268/tibies/2012-01-09201724.jpg)

Step five.
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t268/tibies/2012-01-09203945.jpg)

Step six.
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t268/tibies/2012-01-09204831.jpg)
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t268/tibies/2012-01-09210402.jpg)


I think that's it. If you need any more let me know, I've got a few more on my camera.

This is awesome.  The pictures make it look so much easier than it sounded when Ryan typed it up.

Now can either tim, z, or mike combine the two posts so the picture is with the step?

Done

Woha, hold up here guys.

There is a big piece to this missing. On the front of the trans is a 10mm head overfill bolt, it will have a aluminum crush washer under it. That needs to be removed while filling the trans, fluid will come out of it when the trans is full. If you over fill the trans you will get fluid in the clutch housing and foul the friction disc since the breather tube is in the clutch housing.

I know which bolt you are talking about, it is sort of above the drain bolt, right? So that bolt should be removed when filling and once it starts dripping is when you have enough fluid? I removed mine the next day after I filled it to check and I had fluid coming out so I put it back in. I guess I should let it drain out some more.

I can snap a picture of that bolt if you guys want want me to.

Yes, you need to let the fluid continue to drain from that bolt until it stops, that is proper fill level.

The Haynes repair manual says to do the fluid change every 120k miles so you shouldn't have much worry about it being over due. Though the manual doesn't say anything about the fill hole you guys are showing.  It only refers to the one that Paul mentioned that your supposed to fill till it leaks out of.  The top one would be much easier to fill from though, especially for anyone with an aftermarket intake.  But thanks for the write up guys, I'll probably be doing this next weekend.  I'm sure it hasn't been done yet and I'm just over 60k.

Ya when I picked up the trans fluid from Honda and asked him what the interval was he said and I quote "Ummm like a long time, he said about 100k" but when he saw the car he said "If you drive it hard more often then not, he personally suggests 60-70k"

Dude at my dealer said 30k... dick...  him not you.

I should have known that such an easy job would turn into a PITA.  Started this job an hour ago thinking it would only be a half an hour job and I still haven't even drained the old fluid yet.  I can't get the top fill bolt out of the tranny.  I can only put so much torque on it before I'm afraid my extension is gonna snap because it is twisting so much.  I'm soaking it with pb blaster now hoping that helps.

On a side note, I have no dealers within about a half hour drive so I didn't get the honda tranny fluid.  I went with royal purple synthetic 10w-40.  I know the manual says you can run either 10w-30 or 10w-40 but do you think it matters that I went to synthetic?

I wouldn't run Royal Purple.  Since you're having trouble with the fill bolt, have the closest dealership order the fluid for you.  I've used 3/8" extensions and not broken them.  If you're really worried about it, use a 1/2" extension instead.

... the hole on the filler cap is a 3/8... a 1/2 would be too big.

I'm pretty sure that he meant using a 1/2" drive set instead of 3/8" drive, not the size of the actual socket itself.

You don't use a socket, You plug the cube at the end of the extension into the hole on the filler cap, therefore a 1/2 extension would be too big.

Edit: Unless he means a 1/2 extension with a 1/2 to 3/8 converter on the end...

Sorry, I keep forgetting that this is a J Series.  I'm used to K series transmissions.  The bolt for the filler and drain on my tranny use a 17mm socket.  Only the overflow uses the 3/8" drive.  Anyway, use the extension and breaker bar if you need to.  Honestly, it takes a bit of force to crack them loose.

I had a lot of trouble breaking my filler bolt free as well. I ended up spraying some PB blaster and letting it soak for a good ten minutes then I used a breaker bar with an extension on it like Tim said and pushed as hard as I could until the bolt broke loose.

I did end up getting it.  I went up to a half inch drive with a 3/8's adapter, a breaker bar and a three foot pipe.  It still took nearly all the force I could have applied.  I just didn't feel comfortable with putting that much torque on the bolt and housing.  For having around 65k miles on it, I could still partially see through the oil as it was draining.  I was surprised how good it looked.  One problem with the overflow hole is its diameter is too small.  I filled up till it started coming out...well it took about two hours to stop coming out of the hole.  It's so small that it wouldn't let the oil come out in a stream.  Instead one drip would come out at a time.  On a side note, I thought you guys said elsewhere that the 6speed trannys had factory magnetic drain plugs.  If we do, there was not a single spec of debris on mine, which I guess is a good thing.  I was just expecting to have something to clean up.


And of course, just like every other job recently, I snap the last bolt to put it.  That stupid 10mm overflow bolt just twisted the head right off.  It had to have been damaged ahead of time.  It came out without much pressure and when I went to put it back in, it barely snugged up before twisting off.  Now I have the threads stuck in the tranny and I really don't want to drill it out...

Hey Tim, any chance you could consult your awesome shop manual for the proper torque specs for the drain, fill, and overflow bolt?

I could, but I don't have the V6 supplemental manual.  :okay:

(http://i61.tinypic.com/nvtz0i.png)

THIS JUST HAPPENED. How did you get this 10 mm bolt off? Not much space to work on. BTW here are the Torque specs:
(http://i62.tinypic.com/34zh7wy.png)