Transmission Fluid

[meangreenLXi]

I went to a muffler shop and asked for a transmission fluid change and they said that because my milage was so high (117k at the time) that they wouldn't do it because, the materials that float around in the transmission fluid help it work the way that it's working now, because it's used to the level of sludge that's in the fluid and that if I were to change the fluid, it would harm the tranny, he said if I cleaned out the old fluid and added new stuff it would take away all the old fluid contents and in those contents were essentials that had come from the transmission and it needed those contents for my engine to continue to work properly. I got word online here earlier, that it's okay for me to do so if my tranny isn't bad and that the muffler shop didn't want to be responsible if something happen to my tranny and that most shops won't do it with milege over 70k. I just wanna know how many of you guys have or do change your transmission fluid every 15 or 30k and have milege over 150k.

[DBMaster]

I used to change mine every 15 for the first four years and then every 30 after that because I switched to synthetic fluid. I have over 206K on the original transmission and have never had a problem with it. My last car was a 72 Pontiac Catalina with the Turbo 400 transmission. The fluid was not changed for over 70K miles when I got it, but I started changing it annually. LOTS of crap got washed out of it, but it kept going strong and was still all original when I sold the car at 212K miles.

In other words, change the fluid! You might need to do it a couple of times within a few days to get as much of the old stuff out as possible. I have heard that crap about not chaning it if it has been in there a long time, but I have not seen a transmission failure because of that. I have, however, seen quite a few failures from NOT changing the fluid.

[Mike's89AccordLX]

Can someone get pics of the "fill" plug or bolt? I was looking around awhile back and couldn't find it and all I found was the drain plug.

[meangreenLXi]

The procedure I was told is, drain - fill - run the engine - drain - fill.

[DBMaster]

There's a screw in cap w/dipstick right down below where the valve is located in your low pressure A/C hose. I can't post pics at the moment. It has a handle on it.

As far as the procedure, I would drain it, run it a few days, and drain it again. This might be one of thsoe times where the total fluid flush is not a bad idea. Not too expensive at a tranny shop, but pretty messy to do yourself.

[njpeter]

lots of shops will not touch tranny fluid changes on high mileage cars..too many scammers out there. I had to sign off once to get the fluid on my van changed. It is sooo easy on an accord, it's a laugh.

You'll need a really long-ass funnel, three quarts of honda brand fluid and a sturdy 3/8 inch ratchet. Honda fluid appers to be much lighter in weight then the regular dexron..it did make a substantial improvement in the shifting of my 88.

three quarts is right on the money..just drain, put the plug back and refill..repeat monthly if you've been having problems.

snake oil not suggested. most serious tranny problems cannot be fixed with a fluid change btw. swap the tranny..soon I'll be busting open a bad tranny ( hard shifting between 2nd and 3rd) just to see what the deal is...maybe not too touch to fix, majestic has the 2nd clutch for about $150 if it's not full of metal bits...you don't seem to need to many special tools..but any legit tranny shop will want to change everything..labor can kill all profits ( and then some) if you have to pull the tranny out for a "re-do"

[AccordEpicenter]

Yeah, I agree, most serious tranny problems cant be helped with a fluid change, if the fluid was burnt the damage has been done. Well, If you let the tranny oil change go, its not good, cuz tranny oil breaks down, like any other oil, but after its been used for like 100k miles or more and it hasnt been changed, changing it can cause really messed up shifting and erratic automatic problems. Like, i thrash the auto (cuz i hate autos) and when i had my tranny oil changed last ( i change it regularly) it wouldnt upshift until 4k for the first 3 days, then it went back to normal... but somtimes it doesnt, it depends how bad your tranny is. Yes its very beneficial to use honda atf, you can use dex but the honda stuff is very friction modified, so its not just standard dex

[charlesb2003]

my tranny's been shifting rough between 1st and 2nd and 2nd and 3rd. like when i accelerate and it shifts it jerks the whole car... and i tried checking the fluid but i can't get the dang dipstick/cap out! the guy who put it in must have cross threaded it and i can't seem to get any tools close enough to it to grab onto it... there's so much stuff in the way. is there any chance that a fluid change might help me or do i need a new tranny?

also.. the car vibrates in gear when i come to a stop and i've eliminated everything engine wise that could cause that... i've heard that a bad tranny can cause that too... so am i screwed r what?

[charlesb2003]

well i finally got the cap off and changed my fluid with mobil 1 atf and a bottle of lucas transmission fix. shifts a lot smoother now.

[meangreenLXi]

Cool, shifts smoother like mine began to. I'm now debating putting in some of the additives as I see you've added the transmission fix. Has anyone tried the performance additives for high reving sports compacts? I seen this stuff at advanced autoparts.

[1988starter]

The only additives I trust are from the lucas company

[meangreenLXi]

Okay, I remember you talkin about them in the other thread, when I was talkin bout my car jerking as I took foot off the gas. That doesn't happen any more, but Lucas, okay, I'll look up their additives. The guys at the autozones, advanced auto parts and pepboys will tell you anything about the products to get you to buy them. I wanna know by people who are using the products and to know what works for the "average joe" like myself.

[1988starter]

Well most partsd counters have a lucas display that gear thing with the oil inside any way yea advanced auto parts pepboys ect nappa should carry it here is a website http://www.lucasoil.com/

[meangreenLXi]

Oh yeah, starter thanks for all the information, I've changed the transmission fluid and that made the gears switch smoother on take off and just driving in general. Now does that mean that my transmission is bad or going bad, how do i determine that?