gearbox

iTrader: (95)

im 99% sure its the maxlife and not the 05 trans. i rode in several 04-05 autos and noticed the trans shifted very rough on all of them with z1 fluid. even rougher than the 01-02s did.

Shift-E

I'm gonna have to take your word on it then :P Point is, Maxlife is amazing and it will solve all your problems lol

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

mine used to slip 500 rpms when cold, now with maxlife after a few months its down to 100rpms and the other nice thing is since the maxlife "warms up" much faster than honda fluid, many times i do not even get the slip at all. this is prolly due to the maxlife being thinner and able to work better in colder temps. if its really cold and i drive right away from a cold start, yes it will slip a bit. but its nowhere near what it was with z1 fluid. now its like the slip starts and the maxlife says, oh no you dont and quickly shifts to the next gear before the slip gets worse. after a few mins of driving, sometimes even before the engine coolant is warmed up, the slip goes away completely. maxlife really is like 'new trans in a bottle' as some have said. the shift quality is amazing. its the same as oem fluid with LC20 additive. when i used straight z1 by itself, shifts were rough. when i added lc20, big improvement. then i changed to maxlife, same shooth shifts. added lc20 just to see what happens, nothing changed. the maxlife is already so good, there is no making it better.

MindBomber

dammit.

Now I want to try maxlife..

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

the accord and odyssey guys, who got even worse of a trans than we did, swear by maxlife. i think almost the whole forum uses maxlife, esp after getting the trans rebuilt under 100k miles.

Civicnoobie

Looks normal? really? but you did notice it flare right?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

you can always get it from amazon, thats a pretty good price for a case. they ship to canada right?

http://www.amazon.com/Valvoline-VV32.../dp/B000CQ262C

the bitog guys really seem to love it

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...&Number=516954

Civicnoobie

I will have to try this out asap. Can I just use a wrench to get the tranny drain bolt off? And do you know if i can do this without jacking up the car?


I saw that but thats the stop leak one.

Shift-E

To be honest, you can barely even notice the flare, thats how miniscule it looks compared to the trannies ive seen with really bad problems.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

yeah that is a baby slip compared to others ive seen. this is the stop leak version of maxlife. DO NOT buy this version. it cause cause the seals to swell up too much and lead to trans failure from insufficient fluid flow. the regular maxlife contains seal conditioners (like honda atf), but not seal swelling agents.

http://valvoline.com/products/consum...h-stop-leak/38

MindBomber

Yeah, but you need to understand how a transmission works, you aren't driving a Ferrari with an automatic trans that simultaneously releases the clutch for second gear and grabs third gear. It releases second gear, the transmission is in neutral for a second, and it grabs third. The moment in neutral is a delay, it's not perfect, but it's not something you need to give yourself an ulcer worrying about. A flare occurs when the abrasive material on the clutch surface is almost gone and all that's left is bare metal, the clutch isn't strong enough to hold the gear and it lets go causing the spike, which will be more likely 1000rpms with light throttle. Even the larger spike when you apply heavy throttle is just a delay, it only spikes higher because the engine is turning more quickly.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

draining the fluid is usually easy and can be done with the car on level ground so long as youre able to get the drain bolt off. sometimes i have to use a breaker bar and there is not enough space to break it loose on the ground. a socket wrench will work if youre strong and can brace yourself properly.

Civicnoobie

Well slip is still slip, i just want it to be gone if i can. Will try the Maxlife.

Oh saw that, didnt think it was actual ATF. Gonna run to walmart right now and see if i can get some.


I see. I just got confused cause my 1-2 and 2-3 shift doesnt have the flare. So are you saying in my video, that is actually a delay and not a slip? If so then i think ill feel a lot better inside knowing that.

MindBomber

Nope, you don't use a wrench, you use a 1/2" ratchet that inserts into the bolt.

You could probably do it without jacking up the car, it's just a pain that way.. imo

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i want to make sure you get the right version so i went and checked my spare bottle in the garage. it is indeed this VV324 on amazon. buy this one if walmart is out.

http://www.amazon.com/Valvoline-VV32.../dp/B000CQ262C

Shift-E

Thats a good price. I think i paid 88 bucks before taxes when i bought the case. about $6.50-7 a bottle here

Civicnoobie

1/2" ratchet? Oh thought it was 3/8" socket wrench to get the bolt off. Well was hoping to save money on having to buy a jack but i figure i might as well get a cheap one. I hope i can jack the car up and it doesnt fall on me.

