Accord ATF drain/fill pic - do I have a problem?

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Pajamarama

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Hello -- Long time lurker, new member, first post.

My car: 1997 Honda Accord EX Wagon with auto trans. I purchased it 2 months ago. It didn't come with maintenance records so I do not know much about its past.

Last weekend I drained the ATF and filled with 3 qts of Honda DW-1. For my records, I took a teaspoon of before and after, put them in small white bowls and took a pic.

I intended to only drive it for a day and then do another drain/fill. However, real life interrupted and 1 day turned into 2 weeks (about 400 miles). The 2nd drain/fill happened today. I took a similar pic of the before/after today.

I was a little surprised to see such a similar color of the drained fluids. Today's drained fluid is a little lighter but not much. Is this a normal expectation? Is it indicative of a problem? If I do a 3rd d/f in the next day or so should the color be much lighter?

Comparison pic below. Thanks for your thoughts & guidance.

 
It's totally fine. Remember, you're mixing 3.x quarts with a significant amount of older fluid. After you do it 2 more times it'll look a lot better.
 
Thanks for the reassurance. I have to confess this is the first time I've changed my own trans fluid. Not certain about what's right or wrong. Thought maybe it had already gotten scorched.

I was told that 3x drain/fill is recommended to "flush out" the system -- do I really need to do it 4 times total?
 
Your drain sample colors are nearly identical to my experience draining the z1 out of our 2 year/45K old CR-V. It was replaced with fresh DW-1 (now standard on new Hondas). Here's how I did the full cycle:

Drain 1: 45K
Drain 2: 20 miles (some highway) after drain 1.
Drain 3: 5K later

I was surprised how dark the OEM Z1 fluid was, especially in contrast with the fresh DW-1.
 
Originally Posted By: freezing1
Here's how I did the full cycle:

Drain 1: 45K
Drain 2: 20 miles (some highway) after drain 1.
Drain 3: 5K later



That reminds me of another question I have: I am curious about the optimum distance to drive between d/f's. I understand I want to cycle through all the gears and get the stuff in the torque converter to mix with the new stuff.

How far should I drive before I do my 3rd d/f?
 
To matters easy....just do a drain and fill of your ATF during your next 3 oil changes.

As long as your using Dino oil, for 5K to 7K and no extended runs on synthetic, it would be much easier to do the drain and fill on the ATF, since you already have the car on jack stands or ramps. Today, with the drain plug on the ATF pan, changing the fluid is easy maintenance. Since the dip stick measurements on my T4R are inaccurate and hard to read, I just make sure to measure how much is drained and fill it back with the same amount of clean fluid.

I also have a 1997....Toyota 4 Runner.....and I did the drain and fills this way with Dex/Merc transmission fluids every 30K interval.

By your fourth oil change all should be clear.

Now, I've been running Mobil 1, ATF, for about a year, with some Lubeguard Red and the transmission is running great.
 
How many miles are on the car?

I would go at least 500 miles between drain and fills. I would do 2 or 3 more at least quickly. Who knows how the trans was maintained before you bought it.

This is VERY cheap insurance if you ask me. I don't think Honda transmission are cheap to replace but fluid is!

There are also transmission fluid calculators floating around the Internet. You can enter the total amount of fluid the trans holds and how much you replace on a drain and fill then it will show you how many times you have to repeat the process to replace all of the fluid.

Maybe someone can post the link to the ATF calculator or you can Google it.

Keep up the good work!
 
Wow, I wouldn't be surprised if that was original fluid. I would do another 2 or 3 500 mile interval changes.

Did you notice a big change in the way it shifted?
 
Originally Posted By: rk1407
Wow, I wouldn't be surprised if that was original fluid. I would do another 2 or 3 500 mile interval changes.

Did you notice a big change in the way it shifted?


Actually no I didn't notice much of a change, if anything. It has shifted fine since I bought it. No real problems. Occasionally it would stutter a bit when driving up hills and it couldn't figure out what gear to get in, but that was rare and minor.

Since this was my first time, my big concern was that I had somehow ruined the transmission. But after both drain and fills, I drove it around and it still shifted just fine. Still smooth, still solid.
 
Given all you've said, if I were in your shoes I'd do 4 total over the next couple of weeks. Chances are good it's the factory fill in there, so you may as well get most of it out. That'll get you to 85-90% new fluid, then just do a single drain and fill every 15K or once a year going forward.

Unlike the following generation, the AT in your generation Accord is super reliable, so getting on top of the maintenance with it is probably a good idea. It probably has a good bit of life left in it.
 
If you didn't notice much of a change to the new fluid, I think you would be okay; transmission performance wasn't affected by the old fluid.

How much is the fluid for this, just wondering?
 
Originally Posted By: Pajamarama
I am curious about the optimum distance to drive between d/f's. I understand I want to cycle through all the gears and get the stuff in the torque converter to mix with the new stuff.

How far should I drive before I do my 3rd d/f?
I can't say with certainty on your Honda transaxle, but on most American RWD transmissions, the ATF is constantly being circulated. By the time you've cycled through all the gears a couple of times and let it idle for a moment, the new and old fluids should be thoroughly mixed. I see no reason you can't do the 3rd drain & fill immediately...certainly driving it around the block should be sufficient.

BTW, good on ya for doing your own maintenance. You've just extended the life of your car and learned a new skill. Feels good, doesn't it?
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Miller88
How much is the fluid for this, just wondering?


Bought by the quart, the DW-1 was $8.23 at my local Honda dealer. I did my first d/f that way since I didn't know any better.

Then I found it on Amazon for $6.39 so I ordered 9 more. Even with shipping costs it came out to be cheaper than the Honda dealer. Crazy, huh?
 
Originally Posted By: Pajamarama
Originally Posted By: freezing1
Here's how I did the full cycle:

Drain 1: 45K
Drain 2: 20 miles (some highway) after drain 1.
Drain 3: 5K later



That reminds me of another question I have: I am curious about the optimum distance to drive between d/f's. I understand I want to cycle through all the gears and get the stuff in the torque converter to mix with the new stuff.

How far should I drive before I do my 3rd d/f?
There is no exact science, I would assume it all mixed within an hour of driving. I would just wait until you get another chance after driving for a day or two.

Consider a Magnefine filter.

As has been said before, color is not a deciding factor in whether your ATF is good or no good. Only a UOA is. But you know the history and the capacity and how many d/f's it will take. But if 1000 miles after the drain and fills its black, you should not be overly concerned.

Although we would encourage you to get a UOA, as BITOG'ers read UOAs at breakfast rather than the newspaper, and there are never enough.
 
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