Best place to have Transmission Flush

[M1Accord]

For a 2002 Accord V6 w/ 75k miles. The last change was at dealer at 35k miles. I want a flush and could get Pep Boys to do it for $100 thanks to my 20% coupon. I do trust this Pep Boys as they have done me right for many years on preventive/maintenance work.

What other places are reliable? I heard AMAMCO use the high pressure flush and I don't want that. I am not sure what Pep Boys use so please educate me.

How can I do it at home? My initial thought is to drain and refill and drive for 1 week and repeat it twice. That would requires 9 quarts of Honda ATF-Z1 since each refill requires 3 quarts. That should replace approximately 80-90% of the fluid. I do feel bad about expending 6 quarts for the flush as they are still good. The total cost of doing it myself would be close to $100 and 3 hours of shop rental but I don't mind having my car on the lift 3 times in a month. I could schedule some other maintenance items do do in those 3 trips. May be an Auto-RX treatment.

Is there a way to naturally let the ATF drain out almost completely the way engine oil is drained? I just bought 6 quarts this evening and will start this weekend if I do it myself.

By the way, Pep Boys doesn't use Honda Z1 ATF and won't accept it. I forgot what the service manager said they used this morning when I had my brake fluid changed. With many people going to Pep Boys, I would think they stock Z1 for the Honda crowd.

Off topic, I heard ATF makes a good cleaner oil for engine as it has more detergent. Is that true? I would to give my commuter Corolla a engine clean treatment.

 

[posty]

Honda does not recommend a trans flush, only a 3x drain and refill.
No need to pay for a lift ,you can do it yourself. Its easier than doing an oil change.

 

[StevieC]

Make sure whatever method you choose that you use the Honda Specified oil in it, if you use the wrong type you could end up replacing the trans. I know my Hyundai is very fussy on type of fluid too... Just wanted to make sure you are aware!

 

[bmwtechguy]

ATF does not make a good engine cleaner. Use ARX.

There are several inexpensive ATF's out there that are rated for Honda Z1 service. Maxlife and Supertech MercV both say Honda Z1, I believe.

Yes, you can easily do your own flush with very little trouble. Get under your Honda. (Put the front wheels up on some ramps and take down the front underbody panel.) Look up there for two 3/8" diameter hoses that go from your transmission to 2 different connections on the bottom of your radiator, which is where the fluid is cooled. The left side (driver) is usually the fluid coming out of the radiator cooler and back to the transmission. To test this, (with the engine off), disconnect this hose wherever it is easiest to get loose, either at the radiator or at the transmission pipe. Best to have some kind of drain pan to catch fluid that dribbles out when you get it loose. If you pulled it off the radiator cooler, you will need another piece of hose to put back loosely on that pipe to direct the flow of fluid into a container like a used oil jug. Actually, direct both hoses into a container until you know for sure which one the fluid is coming from.

Briefly start your engine and shut back off to see which way the fluid is going. Once you have the fluid coming out of this hose safely going into a container, you can start it up and pump about 3-4 quarts out of your unit at a time until the flow falters and you must shut it off and refill 3-4 quarts. Continue this process until you have pumped 9 or 10 quarts of old fluid out. The last few quarts should be looking a lot more red coming out. Now that's a complete flush. And all you paid for is the fluid!

All that's left to do is to reconnect the cooler hose to how you found it. Make sure to get the clamp on there correctly. You don't want it coming off unexpectedly. Then refill your trans to the correct level, test drive, and you're done. Should take less than an hour.

 

[The Critic]

Honda doesn't recommend trans flushes because a lot of shops dump additives into the transmission and do not use the Honda approved fluid. In addition, Honda does not require them and does not want to drive up the cost of maintenance. In other words, if you don't dump any additives into your transmission and as long as you use the correct fluid, there's no harm to flush.

Since you already had the fluid changed once at the dealer at 35k, they already cleaned the magnetic plug. There shouldn't be much junk on there so I wouldn't worry about pulling the plug this time. Most of the stuff on the plug is from the break-in period anyway.

One Pep Boys here uses the Castrol Import Multi-Vehicle ATF. It is suitable for Honda Z-1 applications but it is not Honda approved. This Pep Boys didn't have an issue with me bringing my own fluid though.

 

[M1Accord]

Originally Posted By: StevieC
Make sure whatever method you choose that you use the Honda Specified oil in it, if you use the wrong type you could end up replacing the trans. I know my Hyundai is very fussy on type of fluid too... Just wanted to make sure you are aware!


Oh yeah. I got Z1 stuffs today. I don't mess with non Honda ATF and coolant.

 

[M1Accord]

The lift fee is only $4.5 an hour though so I am not sweating it. I am using it twice a year for my two personal vehicles since I hate crawling underneath. Plus, they have the oil collection unit so that save me time from having to haul it to the recycling place. They also have all the tools so I don't need to worry about bringing my own or owning a set.

