question about cooler line flush

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gogozy

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GTA, Ontario, Canada
recently 04 TSX (40k miles)started making light whining noise mostly at 1-2 shift occasionally. i had used drain and fill with Honda Z1 twice in the past 2 years. not happy with the Z1 after hearing the whining noise i want to try some other atf this time. i want to do cooler line ATF flush (first timer..), i want to remove as much Z1 as possilbe, i hope someone with more knowledge and experiences can help me on some of the question..

1. when i disconnected the cooler line, the return line goes into atf drain bucket. what to do with another end? shall i plug the inlet line? i know i suppose to deliver new ATF to the pan, but will inlet take new fluid during the flush?
2. this car has an filter on the return line between cooler and transmission body. I can not see in/out hoses around ATF cooler very well, but i ATF filter can be seen and easily reached. i was thinking about disconnect the ATF hose around filter instead of cooler area for ATF flush purpose? is this a good idea and also shall i disconnect the filter during the flush?
3. i am worry about air bubble created during the flush (air enter from disconnected area, and new fluid, am i worry too much?

thanks in advance!!
 
The other line can remain open. There will be no flow from it. At the most a drip or two.

Using the filter hose to do the flush is fine.

You won't have any bubbles unless you let the fluid get very low during the flush.

What I do, is start by calibrating the bucket. Using a quart jar, I add water to the empty bucket one quart at a time and mark that line. I usually use a translucent plastic bucket and mark it with a Sharpe pen. I have an assistant in the car to shut down the engine if I start to fall too far behind. Try to add fluid through the dipstick hole at about the same rate as the bucket fills. If you get more than two or three quarts behind, shut the engine down and catch up then restart the engine to continue. If the old fluid is in pretty good shape, flush out whatever the trans capacity is. If you want a more thorough flush or if the fluid is dirty, add about two quarts or continue flushing until the fluid coming out is as pristine as the fluid going in.
 
You can also drain the trans, fill it to capacity and proceed with the flush only allowing about 2 quarts at a time to be expelled and then turning the vehicle off, topping it off with 2 more quarts and repeating until stated capacity it met or the fluid becomes clean. Both accomplish the same thing.

The most important thing here is going with a good synthetic ATF. I would recommend Amsoil or Redline D4 to replace the lowly Z-1.
 
Big Jim has it covered well.
Your complete preparation in advance is the key to a harmonious ATF flush.
Do a mental dry run with your stuff laid out, first.
 
I have no problem with you flushing your tranny. It's a great idea. But are you sure it isn't a bearing going bad that you are hearing when it shifts between 1-2?
 
When I flushed out my 700R4 I just overfilled it several quarts and cranked the engine and ran the fluid into a gallon jug that I could see from the ignition switch. Stopped when the jug got near full. Makes the operation less of a Chinese fire drill.
 
thanks to everyone especiall to Big Jim, your reply clear my questions! i will sure have some dry run in the head. i plan to use maxlife for a short run (5-6K) before switch to amsoil or redline D4.
 
Originally Posted By: INDYMAC
I have no problem with you flushing your tranny. It's a great idea. But are you sure it isn't a bearing going bad that you are hearing when it shifts between 1-2?

any tell tell sign if bearing is going? the noise is not loud at all, at low engine speed between 1000-1300rpm. maybe something to do with fluid pressure? the car had this noise last year (10month, 8k), it went away after a drain and fill with fresh Honda Z1.
thanks
 
Originally Posted By: gogozy
Originally Posted By: INDYMAC
I have no problem with you flushing your tranny. It's a great idea. But are you sure it isn't a bearing going bad that you are hearing when it shifts between 1-2?

any tell tell sign if bearing is going? the noise is not loud at all, at low engine speed between 1000-1300rpm. maybe something to do with fluid pressure? the car had this noise last year (10month, 8k), it went away after a drain and fill with fresh Honda Z1.
thanks


A bad bearing will sound like a high pitched screach just before the (high RPM) shift point. It's usually associated with one of the accessory drive bearings or pulleys.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: INDYMAC

A bad bearing will sound like a high pitched screach just before the (high RPM) shift point. It's usually associated with one of the accessory drive bearings or pulleys.

thanks. the noise is very faint, and sound like turbo spool up, and only at low rpm. i will try lock it in 1 or 2nd gear and check if the noise occured during, or cretain rpm in gear. thanks very much.
i will be very upset if the noise turn out to be the bearing, we purchased this car new and i really enjoy driving this car.
 
BTW - some people run the engine/transmission until they see bubbles in the clear drain tubing going to your drain container. With your transmission in N or P not much is happening inside the transmission such that its not a problem to wait for air bubbles and shut the engine off.

You can create your own flush machine with 3 people, one on the key, one pouring in ATF and one watching the drain hose. Maybe a forth for the beer distribution?
 
Originally Posted By: gogozy
Originally Posted By: INDYMAC

A bad bearing will sound like a high pitched screach just before the (high RPM) shift point. It's usually associated with one of the accessory drive bearings or pulleys.

thanks. the noise is very faint, and sound like turbo spool up, and only at low rpm. i will try lock it in 1 or 2nd gear and check if the noise occured during, or cretain rpm in gear. thanks very much.
i will be very upset if the noise turn out to be the bearing, we purchased this car new and i really enjoy driving this car.


What you are describing sounds like gear whine from your final drive (differential) gears. Does the Z1 lubricate your diff gears as well as your tranny? Or do you have a separate sump for the diff with GL5 gear oil in it? Does the noise become more apparent as the fluid heats up or on warmer/hotter days?

I suspect that the intermittent noise is probably normal in the TSX with Honda recommended fluids. Using a higher viscosity atf or gear oil should help, but probably not eliminate on very hot days.
 
i drove the car for some km last night. i felt the noise is more appearant when coolant warm up, and in both 1st and 2nd gear (not during [censored]). TSX does not call for differentials, so i guess atf serve both at and differential unit(if there is any). i like the idea of 4th person holding, need make sure beer bottle and atf handle properly to avoid contaminations
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after getting everything ready, i decided to flush out the Z1 this afternoon. i soon hit a snag after drain and fill; there are few spring clamp that hold the rubber tube over metal tube and i need to remove just one of them to drain the fluid. i used to use a needle nose pliers, and they works just fine. but not today...i found opening of the spring clamps are not facing my opening area, i can't get a good angle to press the "ears" to release the clamps. after 40 minutes of trying with different pliers i have to give up and settle for single drain and fill. i wonder if anyone know if there is a special tool that i can use to release clamp in tight or difficult angle?
thanks in advance...
 
You can generally push a spring clamp into position by shoving on one ear. This will generally loosen it enough to spin to where you want it.
The same push loosens and spins it.
 
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