Technique for ARX in Honda trans?

[Auto-Union]

I ordered a bottle for the Honda. 12oz. ARX site says to change the trans filter, I ain't got none. 1998 CRV auto4 120k. Had many exchanges since we got it at 85k. Curently on 50% Mobil 1, 25% Z1 and 25% AMSoil, fresh.

I'm thinking...
Add 4oz ARX and drive 1000-1500mi and drain.
Refill 3q of ??? fluid and add 4oz more oz of ARX.

(that will leave 3oz to toss in the oil and 1oz for the PSF)


Drain and refill how many time and with what afterwards to "get out the dirt" that a filter would normally catch.

I figure cheaper ATF (Dex) for short runs and then finalize....maybe with MaxLife (my orginal choice) or Castrol Import MV... or try ATF+4 like undummy was saying???


Any ideas and/or speculation is welcome.

I'm pretty sure I want to cheap Dex flush a few times. Don't want to mess with cooler lines.

 

[benjamming]

What is the ATF maintenance history? I would just add the 4 oz ARX and drive 1k miles. Prior history/UOA will determine the rest. If not changed very often, I would do a drain and refill every 3k miles for a while. If changed every 7500 miles or so in the past, then just do the drain & refill after the 1k miles and go back to your regular routine. Let us know how the magnet looks. There shouldn't be any need to add another 4 oz ARX. I wouldn't mess with the cheap Dex fluid flushes. A little left in the AT would be akin to the maintenance dose in the oil.

I assume there are no problems with adding ARX to the Honda PS.

 

[wagsg]

Add A-Rx to current ATF and drive for 1k-1.5k milles. Have a flush/fill done using whatever ATF you like (Z-1, Amsoil, Maxlife) and drive happily for the next 15k-30k miles, or what ever you're comfortable with, and then do drain/fills at that interval.

At least that's my plan on my son's Accord. Did the A-Rx and flushed/filled with Maxlife and all is well. At regular intervals I will drain/fill with Maxlife again or Amsoil if the car is still running well (currently 180k miles).

 

[ConfederateTyrant]

Since you have synthetic ATF in there, extend the Auto-RX cycle to 2,000-3,000 miles (Frank even recommended this to me).

After that, do 4 drain-and-fills with cheap ATF that is recommended for your transmission. Then drive a few hundred miles and begin performing regular drain-and-fills with a synthetic ATF.

 

[Auto-Union]

Cool, everyone has a slightly different twist on it. My concern was that I could not do a 100% flush, leaving in some ARX and no filter to catch stuff. I put in 4oz ARX with the current good clean ATF and plan on driving a few thousand miles. Shifting is basicly ok now, so it's no big rush to treat it fast.

One of my main concerns now is should I do anything more than just a single D&F (50%) before adding the next 4oz. My math is that the trans takes about 6q and 6oz is the recommended dose. After draining 1/2 of the 4oz in there, I'll add 4 more, totaling 6oz, the correct cleaning amount. I pretty much agree that leftover ARX would just help the trans operation more than hurting, like a maintenance doese.

I returned the MaxLife I bought and am aquiring $.95c Valvoline
Dex and ATF+4 for general use. I am interested in MaxLife for a long-term fluid, but don't want to mix it w/ARX. I'm ok with plain Dex in there for cleaning and flushing purposes, but need a final fill non Hi-Mi ATF, maybe non-synth too. I'm thinking about a good Multi or MerconV....maybe Castrol Import.

Like I said, the trans had zero service to 85k, maybe 4-5 half D&Fs. Two smaller (4oz) and slower clean cycles and a rinse should be the ticket.