I think I am going to go with the drain and refill method but will probably wait for about 500 miles between it refill. After that, I'll change it every 2 years which come out to be about 30k miles.

 

[StevieC]

In case you want a future option... I use AMSOIL ATF and the stuff it really smoothed out my transmission dramatically, to the point where I can almost not feel it shift. It also has a 100,000KM or something service life... Now I just put it in, so I will still change out at 30K a few times, until it's all Amsoil inside then run it for the full 100K. Really great stuff.

 

[qship1996]

Where do you go that lets you use their lift for such a good price? I am in maryland and would love to go there!!!!

 

[XCELERATIONRULES]

My yaris has a drain plug for the transmission,but most cars don't.
You can install a drain plug into the transmission pan,or have a shop do it for you.
Most likely you will have a small bit of leakage as transmission fluid is so thin.I've heard the original drain plugs are highly torqued at the factory,and once removed tend to leak.

I would buy plenty of the correct fluid,drain what you have in the pan,add some fresh fluid,then drive the car a day or so,drain again,and repeat a couple more times.
You could also remove the transmission line and use the fluid pressure to help remove the fluid trapped in the torque converter.

I don't trust anyone working on my car.
Who's knows if the service gets done correctly or if they use the right components.

 

[M1Accord]

Originally Posted By: qship1996
Where do you go that lets you use their lift for such a good price? I am in maryland and would love to go there!!!!


Most military base have lift and tool rental for $4.50. I usually give the shop manager 2 to 3 bucks if he was helpful in answering any question I have. I only lift a car up once a year so I inspect the underbody very carefully while letting the oil drain as much as possible. Mobil 1 0W20 drain very fast and the trick is to warm the engine up by driving a few miles, which happens to be the distance between my office and the garage. You don't have to be elisted or even work on base to use it. Depending on where you are, Indian Head, Caderock, and Fort Belvoir would be the places I check. You can call the baes MWR and ask if they have garage or hobby shop.

 

[demarpaint]

+1 for the Hobby Shop. I helped my son do brakes on his BMW at NAS Whidbey Island hobby shop, I was quite impressed. Being a civilan I never knew these places existed, and for $4.50/hr which includes using the tools its a great deal!!!!!!!!!!!!

Frank D

 

[Kestas]

This is the home flush procedure:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubb...rue#Post1158064

 

[doitmyself]

As a group, we really should start trying to use the term "fluid exchange" and ditch the "flush" terminology.

I have followed Kestas' DIY procedure a half dozen times with great success (except the two times when seized transmission pan bolts broke off!).

If you choose to take it somewhere, find an outfit with the proper fluid EXCHANGE machine. The process is not much different than the Kestas procedure. The transmission pump moves the fluid. The machine is simply pistons or bladders that push new fluid in at the same time old fluid is pumped out. There is no "flush" in the sense of chemicals or high pressure. I would think it would not cost much more than your $100 dollare diy plan.

 

[M1Accord]

Originally Posted By: XCELERATIONRULES
My yaris has a drain plug for the transmission,but most cars don't.
You can install a drain plug into the transmission pan,or have a shop do it for you.
Most likely you will have a small bit of leakage as transmission fluid is so thin.I've heard the original drain plugs are highly torqued at the factory,and once removed tend to leak.

I would buy plenty of the correct fluid,drain what you have in the pan,add some fresh fluid,then drive the car a day or so,drain again,and repeat a couple more times.
You could also remove the transmission line and use the fluid pressure to help remove the fluid trapped in the torque converter.

I don't trust anyone working on my car.
Who's knows if the service gets done correctly or if they use the right components.


That's how I feel about most place, especially the dealership. One exception so far is my trusty Pep Boys, who has always done only what's asked and done it correctly the first time every time. They obviously can survive without my business since I only come in once in a blue moon for brake fluid change and only had 2 small repairs done. However, I don't know how Pep Boys is doing on a national level so if I have a job I don't mind contracting out, Pep Boys is the first and only place I would take my vehicle to.

For this transmission fluid exchange here, it seems like I can easily do it on my own. I'll change the fluid, drive it for 5k miles, change it again. Then I'll switch to a 2 year ATF OCI to make sure fresh fluid is always present.

Thank everyone. You guys know a lot of stuffs and have saved my bacon a few time. BITOG rocks.

 

[M1Accord]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
+1 for the Hobby Shop. I helped my son do brakes on his BMW at NAS Whidbey Island hobby shop, I was quite impressed. Being a civilan I never knew these places existed, and for $4.50/hr which includes using the tools its a great deal!!!!!!!!!!!!

Frank D


I used to have to crawl underneath a car with only the jack to save my skin. Luckily I only had to do that 3 times before finding out about the Hobby Shop. Having access to the lift is a safest way to work on car.