2001hondaman

alright last night i was checking my tranny fluid on my 2001 honda civic lx.. and it was a bit low but not too low.. so i went to a local gas station and bought dexron II.. i went home and i put in about umm the most 1/8 of the bottle in.. wasnt much.. so i drove about a quarter mile and i noticed it was slipping a little.. and it started slowly to get worse.. i drove total about 2 miles and then i got home and left the car sitting my drive way.. now my problem and questions are.. do i do a complete transmission flush at a mechanic, where they have to pump all the fluid out, or is it ok for me to do 0nly the fluid change 3 times.. it was not synthetic fluid. it was certified performance engineered.. Sams club AUTOMATIC transmission fluid.. it says for use in vechiles previously servicable by dexron -III/Mecron Brands..

ezone

Not synthetic? The current real Dexron VI is synthetic. All other versions are now obsolete, and Dex 6 replaces them all, from what I understand.

The manual says Dex can be used in an emergency, but it may cause issues with shifting. Some people say it makes them shift hard.

I probably wouldn't trust the brand (Sams?) unless I knew who made it, no matter what car it was going in.
Some convenience stores here sell a "Type A fluid", and I have no freeking clue what car from the 50s that should go in, but a used car lot put it in everything they had on their lot.

1/8 qt sure isn't much, normally I wouldn't think anything of it, but you say it is doing something seriously wrong now.
Is it leaking out rapidly?

Since it is causing you problems, get it all out ASAP.
Honda recommends ONLY the multiple drain and fill procedure.
Hope it hasn't damaged anything.

Maybe the trans was already starting to crap the bed, and that's why you even bothered to check the fluid. Seems like that's what happens a lot of the time. Ignore until it causes a problem.

The TSB on trans flushing:
(Note the current fluid is DW-1 now, not Z-1.)
http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/p0420/A080100.pdf


HTH

2001hondaman

no its not leaking anywhere. no it wasnt doing much wrong before i put it in.. i will do the drain and fill procedure tomorrow..i only drove it about 2 miles i hope that didnt do much damage

Biscuit

"wasnt doing much wrong" means it WAS doing something wrong.
What was it doing wrong?

ezone

It's like being "a little bit pregnant".

2001hondaman

ok i did the drain and fill ... cost me like 100 bucks for the fluid crazyyy... anyways it runs but seems to be slipping very little while shifting from only 3rd to 4th gear... its a automatic... i checked the dip stick it kept coming up different everytime it was dipped... i will check it again in the morning.. should i check it while it the engine is off or on ,, cold or hot?? and could having too much fluid cause it to slip alittle?

ezone

ok i did the drain and fill ... cost me like 100 bucks for the fluid crazyyy...

Yeah, it ain't cheap for a case of proper fluid.



anyways it runs but seems to be slipping very little while shifting from only 3rd to 4th gear.

Flares briefly about 200 RPM as it tries to shift from 3 to 4?
Apparently that may be a common problem.


should i check it while it the engine is off or on

Honda is the only manufacturer I know of that wants the fluid checked with the engine OFF.
Run the engine for a minute, shift through the gears, put it back in park. Shut it off.
Check the ATF within one minute of shutting the engine off.


If you checked it with the engine running, most of the transmissions will appear low (falsely).

,, cold or hot??

Trans fluid hot.


and could having too much fluid cause it to slip alittle?

Would have to be pretty far over full.

i will check it again in the morning..

Cold fluid you probably would want --right at-- or just a hair below-- the low mark. Drive it 20 miles and the fluid will probably end up at the full mark when checked.


HTH

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

Where did you get the fluid changed?

If it wasnt the dealer, then they more then likely used the wrong stuff. Hate to say it.


Find out what was used, before you really destroy your transmission.
Check it hot, on level ground, engine off.

2001hondaman

i used genuine honda fluid fromthe dealershipp.... and thanks for the advice guys!

2001hondaman

anyways it runs but seems to be slipping very little while shifting from only 3rd to 4th gear.

Flares briefly about 200 RPM as it tries to shift from 3 to 4?
Apparently that may be a common problem.

Ya it flares about 300 to 400 maxx as it tries to shift is that normal.. mainly in the 3rd and 4th gear

ezone

NO, it is still not normal.

2001hondaman

ok thats not good.. i guess ill have to wait and see if it gets worse.. what shud i do from this point besides wait ..

ezone

Drive it.

Save your coins for when it craps the bed.


Several other people in this forum have the same or similar issues.
One person freaks out, another person just keeps driving normally.
No clue how long it can last.

Biscuit

Make sure your insurance will reimburse for a tow bill.

