Yes, the AW trannies are also second to none in my opinion. Smooth shifting and excellent durability/longevity. GMs are excellent as well. Although I do not know if they have the longevity of the AW.
02 Honda Civic Unknown Fluid/Unknown Miles
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Originally Posted By: parimento1
Yes, the AW trannies are also second to none in my opinion. Smooth shifting and excellent durability/longevity. GMs are excellent as well. Although I do not know if they have the longevity of the AW.
The older AW units were pretty good. The newer units such as the TF60-SN and the AW55-50SN in the VW and Volvos, respectively, have not been very good at all. Lots of valve body problems. Toyota has had its own share of problems with the AW 6-speed autos as well. GM might actually be better now, but only time will tell.
Yes, the AW trannies are also second to none in my opinion. Smooth shifting and excellent durability/longevity. GMs are excellent as well. Although I do not know if they have the longevity of the AW.
The older AW units were pretty good. The newer units such as the TF60-SN and the AW55-50SN in the VW and Volvos, respectively, have not been very good at all. Lots of valve body problems. Toyota has had its own share of problems with the AW 6-speed autos as well. GM might actually be better now, but only time will tell.
So wouldn't Amsoil ATF or M1 help to some extent in the Honda tranny that a prone to heat related failure and the synthetic ATF should do better under hot conditions.
Originally Posted By: Donald
So wouldn't Amsoil ATF or M1 help to some extent in the Honda tranny that a prone to heat related failure and the synthetic ATF should do better under hot conditions.
The Honda transmission never failed due to heat. Some of the early 5-speed autos had insufficient lubrication to the 2nd gear that could cause it to overheat and snap, but this was corrected by the addition of an external oil jet (internal on later models). In that case, the fluid used wasn't the problem as there simply wasn't enough fluid getting to the 2nd gear.
So wouldn't Amsoil ATF or M1 help to some extent in the Honda tranny that a prone to heat related failure and the synthetic ATF should do better under hot conditions.
The Honda transmission never failed due to heat. Some of the early 5-speed autos had insufficient lubrication to the 2nd gear that could cause it to overheat and snap, but this was corrected by the addition of an external oil jet (internal on later models). In that case, the fluid used wasn't the problem as there simply wasn't enough fluid getting to the 2nd gear.
Best solution is to choose a Honda with a manual transmission! While I haven't had any issues with my first and only automatic (2005 CR-V) I'm reluctant to do too much steep trail driving for fear of sending the transmission to an early death. On a hunting trip last month I definitely got the transmission hot (could smell something I'd never smelled before) after climbing a very steep grade at about 15-20 MPH. Did one drain and flush since then and am now trying to learn as much as possible to reasonably extend the life of this tranny.
Restriction in the filter is another issue that can cause shifting problems.
Introduce this thing to a new transmisson filter and a quality fluid such as the Amsoil and watch what happens. I would be conservative with the first filter change interval after changing fluids, however.
REDDOG
Introduce this thing to a new transmisson filter and a quality fluid such as the Amsoil and watch what happens. I would be conservative with the first filter change interval after changing fluids, however.
REDDOG
Update: 3/8/09
First off, I would like to say I'm amazed that this thread is still on the first page, that is awesome.
In the past year I did an Auto-RX run, added an external filter (Perma-cool) and cooler (B&M). Auto-RX seemed to help slightly, but it wasn't a magic bullet that fixed the problem. I recommend if you have a Honda that is acting up to at least get a external cooler and filter.
From all the reading I have done, I have come up with a theory on why this is happening on these cars. I believe a significant amount of this is due to having garbage o-rings inside this transmission. This issue seems to come up on almost all Civics before the mid-generation facelift(01-03), but also seems to occur on other Hondas as well.
I think this is due to the fact that as rubber ages it becomes more and more brittle. As this happens it is less flexible, which doesn't allow proper amount of fluid to the clutch packs (when cold). This causes the starvation of fluid and the flaring between shifts.
Combine that with required average fluid, no filter (these have strainer systems) and poor cooling and you have the makings of a major problem.
Some notes:
They do not have a traditional filter. They have a strainer that "filters" the fluid out. Basically the flows through a metal screen. You can not get to this strainer with completely dissembling the transmission. You can see some issues that arise when the marginal Z1 stays in the transmission for too long.
These do have a magnetic drain plug that you clean when you drain and fill, but that still isn't as effective as a traditional filter.
The cooler that is built into the radiator does a poor job of cooling. These things eat up Z1 fluid fairly quick.
I believe the torque converter wears faster than average, but that doesn't affect this particular issue very much.
I am going to try some Amsoil fluid next change interval. You can only use Z1 and Amsoil from what I have read. Most others do not work very well in these transmissions. Plus Z1 has a crazy amount of friction modifiers compared to the big 3 fluids.
Right now I have 125K on it and it is still actiing up, but I feel a little better knowing that I have preventative measures in place to buy me some time. I've read on the Civic forums that guys with this setup are still going strong 20k+ after they noticed the issue. Keep up the discussion, I'll try to check back more often and add some input.
Edit: How do I change the title of this topic? I want to include my update is on page 3.
First off, I would like to say I'm amazed that this thread is still on the first page, that is awesome.
In the past year I did an Auto-RX run, added an external filter (Perma-cool) and cooler (B&M). Auto-RX seemed to help slightly, but it wasn't a magic bullet that fixed the problem. I recommend if you have a Honda that is acting up to at least get a external cooler and filter.
From all the reading I have done, I have come up with a theory on why this is happening on these cars. I believe a significant amount of this is due to having garbage o-rings inside this transmission. This issue seems to come up on almost all Civics before the mid-generation facelift(01-03), but also seems to occur on other Hondas as well.
I think this is due to the fact that as rubber ages it becomes more and more brittle. As this happens it is less flexible, which doesn't allow proper amount of fluid to the clutch packs (when cold). This causes the starvation of fluid and the flaring between shifts.
Combine that with required average fluid, no filter (these have strainer systems) and poor cooling and you have the makings of a major problem.
Some notes:
They do not have a traditional filter. They have a strainer that "filters" the fluid out. Basically the flows through a metal screen. You can not get to this strainer with completely dissembling the transmission. You can see some issues that arise when the marginal Z1 stays in the transmission for too long.
These do have a magnetic drain plug that you clean when you drain and fill, but that still isn't as effective as a traditional filter.
The cooler that is built into the radiator does a poor job of cooling. These things eat up Z1 fluid fairly quick.
I believe the torque converter wears faster than average, but that doesn't affect this particular issue very much.
I am going to try some Amsoil fluid next change interval. You can only use Z1 and Amsoil from what I have read. Most others do not work very well in these transmissions. Plus Z1 has a crazy amount of friction modifiers compared to the big 3 fluids.
Right now I have 125K on it and it is still actiing up, but I feel a little better knowing that I have preventative measures in place to buy me some time. I've read on the Civic forums that guys with this setup are still going strong 20k+ after they noticed the issue. Keep up the discussion, I'll try to check back more often and add some input.
Edit: How do I change the title of this topic? I want to include my update is on page 3.
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It would be nice is Honda trans had a spin on filter like some Subaru trans have.
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