eltatertoto

hey guys. i hope im posting this in the right place. long story short, i was driving the gf's car a week or so ago because i was blocked in by a moving van. i started up the car (cold) got going and i noticed that under moderate throttle, not granny driving but not beating the **** out of it either, it seems like its slipping. after the car warms up it shifts fine, and if you granny drive it or floor it everywhere it shifts fine. to be on the safe side i parked it and ive been driving her around because im unemployed atm. my 3.8 gets better mileage anyway because here in memphis noone goes below 50 and you really gotta keep her car in the power to keep up in between the lights, atleast the way we drive lol.

anyway im wondering what you guys' opinions are. id hate to tell her go drive it and find out it was something like the torque converter or something simple and have it destroy the clutches. then we're stuck paying to have it rebuilt. ive been there, done that and dont wanna do it again.


her car has about 140k, shes never had anything flushed and it looks like the exhaust has never been apart so im guessing its got the original cat.
thanks alot guys.

*edit*- its also not throwing any codes as far as i can tell. i dont have a scanner and the parts stores wont scan it unless its got a light on.

Nosepicker

140k? She's long over due for a transmission fluid change. If the slipping is that obvious while accelerating I'd say yeah her transmission's about to give. Change the ATF and see if that makes any difference.

anibis

I'd be a little weary to change the fluid if it hasn't been changed in a long time (years). The damage has already been done and new fluid isn't going to fix it, you're probably better off just leaving the old fluid in and driving it until the trans goes. I've read about people going a long time on these trans when they slip when cold.

How does the color look when you check the fluid?

If you do decide to try a flush use Valvoline Maxlife ATF.

eltatertoto

fluid looks good, the trans dipstick just sortof sits on the dipstick tube which bothers me.... but the fluid looks great for the miles. turning orange, it definitely needs flushed but no shavings or anything like that. how exactly are you supposed to properly check the fluid on these things? turned off it reads full but running, how ive always been taught to check it it sloshes all around and coats the entire dipstick.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

you could drain and fill one time to get 1/2 new fluid in there (3 qts out of 6 qts total). but mine has been slipping when cold for over 50k miles and its still going. i wouldnt worry too much about it and these cars do have quite a few trans issues. but slipping is not a sign that the trans is about to go suddenly. it has more to do with the seals honda used. the fluid will slowly eat them up and they will shrink, causing a loss of hydraulic pressure when cold (slipping). when it warms up, the seals work better and the slipping stops. i recently switched to valvoline maxlife dex/merc atf in the summer and the slipping noticably improved. much less often and frequent compared to using the honda fluid. the maxlife is thinner also, and warms up faster. it is the only aftermarket fluid designed to be used in honda transmissions (except cvt auto trans).

i would get a new dipstick too. the revised part seals way better. check fluid hot and with car running. you have to put the stick in and pull it out really fast to get an accurate reading. if there are two different readings (one on each side of the stick), you must take the lower reading. quickness is key and you do need to check it 5-10 times to be sure its correct. if the whole stick is coated, youre doing it too slow. these trans like to be filled to the max, but not overfilled.

eltatertoto

thanks alot for the tips... good to know its atleast a common problem. im trying to convince her to trade up, and this is a good bargaining point. largely because we're moving back up to my hometown about an hour east of chicago in indiana. and if her car is anything like the 96 neon coupe i had, winter tires can only do so much on a car that low to the ground. even my car has issues occasionally.