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Hello experts,
I am new to this forum.though this is my first post, I am checking this forum from last few days.
I purchased the Honda Civic LX 4 door Automatic – 2002 about one year back. The car had 104K on it when I bought and now it has 112K. I have been changing the engine oil religiously from last one year but apart from this I did not spend any $ on any other maintenance. As per the Honda manual, the automatic transmission fluid change is due at 120K and I am planning to do this now instead of waiting for another 8K miles.
1) I am totally confused that should I go for the Flush or drain and fill( thanks to this website, I never knew what does that mean)
2) I read a post on this website that says I need 3QT oil per drain and fill. How many times you suggest I do drain and fill (manual says 3times – but no interval is given – does that mean immediately after driving the car for couple of miles?)
3) I am also planning to change break, coolant and power steering fluids. Do I need to flush these or drain and fill will work?
4) And most importantly, I am on a tight budget, and planning to order all the fluids from following website. http://www.hondapartsdeals.com/index...ntenance-parts
Can you please tell how much of each fluid type should I order? And if I take the fluids to a mechanic ( I don’t have any tools), aprox how much he will charge me?

Thanks in advance.
YR

 
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1. you wont be able to flush it unless you have a specialized machine. (even if you do, we recommend against it)

just drain out the ATF (auto trans fluid) and fill it back in. if i remember correctly, you can only drain 3qt...the other 6qt are in your transmission and flowing around (you have 9qt total)

2. drain and fill once. drive around for a while (like a few hundred miles) and you can do it again (for the fluid to circulate). at this point you should be good, but if u are super ****, you can do it once more after a few hundred miles. there is no need to do it more than that because you hit a state of diminishing returns.

3. these are changed/flushed differently. search and you will find more info. but heres the basic breakdown:

brakes: just bleed them until u get ALL fresh brake fluid in your lines/calipers/brakes (its spelled "brakes" not "breaks" btw. so when you search you can actually find the appropriate info)

coolant: just unplug the white plug under the radiator. let it all drain you and pour more honda fluid in there. thats the basics of it. there is a little more to it but you please search and you'll see.

power steering: you will need to get a extract most the fluid in the power steering reservoir, and then top it off with HONDA power steering fluid. turn the car on, let it cycle for a while (drive it around) and then repeat the first step. u never want to completly empty your PS resviour because u dont want to send air bubbles and create airpockets in your power steering system.

4. ATF, 3 quarts (if change it once); 6qt if u want to cycle it twice and 9 quarts if u want to do it 3 times (as i have described)

brake fluid, i cant tell the volume of that container, but you want about a liter of brake fluid to do a complete "flush." i would probably buy two of those on the site.

coolant, 1 jug us usually enough. if u can spare, there is no hurt in getting 2 jugs (one jug = 1 gallon)

powersteering fluid, i would buy 2.


let me know if u have any other questions.

 
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as for how much ur mech will charge you, it depends on your location. some mechs charge $50/hr and some charge up to 90/hr

with all that done, you should probably expect labor to be 100-200. anymore than it becomes a rip off (in my opinion)

all those things can be done very easily by yourself with a basic set of tools. actually, they are very very easy to do.

 
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thank you sl33pyriceboi.

 
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more questions...my car is running fine at this point of time. I am planning to change all the fluids(coolant,brake,powersteering and ATF) on a safer side, as I dont know how the previous owner took care of the car.
1)Am i at risk by changing any of the fluids mentioned above? is the transmission slipping problem has anything to do with adding new transmission fluid in your car?
2)I assume currently it has Z1 and I would drain and fill it with 3QT of DW1. is it safe?

 
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1) if u change the fluids, you are not at risk (well you CAN be at risk if u pour the wrong fluid in the wrong place...like pouring coolant in ur transmission). if you add new ATF, you might be able to help out your transmission slipping, but it is not a guarantee fix for slippage. you will need a transmission rebuild if it slips beyond the point of drivability.

2) yes, it is safe. honda wouldnt make DW1 and discontinue Z1 if they didnt think its backwards compatible. they are not stupid. you just see a lot of trash talk on the DW1 from all the skeptic people who really dont know any better and make groundless accusations about the new DW1.

 
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cool, thanks sl33pyriceboi!

just in case if anyone is interested. ordered following from hondaautomotiveparts.com

Part No Desc Price Count
08200-9008 FLUID(ATF DW-1) $5.76 X 6
OL999-9011 COOLANT (TYPE-2) $13.46 X 1
08206-9002 FLUID, P.S. $3.05 X 2
08798-9008 FLUID, BRAKE (DOT 3) $4.12 X 2

Shipping and handling came aprox $15. not sure how much the dealer would have charged, but this looks good deal to me.

 
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its much cheaper on there... if u bought it at dealer, you would have paid full retail PLUS tax... so its cheaper online, especially if you buy a lot.

ALL the parts that you ordered, you can do it yourself with a basic tools. you might want to invest in it and DIY. its pretty easy.

the coolant and power steering fluid change doesnt require any tools. you can do that easily. search teh forum or let me know if u need help or have questions.

the ATF and Brake fluid, you just need a jack, jack stands, basic 3/4 socket wrench with some sockets. its very easy to do both and there is a "how to" guide for all this on this forum.

save yourself some major $$$ (prob at least $200)

 
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Thanks sl33pyriceboi, I was thinking to take it to the mechanic,but your response encouraged me to do it myself. I will let you know how it goes.
I have another question which may sound very stupid; usually people doing oil/fluid (any) change at home, where do they dispose the drained stuff? I never thought about this before as i always took my car to the mechanic as of now.

