Sea Bass

I'm sure without reading further, some of you will automatically answer "Yes." Haha.

But here's the background:

2002 EX with 223k miles on the original transmission. In the coming month I'm going to address a lot of nagging issues I've been having with the car in the hopes that it'll be good to go until I hit at least 300k.

I'm about to start a new job in July where I'll be driving a lot and and working 6 day 80 hour weeks. I absolutely won't have the time or money to address this if my transmission goes out in a couple months and I have to pay someone to fix it for me. I don't have a backup ride either so yeah I don't want my tranny to go out on me anytime after July.

So here's the issues:

@217k I started to notice "shift flare" or whatever you call it between 2nd and 3rd gear

@220k it started to "clunk" really hard when I shift into R. It shakes my car.

@223k (this weekend) I noticed it was clunking into 1st when I was slowing down for stoplights and whatnot.

ATF was last changed at about 220k.

Aside from the those issues it's very drivable. It handles the heavy stop and go/highway driving very well.

I don't know if I should go ahead and swap it and be done with it, or maybe I'm breaking the cardinal rule of "if it aint broke, don't fix it."

If I do end up replacing, where's a good place to get a new one? eBay?

mcnoople

Are your motors mounts in good condition? At 200K+ they could easily be bad and causing the clunk into gear. They can also can something that feels like a flare on shifts.

What method was used for the trans fluid change?

I have an accord that are known to have transmissions that are about as strong a warm cheese. In the 35k miles I have put on the car I have changed the atf more than twice as many times as I have changed the oil.

Why? I have access to unlimited amounts of honda atf and fear the trans dying much more than I fear killing a f23 engine. The f23 was rock solid and replacements can be had for $500.

Sea Bass

I changed the front and passenger (AKA transaxle??) motor mounts at 211k so those should be good. Aren't there 3 total though? Is it the driver's side engine that could be giving me problems?

I changed the ATF like I always have: drive around til it's warm, drain it, add fresh, shift thru the gears before I drive anywhere, then drive it around til it's warm, then finally check the level. I only put in what I take out so as not to overfill it. This method is per the Chilton's manual. Always used Honda brand ATF.

mikey1

personally i would just drive it until it dies,

who knows, it could go another 100k+ miles or more,

if you dont have it already it might be a good time to pay for road side assistance/free towing just in case

Sea Bass

What happens when a transmission technically "dies"? Like, one day I'll get in my car to go somewhere and it'll just not move? Or is it usually a slow death, in which I lose certain gears one by one? Sorry for the questions, I just wanna mentally prepare for this day that will inevitably come one way or another.

mikey1

what happens when a person technically "dies"??

many different ways or causes,

some trannys will show signs ahead of time, other will just have a "heart attack" and die,

it is your money to spend, i cant tell you how to spend it,

from what you are describing there is no way to predict how much longer it will last, like i said, you might get another 100+K out of it

ezone

If you absolutely need it to be reliable, it isn't.
It's already got symptoms that aren't easy to ignore.
Nobody can tell you how accurately just much longer it will last.
When they go, quite often there is very little warning and you could get stranded.


You should have a plan for another trans at the ready, you could look for a backup car ahead of time and get it ready for duty, or be ready to buy a bus pass on a moments notice.

You could drop between 2k-3.5k on a trans job for this car, OR you could use that money for a nice downpayment on a new car (with a warranty) (just a thought)



I replaced an early 7th gen trans a couple weeks ago (first in a long time), it had been having "the symptoms" for about 10k miles before it finally wouldn't pull itself any more. Guy drove it to the shop and stated the symptoms, then I tried to take it for a test drive (to verify the complaint of course) I made it about 100 yards, then it would barely pull itself back to the parking lot (engine at redline, creeping along at about 5MPH). I thought it wasn't going to make back to the lot.
Then the guy can't believe I would say he shouldn't try to drive it anymore (he drove it to the shop for a trans problem, so it must be fine? SMH).
He bought a HONDA reman trans replacement. Surprised the heck out of us.
For the price of the job, plus all the other issues the car had, I'd have thought hard about putting the money into a much newer car.

Phillip123

I'll be the one from your first sentence - YES