honda-99

I can't leave dark red fluid in the transmission and keep driving, I'll have to change it sooner later. At this point it's whether to flush as in the YouTube video or just drain/fill/short drive x4 as described in the user manual. Thanks for your suggestion though gearbox.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

dark red is still fine. its when the fluid turns orange that its time to worry. i would just do a single drain and fill if youre set on changing it. drive around and do a second drain and fill 6-12 months later. this gives the new fluid a chance to mix in and not do too much damage.

honda-99

You've convinced me not to flush as shown in the YouTube but at this point I plan to change the oil according to the instruction I found on the Internet today. Click on the attachment below to enlarge. I couldn't believe Honda actually want us to dump and fill 4X. What a waste but I'm going to do it.

Again, thanks for your feedback gearbox,

Honda-99

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

okay but 4x is a bit much, and the fluid costs around $7 a bottle. thats almost $85 for drain and refill four times. ive only done one drain and fill at a time and the fluid always looks good if you do it yearly. i would say 2x should be enough for you to remove most of the old fluid the first time.

black28

do you guys think i should change my tranny fluid? i have 120,000 miles on it, and don't know if it was ever serviced before....

Strongbad88

bump, I have 130,000 with dark fluid. Should I leave it, use additive?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

leave it, it could get worse with new fluid and start slipping. no additive either.

MoreRicePlease

Hey Gearbox,

I recently bought an 02 ex with 85k miles on original body, engine, and tranny. I noticed when I purchased the vehicle that the tranny fluid was gray in color when I checked the dipstick. I asked around and was told that possibly it was drained and filled with motor oil. Whatever it was, I decided to follow the instructions on the user manual and change the ATF via the drain and fill method. I did the drain and fill about two weeks ago and have been checking the fluid color and level regularly, it appears normal (pink in color). The car is driving normally. However, for the first forty miles or so after I did the ATF change, I noticed the transmission was shifting irregularly, shifting some what hard, though, it never slipped gears or anything harsh.

A few questions for you:

What could cause ATF to be gray in color?
Is this what you meant when you said changing the original ATF at a high mileage can be harmful to your transmission?
Would you recommend that I do another ATF change to try and get some more of that old, gray ATF out?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

no atf should ever be grey in color, not sure what happened there, because even motor oil isnt grey. most atf should be red or pink. i would do several more drain and fills, since the trans capacity is 9 qts and you can only drain 3 qts each time. be sure to use the honda Z1 atf and nothing else. otherwise shift quality will be affected.

MoreRicePlease

Thanks for your quick response, Gearbox. Are you sure that is the best approach? I would hate to "dislodge" more of the gunk and metal shavings that have built up over the 85k miles that the tranny has been running on this 'grya ATF'. Another thing that I noted when I was first draining the fluid, first red fluid came out (only a small amount), followed by the gray colored fluid (approximately 2 quarts). I want to keep my transmission running at it's best. And certainly do not want to trash it. But i trust your sage input.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

well whatever the grey stuff is cant be good. you need clean honda atf in there for the trans to function properly. the grey color could be from worn clutch material, in which case the trans prolly wont last much longer anyway if its severe. could also be some water got in the fluid and contaminated it. make sure the dipstick has a tight fit, and if its loose go grab a new one from honda. in any case, i think new fluid is the best idea.

MoreRicePlease

Yea, I stumbled across another thread in which you mentioned the plx-003 dipstick. I am going to pick that up from local honda. How long of an interval between flushes should I have? Maybe do another one in 4-6 months? I have to say, I thought that the fluid would have turned gray again, since there is still seven quarts of ATF that has not been drained. But my fluid is somewhat of a dirty red color.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

you can do a drain every month, that should give the new fluid time to circulate and mix with the old. prolly do a few drain and fills. it will be costly but at least you will get most of the old stuff out.

MoreRicePlease

Picked up the PLX-003 dipstick yesterday. It is definitely worth $14 at the dealership! A snug fit to say the least. I will plan on watching the ATF color for the next month or so, and will likely do another change on it. Thanks for the info Gearbox!

phil6006

I have a quick but similar question.

My friend who is a retired mechanic is always telling me not to change to tranny fluid because he says I'll blow it if I do.

I got my 03 at 50k miles and now I have 120k on it without doing any sort of fluid service with the tranny. Is there a way I can tell if it would be ok to do a fluid change if the dipstick is more red than not?

I haven't had any problems with it yet, and I don't want to just change it for the hell of it and then start having problems, because that seems to be my luck.

02civicsi02

No your tranni will not blow up lol. He obviously is not a good mechanic to say that. It is recommended in the service manual to change the tranni fluid every so many miles.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

but he hasnt changed it for a long time. if there are problems with the seals, and the only thing holding it together is tiny bits of clutch pack, when you put new fluid it will clean out all the old junk including the seal meterial and then you will have lower piston pressure and slipping clutches. not worth it. and once you do it, there is no going back and you will need a full rebuild to fix the slipping.

02civicsi02

Another reason why people should keep there car maintenanced.

phil6006

so basically I should not change it unless I'm ready to get a new tranny?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

you can try a single drain and fill, it will replace about 30% of the fluid and may be gradual enough that nothing happens. then start doing yearly drain and fills to slowly dilute the old stuff. this is ofcourse at your own risk. i have no idea what will happen if you change it.

02civicsi02

I say you might as well change it. Eventually of you not changing it and the fliud will just keep getting dirty and eventually something will go wrong and you will have to rebuild it anyway. Change the fluid and start doing the maintenance.

phil6006

would you suggest maybe not changing the full 3qts at first? Maybe start with one, then a week later put in the 2nd, and then the 3rd?

I was thinking that if I drain the fluid into a clean container, that I should be able to measure and put 1 or 2qts of the old fluid back in with the new fluid?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i would drain some first and see what it looks like. if its still somewhat reddish (even if its dark), then you are fine doing the whole 3 qts. if it looks orange or burnt and smells bad, thats a bad sign and i would go in steps to replace 1 qt at a time maybe. altho its only a matter of time before the trans goes out because damage is done. the old fluid condition will tell you everything.

phil6006

well the color on the dipstick should give me a good indication right?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

eh yeah, its hard to tell but try finding a very white piece of paper and putting some on that. you can see it a bit better that way.

orchidthief88

I need advice!!

I just bought a used 2002 Honda Civic with 85000 miles on it. I've been driving it for a month and a half, and in the middle of a two hour trip on a highway going 65 mph, my transmission slipped going up a gentle incline for about 10-15 seconds. After I cleared the hill and the car was coasting down everything went back to normal and I was able to drive up similar inclines without problems.

Now I just did a proper dipstick test (i know i know, why didn't I do it before I bought it?!) and I see that the fluid is light brown. It doesn't smell burnt though.

Should I take the risk and change the transmission fluid? My alternate idea is to just to try to sell the car now before the problem gets worse. Any idea how long I have before the problem becomes more obvious??

I would really appreciate any advice!

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

it could die tomorrow, or last another few yrs. def change the fluid once to start with and see if shifting improves. remember you are only draining 1/3 of the original fluid so it will not cause too many problems. let it mix up for a few months and then do another drain and fill later. maybe a third time too until the fluid is nice and red when you check it. and only use the honda fluid, it has special additives that no other fluid has.

nuxil

Nice thread, I will check mine if it's all fine
For that kind of work I was thinking to do it with the honda dealership when the time occurs.

kbook

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kbook

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