honda ATF vs. SYNTHETIC advice

digitaldrifter91 · Aug 25, 2003

i been researching about honda atf. at 2 dollars a quart you wonder how good it is. alot of people has had good results with this fluid, but wouldnt it be better to just go syntetic in the automatic transmission?

right now i use Valvoline Dexron 3 in my accord (specifies Dexron II ). honda didnt have ATF back then. i never used nothing but Valvoline...its shifts good...yet in the heat recently after another t-tec flush...it shifts hard when u are at full throttle.

i have a 1991 honda accord with 165k.

cangreylegend · Aug 25, 2003

Honda ATFZ1 has made a world of difference on my 89 legend auto. I was a skeptic and used synthetic until I saw folks reporting otherwise.
Tried it and it smoothed out the shifting dramatically. Gone is that neck snapping first to second and it is quieter too. I recommend you do a 3x drain and refill for best results with a little driving in between.
Check to see if your transmission has solenoid screens because those need to be manually cleaned as well to help even more. After 170,000 miles my legend transmission shifts better than new. Trust Honda on this one and do a drain and refill each year thereafter.

Gebo · Aug 25, 2003

quote:

Originally posted by cangreylegend:
Honda ATFZ1 has made a world of difference .... I was a skeptic and used synthetic until I saw folks reporting otherwise.
Tried it and it smoothed out the shifting dramatically. Gone is that neck snapping first to second and it is quieter too... Trust Honda on this one and do a drain and refill each year thereafter.

AMEN!! Same in my '95 Accord. Mechanic even commented on how smooth my transmission shifted. He didn't know I had changed the ATF.

digitaldrifter91 · Aug 25, 2003

my transmission is very smooth. yet it can be smoother heheh.

i do the t-tec way of changing transmission fluid...letting the cooler line drain and fill at the same time..gets alot of the old crap out.

hehe i would need, umm at least 10 quarts? since im doing a flush type of changing fluids...i never checked my filter inside, its a non servicable one....

i cant even take off the stupid drain plug!!! hehe...no matter how or what i tried.

Ray H · Aug 28, 2003

The "filter" inside Hondamatics is not only non-servicable, it's non-existant. There's simply a screen which can only be accessed by way of removal and general disassembly of the transmission. I found out that Hyundai has also gone to this arrangement in their "New Generation" ATs. I don't know about your AT, but my former '96 Accord had a plug on the passenger side toward the bottom front of the transmission. It had a 3/8" square depression cast in that would accept a 3/8" socket drive. I rigged a "breaker bar", in the form of a 3' length of 3/4" galvanized pipe slipped over the handle of my drive and the plug "popped" free with no trouble. (just had to get its attention...) I didn't use the pipe extension when I replaced the plug, and, even with the old sealing washer, it never leaked subsequently.

I like the Honda-recommended 3 drain and refill procedure, too. Less chance of mess, running the trannie dry, or thread stripping or leakage at the cooler junction if you get on it with too much torque. I wasn't too sure about running the highly friction modified current "Genuine Honda ATF Z1" fluid over "Dexron III" (backward compatible with "Dexron II" - there's no "t" in "Dexron") in that old a car until I read cangreylegend's post.

[ August 28, 2003, 04:56 PM: Message edited by: Ray H ]

cangreylegend · Aug 28, 2003

After you get that transmission plug off, slip on a transmission crush washer, and use 30 ft-lbs to tighten. Same torque as the oil drain plug.

digitaldrifter91 · Aug 28, 2003

i wish i can get my plug off =)

Bror Jace · Aug 29, 2003

You can get OEM Honda ATF for $2 per quart?

Well then, my H driving friends, my search for a new ATF would end right there.

The thing is, you might find a better ATF like Mobil 1, Amsoil or even red Line. It may have a better base oil, be more stable, resistant to oxidation, blah, blah, blah ...

... but if the coefficient of friction doesn't match the transmission well, it's all for naught. When all is said and done, that's the most critical thing for a slushbox. Hondas seem to be especially picky about this.

--- Bror Jace

digitaldrifter91 · Aug 29, 2003

yea honda is pickey...honda atf wasnt made at the time my car was built....it was made in like 94 i believe...

eldawg4100 · Aug 30, 2003

i drive lots of hondas and it seems like most all of them over 60k shift hard into second... even when its warm!

i dunno why... my friend has a 91 accord also with like 210k and it shifts extremly hard...

Ray H · Aug 30, 2003

Something to do with high mileage Hondamatics varnishing up. "Consumer Digest" (not "Reports") says they found that Lubegard helps with that.

cangreylegend · Aug 30, 2003

The first to second hard shift was cured two ways for me.
1. Honda ATFZ1 - 2/3 of the results.
2. Cleaning the solenoid assembly screens which are externally accessible without tearing down the transmission. Sometimes the solenoids themselves are clogged with metal bits. The screens were partially clogged. 1/3 of the effect. This is a critical step that masquerades many transmission failures and is about a couple of hours of work. Seen cars junked because of this. Seriously.

digitaldrifter91 · Aug 30, 2003

i rather not use additives in my transmission...the only helper thing i used was auto rx...it really got my transmissionn to shift smooth....

can you explain how to clean teh silinoids on my transmission? id like to try that.

my car is pretty smooth into second..but yea now i think of it, there is still a jolt (i looked at the girl next to me with big boobs and saw them shake...good determination that my transmission is kinda ruff hehe).

cangreylegend · Aug 30, 2003

Drifter maybe that was her heart thinking about you!
I don't know if your accord's is accessible but there is a high likelihood they are. They look like a film can and there might be four of them in your transmission. They might be assembled as pairs and you remove the assembly. The gasket sealing the assembly will have two screens. Clean those.
I believe Honda did not move to the modulated solenoid until the nest generation. Clean the passages of the solenoid with some brake cleaner.
Most manuals don't cover these parts. I don't know why.

digitaldrifter91 · Aug 31, 2003

hhehe would that show in a helms manual? i will look it up...she is talking to me =)

honda ATF vs. SYNTHETIC advice

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