2001hondaman

ok now im having a problem lol.. ok i start the car and put it in drive it takes like 2 or 3 second to get into gear.. the whole time i can not push the gas because it will jump once it gets into gear.. and also when im at a stop light and im about to go when i push gas it also kinda jumps.. i have to wait a second or so then slowly push the gas for it onto to do it..

ezone

I think you had a problem before.
Now it is a huge problem.

Sorry, man.

And you now know exactly how long yours lasted.


Have you been doing this? Cuz it sounds like it just did.
It would just get a factory reman trans at our shop.

2001hondaman

ok i dont know if it makes a difference or not but the car has been driven all day and is hot it kind of jumps when im a stop light or stop sign when i push gas, bascially the rpms go up then seems to kick in to gear.. it doesnt do it all the time tho..
no i have not been saving my coins ill have to probably sell the car or something..

2001hondaman

ok now i drove the car til it got hot and parked it for like 20min and i checked the dip stick and the fluid goes way above the marks.. it goes up a bout to the tip of the dipstick before it gets round..

pmjr0987

you may not want to hear this, but you can try seafoam transmission treatment in the car and run it for a hundred or so miles under all driving conditions (city/highway) then flush it again. sometimes when old fluid stays inside a transmission it was essentially glaze onto the clutch packs. when you swap out the old fluid too fast and dont let the glaze dissolve it will slip. slip = overheat and that is whats killing your transmission at the moment. to make it last longer let off before it shifts and then slowly ease back into the throttle when 4th gear fully engages.

there are other treatments you can use online, but i myself have had good luck using the seafoam transmission treatment in cars in the past. at this point, it cant hurt.

2001hondaman

ok i will do the seafoam thing tonight, how much should i put? and should i do the flush again 3 times or 1 time is enough.. well i actually bought 9 quarts and flushed it 2 times not 3.. and i may think ther is too much fluid?? and yes i do let go of the gas when it kinda shift it helps alittle.. and when im at a stop sign i let go of the brake and slowly push the gas

pmjr0987

When you go to the store look on the bottle, i would say add the whole bottle. but just check to make sure, you can even call them to ask as well

http://www.seafoamsales.com/trans-tune-faq.html

this is a little Q and A i found awhile ago that helped me in deciding i wanted to try it. it is basically like a engine flush for transmissions. it will clean up the varnish and sticking valves inside the transmission and help it shift better.

run the bottle, run it for tank of gas or two and then flush the transmission again. this should help you situation. if it does not you can dump another bottle in and leave it in, id say at that point stop flushing it and just drive it while you save for a rebuild or junkyard transmission. if you look at the link i posted the last question says that you can run it forever in the transmission as it over time evaporated out of the system

2001hondaman

ok the stuff is called trans tune by sea foam.. i heard not to use any additive to our civic transmissions cause it will make it worse... ill do some more research on it before i try it.. Has anyone else tried trans tune?? and if i do decide to use trans tune should i drain and fill again just one time or all 3 times??

pmjr0987

its not an additive like you are thinking. its a cleaner. look it up it does not chance or alter the transmission fluids viscosity etc, it just removes varnish and gummed up areas that could be making it have sloppy shifting and/or torque converter problems

2001hondaman

ok i put less then half in of the trans tune..immediatly i started to hear a winding or humming maybe.. kinda sounds like a motorcycle from far when im driiving on the freeway... i can hear it at all times now just louder when i drive faster.. i hear it when i brake to a stop sign.. wierd

shocker1994

imo get a used trans man sorry !!!

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

I would not reccomend ANY additive/cleaning agent in these transmissions. They are far too sensative.

Get that stuff out of there.

Put in new HONDA DW-1 or the older Z-1 fluid and leave it alone.

Dont mess with it you are just going to destroy it faster.

Sounds to me like the pump inside the trans is going bad, in addition to the slipping clutches.

Like others already said, start saving for another tranny.

I am sorry there is no miracle product out there.

2001hondaman

damn tooo late now huh

ezone

It already pooped the bed.
Kind of hard to hurt it much more now. Still needs a trans job no matter what.

pjb3

I have a manual transmission so I may be wrong but I thought there was no replacable filter in the auto transmission. If that is the case I wonder where the varnish and gum end up. It would seem the best case would be they stay suspended in the fluid and get drained, worst case they plug a passage.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

the filter is there, and the gum/varnish ends up in it and blocks fluid flow. just not replaceable without opening the trans case. and unfortunately all the filters ive seen have been completely clogged. if they just put a large mesh filter instead of a super fine micron filter, then yes draining the fluid would likely clean out all the stuff in suspension.