Shift-E

Thats what I meant by pause. A delay between shifting gears.

Civicnoobie

Thanks, did it actually say VV324 on the bottle or did you just go by your bottle looking just like the amazon one?

MindBomber

I think it's 1/2", it's been awhile since I did it..

It might be 3/8", now that you mention it..

I have a $50 jack from Canadian Tire, the car itself rests on jack stands when I'm under it, the shitty jack isn't to important.

Civicnoobie

do you have any of these delays on your 05 tranny? but the maxlife might be preventing that. Im very eager to put the maxlife in tommorow.

Ill pick up a cheap $25 jack, do i really need jack stands too? From what i gather when watching mechs in the past jack up the car for the atf, they do it from just under the passenger side door so the front right tire comes off the ground and they get under the car from the front...im guessing thats easier than side? this will be my very first time doing an atf change so i hope i can do it. At least im not having to pay $40 labour again. I already have a tranny funnel.

Shift-E

You can get a jack and 2 jack stands for under 100 at canadian tire. I'd do that if you're worried it will drop on you. Plus it's the smart thing to do.

MindBomber

IMO, jack stands are more important than the jack itself. A jack stand is very hard to kick over and it will never loose pressure and drop, the opposite is true for cheap jacks. Mechanics might feel comfortable working without jack stands for something quick, but that's because their jacks are much larger and $1000+

The kit for a jack, 2 jack stands, and wheel chalks is $45 at Canadian Tire, iirc. Chalking the wheels is very, very important.

Civicnoobie

This must be it, ill get this tommorow. Ive never seen any mech whos worked on my car ever use wheel chalks before. And ill get a 1/2" and 3/8" ratchet.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

yes it said that on the back of the bottle near the top. so look for that same part number when you pick it up tomorrow. its on the back label towards the top. part # VV324

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

the wheel chocks are a bit of a joke, i mean you will pull the ebrake up anyway and you can stick a piece of wood behind each one. ive heard too many stories about tire damage from people that used the chocks. it says in the instructions to firmly push them into the tire and i guess if you push too hard it can cause problems. ive never used em. for the jack and stands, yeah those are important. use the jack on the front middle support under the radiator where there is an arrow pointing to a metal support. its in the owners manual. then when its high enough. put one jack stand on each side of the car. what i like to do is lower the car until its just barely touching the jackstands with a small amount of weight on them. then leave most of the weight on the jack. this way you have two levels of protection. if the jack goes, car stays on the stands. but if you only have the stands holding the car and they break, youre dead. i also like a third level of protection, something else you can slide under the car like a ramp or a spare rim with tire. just in case the stands also fail. limit your time spent under the car as much as possible, in fact for a trans fluid change, all you should have is your arm under there to loosen the bolt. be sure and get a new drain plug crush washer too for the last drain and fill. i wouldnt waste them on the first couple drain and fills since the bolt is coming back off anyway. after the last time, drive the car 30 mins or more and check the fluid level 5-10 times while parked with engine on. make sure fluid is at the top line. and youre done! once you correctly check the fluid, it will stay like that for a long time. there is no chance of fluid burnoff or losing fluid unless you are leaking. so no point in keep checking after the first time.

MindBomber

I had my car jacked up pretty high from the front once, just the e-brake set, no wheel chocks. The ebrake lost it's grip and the car slipped back a bit and slammed to the ground, neither front wheels were on, thank god I wasn't under it. A little piece of wood or wedge goes a long way, redundancy is good.

Civicnoobie

ok thanks

I always thought the drain bolt is good forever. Does the effectiveness of the magnet wear off over time? or is the washer different from the bolt?

Did some looking online and its a 3/8" Torque ratchet, in other words just a ratchet right? I called cdn tire and they said theyve never heard of torque ratchets. Theyre $17. Looks like this?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i assume this is while jacking up the car, but before putting jackstands? i dont see how the car would fall to the ground otherwise...unless you mean it somehow slipped off the stands too which doesnt seem possible. thats when another object wouldve broken the car's fall and prolly kept it up high enough that you could jack it back up before any damage is done.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

civicnoobie yes the bolt is good for a long time, but there is a metal sealing washer and you need to replace that each time you remove and reinstall the bolt. you just need a 3/8 inch rachet/socket wrench. the square part goes into the trans drain bolt. its the only bolt with a square opening. make sure you get a real sealing washer from the dealer. its not the same as a regular washer from the hardware store.