Decided this was a good weekend to change the oil and ATF in our 02 Accord. ATF had about 30K miles on it, but it smelled like burnt rubber when it came out. The magnet was pretty clean on the drain plug, but what a funk. Has anybody else noticed that? And one more thing, wish I'd taken a picture of it, but on top of the ATF when I drained it, there was about a 6 inch diameter dark blue color something on top of the ATF in the drain bucket. I thought it was water, but it wasn't. I know, hard to explain without pictures, but I'd figure I'd take a chance and see if others had noticed that as well.
Accord DIY transmission change
- Thread starter Schmoe
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My BIL has a couple of Honda Civics, older ones, and when he changes the oil, about every 5,000 miles he drains the 3 or so quarts that comes out from the pan and puts in fresh fluid. He always buys used cars so when he first gets them he does a bunch of rapid ATF drains to get as much clean fluid in the transmission as possible then he does the ATF drain with every oil change. If you went to 30,000 miles on the ATF then I'd look to doing a total fluid EXCHANGE. By draining the pan you're only getting about a 1/3 of the ATF out. Once you have all fresh fluid then go to the 5,000 to 10,000 mile pan drain. That should keep your fluid refreshed on a consistant basis.
Whimsey
Whimsey
I guess I have to disagree with Whimsey on the change interval. 30,000 is the recomended change in the Honda owners manual for severe service. It does not say complete change only drain and refill. I get 2.5 quarts of 6 quarts total so it is close to a 50% change of fluid. My accord went 113000 on the original fluid I believe. It looked brown/black so don't know about the blue. Maybe someone used a different type of trans fluid? Normal service change is 90,000. I have done 3 quick changes but it still doesn't look clear yet but haven't noticed a smell. Maybe I should get my nose closer to this stuff. My guess is you have something serious going on in your trans. Maybe you should have Terry Dyson give you an analysis. I guess I should start smelling fluids more.
I still have the fluid from the last change so I guess I'll smell it tonight and report back.
Schmoe,
Did you catch a sample & send it off for analysis? Terry is great with the mysterious Honda ATF.
Was this the first drain & refill for the car? I am draining & refilling mine every 15k miles. My 2nd sample at ~30k miles was in good shape.
Did you catch a sample & send it off for analysis? Terry is great with the mysterious Honda ATF.
Was this the first drain & refill for the car? I am draining & refilling mine every 15k miles. My 2nd sample at ~30k miles was in good shape.
Was hoping you'd chime in. You seem to be the Honda guy on this forum and the other Honda forum I scan over. No, I didn't take a UOA. I had the ATF mixed in with the engine oil all together when I drained it. In the past, it didn't smell like this so I assumed it would be alright. This 02 is supposedly the year they got all the transmission bugs out, but I got a extended Honda factory warranty up to 100K. Got 78K on it now. Probably should run a UOA before warranty runs out, just in case.
Owners manual calls for 100K ATF changes, but I sure as #ell don't see how this stuff can hang that long. I use the Z1 stuff from Honda, and have only used that in the past. I'll take a UOA in about 8 to 10K miles.
Owners manual calls for 100K ATF changes, but I sure as #ell don't see how this stuff can hang that long. I use the Z1 stuff from Honda, and have only used that in the past. I'll take a UOA in about 8 to 10K miles.
honda atf doesn't last 100k. maybe if you drove on the highway 100%. severe service is for at least 50% city driving.
it's best to flush it completely, no matter what method you use. i prefer the dealership machine.
[ February 23, 2005, 04:08 AM: Message edited by: seotaji ]
it's best to flush it completely, no matter what method you use. i prefer the dealership machine.
[ February 23, 2005, 04:08 AM: Message edited by: seotaji ]
Check my recent drain which is about 30% old 70% new and no smell at all. I would definitely do a UOA with Terry to find out what is going on. After checking my last drain out I plan to do one more drain. It is clear at 1 inch thickness but past this it looks brownish. 4 drains and refills should do it but a UOA for me
to would be an excellent idea. 15,000 miles after these changes should tell me what is happening.
to would be an excellent idea. 15,000 miles after these changes should tell me what is happening.
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