92 Accord with 299000 km, ATF OCI with Dexron II?

[Mr_Accord]

I have a 92 Accord LX automatic that is just about to hit 299000 km's. I'm the third owner of the car and I have been driving it for about 4 years now doing all of the regular maintenace required but one thing I haven't changed is the ATF in the transmission. The owner's manual says to change it every 30000 km's and I have put atleast 40000-50000 km's during my 4 years behind the wheel and I don't know when the last time the transmission oil was changed with the previous owner so who knows how many km's the ATF has seen. I'm a college student who really needs this car to last I can't afford a new car or transmission swap. I change the motor oil every 5000-6000km's and its running great but I also want the transmission to stay the same.

But I have heard from several people that transmissions that old running with really old transmission fluid should be just left the way they are until they're dead because putting new oil in a transmission used to old oil could break it? does that make sense? My family has a 91 Ford Aerostar with 259000 and the ATf was changed at 100000 and its running great.

Another thing I'm worried about is the previous owners did the bare minimum when servicing the car, cheapest spark plug, air filters and also the cheapest ATF and motor oil off the shelf. I checked the ATf its still red and looks good but its most likely a cheap brand and its old.

What do you guys thing? if I do change it should I stick with a good conventional Dexron II or M1, AMSOIL?

 

[UberxG]

Amsoil ATF if you can find it

Your best bet is Honda ATF-Z1

 

[c3po]

Originally Posted By: Mr_Accord
I have a 92 Accord LX automatic that is just about to hit 299000 km's. I'm the third owner of the car and I have been driving it for about 4 years now doing all of the regular maintenace required but one thing I haven't changed is the ATF in the transmission. The owner's manual says to change it every 30000 km's and I have put atleast 40000-50000 km's during my 4 years behind the wheel and I don't know when the last time the transmission oil was changed with the previous owner so who knows how many km's the ATF has seen. I'm a college student who really needs this car to last I can't afford a new car or transmission swap. I change the motor oil every 5000-6000km's and its running great but I also want the transmission to stay the same.

But I have heard from several people that transmissions that old running with really old transmission fluid should be just left the way they are until they're dead because putting new oil in a transmission used to old oil could break it? does that make sense? My family has a 91 Ford Aerostar with 259000 and the ATf was changed at 100000 and its running great.

Another thing I'm worried about is the previous owners did the bare minimum when servicing the car, cheapest spark plug, air filters and also the cheapest ATF and motor oil off the shelf. I checked the ATf its still red and looks good but its most likely a cheap brand and its old.

What do you guys thing? if I do change it should I stick with a good conventional Dexron II or M1, AMSOIL?


If you want it too last a long time then I would put in Amsoil ATF.

I would not go by that old wives tale about not changing the transmission fluid.

If you want it to last longer, think about a Magnefine or putting a magnet from a hard drive on the bottom of your transmission pan.

 

[peterdaniel]

Originally Posted By: c3po

If you want it too last a long time then I would put in Amsoil ATF.

I would not go by that old wives tale about not changing the transmission fluid.


Uhm.... theres a LOT of truth to that olds wives tale..

And you would have to completely flush out the old ATF to get any real benefit from the very high expense of using Amsoil ATF

His transmission will wear out no matter what fluid he uses. He's not pulling a trailer or dragging in hot weather so regular transmission fluid would be just fine. You should be saving your pennies for a new transmission or car instead of throwing it after WAY WAY WAY overkill for your car.

 

[peterdaniel]

And how does the fluid look AFTER you have driven it for say.. 1 hour? Does it smell good? Look Good? Level correct? Did you check it properly ( while its in neutral and hot?) How does it shift? smooth or ? 299K is ALOT of miles on ANY transmission. At this point, if all the above its good, then DON'T FIX IT.

 

[Mr_Accord]

I checked it recently it was down just a bit, it looked pretty red, didn't smell burnt, but theses cars are indestructible if you take care of them you see so many on the road. Amsoil is only 9$ a Litre out where I am and I only need 2L but my concern is that its a synthetic how would my old transmission and the seals react to a synthetic after having conventional all of its life?

 

[Mr_Accord]

Originally Posted By: peterdaniel
And how does the fluid look AFTER you have driven it for say.. 1 hour? Does it smell good? Look Good? Level correct? Did you check it properly ( while its in neutral and hot?) How does it shift? smooth or ? 299K is ALOT of miles on ANY transmission. At this point, if all the above its good, then DON'T FIX IT.


The transmission always jerked the car during shifts but apparently all 90-93 accord transmissions were like that, they never were smooth shifters

 

[Mr_Accord]

bump

 

[exranger06]

Originally Posted By: peterdaniel
And how does the fluid look AFTER you have driven it for say.. 1 hour? Does it smell good? Look Good? Level correct? Did you check it properly ( while its in neutral and hot?) How does it shift? smooth or ? 299K is ALOT of miles on ANY transmission. At this point, if all the above its good, then DON'T FIX IT.

His trans has 299k kms, which is only 185k miles. Not exactly low mileage, but should still have plenty of life left. I wouldn't call changing fluid "fixing" anything. This is maintenance. There's a big difference. And these transmissions don't get checked in neutral, they get checked with the engine turned off. They always jerk the car when they shift. They are just clunky, jerky, annoying units. I'm planning on using Maxlife next time I do a drain/refill on my Accord.

 

[BearZDefect]

Ha, I believe these are the Hondamatic transmissions that perform every shift with full line pressure. No baby-soft shifting, but they lasted a long time.

It is easy to drain and fill Honda transmissions, changing about half the ATF. If it were mine, I would start with that, and pay attention to its performance. If nothing changes then it is ok, continue a good maintenance program.