Thanks again for the help.

 
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any place that sells oil has to take used oil (at least that is the law here in california).

i usually take it to walmart or autozone for oil disposal...

you can also just google "oil disposal" and your area and you should be able to find quite a few.

 
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as far as doing it yourself, i totally think you should do it... if u dont wan to do all of it, at least do most of it so that way you will get changed LESS at the mech shop.

plus, by doing it yourself, you will learn valuable things (experience) that money cannot buy.

so when your stuff comes, post up a thread or search....and we'll help you.


i commend you do (easiest to hardes)

1. coolant change. super easy. no real tools required.
2. power steering change. super easy as well. you just need something to extract the old PS fluid (i use a turkey blaster)
3. bleeding/flushing brakes. a little more complicated, but still easy. you will need two people (if u dont have speed bleeders)
4. ATF change. its easy too. easier than changing oil (same thing as changing oil but you dont have to change a filter)

 
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thanks sl33pyriceboi...I am going to do it myself...planning to purchase the basic tools this weekend.

 
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if u have questions of which tools you need, let me know.

 
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FREAK i jsut typed out a long as detailed response and the website hung and i lost it. SOB!

you will need: (short version of what i typed)

jack stands
jack
turkey blaster
19mm + breaker bar
10mm wrench (socket works too)
8mm wrench (socket works too)
3/8 wrachet
funnel (to pour your ATF into ur engine)


the "tool set" you buy should have everything in red

 
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They wont ship fluids... (at least not when I tried)

OP, What about your timing belt and etc. ??
It is rated at 110k miles you know.

 
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thanks sl33pyriceboi for providing the list of tools required.

CraigW,
here is the response I got from them:
"Your order is in process, and expected to be shipping out today. You should be email with a tracking this evening."
but I got the exact same email twice - today and yesterday.
I will update here when they ship the order(even I read the same on internet that they do not ship liquids)

About the timing bet, yes I saw that in the user manual. about 2 months back I took my car to a AAA approved mechanic, for a free 30 ( or 40 , don't remember) point inspection and I asked him the question about timing belt and the guy said I dont have to change the timing belt as its looking good - I am not sure though if this can be determined by a visual inspection. what do you recommend?

 
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When I tried fluids from majestic, the order took and all. Then later they issued a credit and stated they "could not ship the atf fluid via ups."

On the belt.... That is a big gamble. The person who sold it would not likely have done the 110k maintenance (any of the various fluids look like they have ever been done at any time, is your coolant blue ? very dirty ?) If that is the original belt it should be changed imo.

 
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Go to Oil Changers. They can flush it for you for $40 in about 15 minutes.

 
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just talked to majestic and they gave me UPS tracking no;

 
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40$ for changing coolant + brake fluid + ATF + power steering fluid?

 
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A flush is not recommended, Honda flush = 3 drain and fills.

Stick with OEM fluid.

 
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$40 for tranny flush
I think it was $40 as well for coolant flush
They'll top up your brake and power steering fluid for free

 
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Ok...thanks for that info. I am doing it myself this time for sure.

 
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yes I am planning to drain and fill X 2 and ordered all the honda fluids. thanks..

 
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i would highly recommend against this.

they most likely (i am 99.9% sure) DO NOT use factory ATF. they use some aftermarket oil. unfortunately, our auto transmissions are EXTREMELY fickle when it comes to ATF....

and by using a different ATF, your auto transmission is extremely prone to premature failure.

just think about it, if it cost almost $6 a quart (of genuine honda ATF), and a full flush would need 9 quarts, that would cost them $54 in JUST fluid.

most places bank on the labor, hence they charge around $100+ for the job.

imagine the quality of ATF you are getting for a $40 job.

 
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not to mention you said they "top off" the power steering fluid and such... most definitely not with honda OEM stuff.

 
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Hello,
My fluids from http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/ finally arrived on Wednesday. I purchased the tools mentioned by sl33pyriceboi from wallmart.
Ordered jack and jack stands from Amazon. Overall all the tools cost me about $100 .
Today I started with changing the coolant and power sterin and completed the same without too much of problems. Then I thought of changing the transmission fluid.
To be very honest , this is the first time I used the jack and jack stands. it took me some time to figure out the jack lift points , but after a bit struggle, i could put the jack stand under front passenger side jackpoint of my car. i could find the 3/8 drain bolt and i thought half of my job is done. But no! the drain bolt didnt rotate at all. It was jammed. After struggling for about 2 hours, I gave up and thought of doing more research before starting again.
Is this because the screw would have tightened by machine and not hand? I used the 3/8 wrachet.

 
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yea, the screw is in there REAL tight..... you might need a breaker bar for that job.

breaker bar:
http://www.harborfreight.com/3-4-qua...FUgaQgodKA7R5A

make sure you are turning the bolt the right way tho (this is a common mistake when people are forced to work in awkward position....you should be turning counter clockwise.


if u dont want to spend $20 on a breaker bar, you can do it the getto way by sticking a tube in your wrachet and extending it for the extra torque.

 
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actual $20 breaker bar on top, poor man's breaker bar on bottom. both work the same way.

 
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the 3/8 drain bolt is toqued from factory, but due to being on there a long time and probably NEVER been loosened, it sometimes build corrosion and crap between the bolt and the socket...and pretty much gluing it together...

just make sure you are turning it the correct way or else you might strip the hole.