Honda Pilot / Coolant in the Rear Diff Part II

[jackkpts]

A few weeks ago I posted that I mistakenly mixed a half gallon of Honda read diff fluid into what I though was another partial gallon of rear diff...only to have it turn out to be Honda coolant. I pumped about 8-10 ounces of this mixture before realizing what I did. I changed it all out and siphoned some additional out, etc.

Well, I just changed it out again, about 1,500 miles after the mix up. I did not see any blue coolant come out - everything that came out was red. I have it sitting in a clear gallon bottle to see it anything separates. My question is, would any coolant that did not drain out mix with the rear diff fluid and not separate out? My guess is that no more than 2 ounces of coolant stayed in the rear diff. Just wondering. Thanks again for all the help!

 

[Jeff3126]

Whatever is left in there is residual and of no concern IMO. You should be fine.

 

[Johnny]

More than likely you got it all out. I would refill with fresh fluid and rest easy. What kind of fluid does the rear diff in a Pilot take?

Nice vehicle.

 

[jackkpts]

I use Honda's VTM-4 fluid. Others have used Amsoil and other synthetics.

 

[meep]

we just picked up a 2nd-hand mdx, needs the vtm-4. Would love to use amsoil--- amsoil's website does NOT list a vtm-4 compatible fluid. what flavor of fluids are folks using if not vtm-4?

m

 

[mechtech2]

I'd say that you are done, and all is well.

 

[VK56VD]

Originally Posted By: meep
we just picked up a 2nd-hand mdx, needs the vtm-4. Would love to use amsoil--- amsoil's website does NOT list a vtm-4 compatible fluid. what flavor of fluids are folks using if not vtm-4?

m


There is no substitute for the VTM-4 fluid. Use the genuine Honda stuff. Anything else will lead to problems.

For the transmission, you can get away with the high quality Amsoil ATF, for the transfer case Amsoil 75w-90 Severe Gear will work great, but for the rear diff., Honda VTM-4 only!

Same goes for your Power Steering fluid - Genuine Honda PSF.

Enjoy the new to you, MDX.

 

[Jasper8146]

As a 2003 Acura MDX owner, I disagree about the power steering fluid. Because the Honda fluid was absolutely black and disgusting at 90,000 miles, I changed it out (even had to replace the plastic reservoir in order to get all the crud out) and went with the Amsoil fluid as a replacement because as a synthetic, it should be superior to Honda's non-synthetic, and I do like to run a high quality synthetic in any place I can. After 30,000 miles more, the Amsoil fluid is still the same color as a new bottle, and I haven't had any problems at all. Nor have I read any posts from people reporting a problem after switching from Honda p/s fluid to Amsoil PSF. So, if you want to use Amsoil PSF, I don't think there is any reason not to do so.

I do absolutely agree, however, that there is no substitute anywhere that I'm aware of for the VTM4 fluid, which actually must be pretty good stuff because I recently changed it out myself after 40,000 miles and there was zero debris on the magnetic drain plug.

I also agree about the transmission fluid as there are lots of posts by people successfully using Amsoil ATF or Redline D4 ATF in place of Honda Z1 ATF with good results. I actually have used both in the MDX, and both seemed to work better than the Z1. Due to the Honda transmission design which apparently I have read is harder on gears than most, I have decided to go with the Redline D4 due to the GL4 gear protection it offers which the Amsoil does not. Also, although the difference is not much, ours actually does run a bit better after switching from Amsoil ATF to Redline D4 ATF.