alexdc03

My daily driver is '96 accord and the tranny fluid is dark but doesn't smell burnt. The car has 200, 000 miles on and shifts fine with no slippage or bangs or jerks. Should I do a partial fluid change with what just comes out the pan? Should I just leave it and drive?

GoLowDrew

I'll assume you got this car used, and without all of the records.

Yes, do a drain & fill with some fresh ATF. When you dap ATF on a white napkin, it should look pink. If it's dark, it's past due.

granny racer

i have Q. i know i need to change my transmission fluid but never done it.
and i want to this weekend

where is the drain plug on an f22b2 auto tranny

all i know is i need Honda ATF. funnel, jack and jack stands i just jack the car down on the side where the plug is to drain it right?

GoLowDrew

I4 guys should jump in to confirm.

For a V6.

1. The drain plug is on the bottom. Look for a bolt that you can stick a 3/8 socket in. Make sure it clicks in. It may be supertight, so use your muscles.

2. Remove the trans dipsitck, so air can go in to help drain.

3. Remove the drain bolt. The bolt is magnetic, so there are metal shavings all over it. Clean it. Up to you if you want to replace the washer. I didn't. Didn't see a need to. Put bolt back.

4. Pour new ATF in from the dipstick. Make sure you have a small funnel or tube (before you start). And make sure it works.

5. Don't get pissed off if this process takes too long. It will help you to save on ATF from not spilling it. Take your time.

6. Check. Drive, check, and recheck. Add more if necessary.

granny racer

sounds pretty simple, as long as theirs a drain plug.

a co worker was telling me some tranys dont have one and you need a weird tool to suck out old fluid .

GoLowDrew

GM transmissions for example does not have a dipstick even for the owners to check ATF levels. The idea is, why would owners need to check? Just seal it. When it comes time for $ervice, have the profe$$ional$ do it.

There is a trans drain plug on a Honda AT for the I4. My past Accord was an I4 (2006) K24 5 spd auto. I don't own your gen. I can't imagine it to be any different.

AccordVT

If your car has 200k on it and it drives and shifts fine, then I would just leave it. Sounds crazy I know but Honda autos can be finicky. Changing the fluid is certainly safer than flushing it at this age. The dirty fluid indicates that there is a lot of material in the transmission, probably more than the fluid can trap. Changing it could cause more harm than good by disrupting and displacing particles into the valve body. If you do decide to change it and it starts to act funny (slipping between shifts etc.) than you might as well start looking for a new transmission.

GoLowDrew

Make sense. I heard about that too.

200K is alot of life used up. One should be satisfied with getting the most out of it with that many miles.

So it may be best to drive it until it dies.

alexdc03

I'll leave it then, it does drive fine. I got the car for free and just use it to drive to work/home each day (60miles) so I don't have to drive my gas sucking GMC Jimmy each day. This car uses 1/2 the fuel the truck does.

DCFIVER

No, I advise against it. If the history of the vehicles maintenance is unknown, service the tranny via drain and fill. The number one failure of Honda auto trannys is lack of maintenance.(followed closely by abuse) And do not use "universal" atf. There is no such thing. Universal anything is a marketing term. Buy Honda ATF. Also color is NOT an indicator of fluid life, smell can be, but in reality there is no definitive indication of how much life the fluid has. Fluid can change from light to dark in as little as 3k miles.

19Accord97

DONT leave the fluid in there.

That makes NO sense. The particles/shavings that are floating around in the fluid are going to act as an abrasive and just destroy everything in there.

You need to drain it - refill it ONLY with Honda ATF, drive 50-100 miles and repeat 2 more times to get most of the old fluid out.

granny racer

ok how many quarts does a f22b2 AT need to hold?

DCFIVER

I wanna say about 2 1/2 qts. (for a simple drain and fill) Buy 3 qts to play it safe. There is a dipstick. Check with the car off.

granny racer

thats what i thought i read right 2 1/2

well i changed the fluid and there was 5 quarts of tranny fluid in there!!!!!!!!!

whoever put it in there before me must have forgot to drain the old fluid or something.

i filled up an entire milk jug and about a quarter of another jug

bcmotors

There usually isn't a drain plug, just remove a trans fluid line or the trans pan. To flush it; drain and refill the trans fluid, start the engine, and shift it through the gears. Drain and refill again with fresh ATF, and you're done. Ship it. Mazda 4 cylinder autos take 8 quarts to fill, 16 for a complete flush. Check the specs in your owner's manual but 3 qts sound low for a Honda.

DCFIVER

Your post is useless. All Hondas have a drain plug and no Hondas have a transmission pan. 3 quarts is too much for this application. 2 1/2 quarts is all it takes. This is not a Mazda.

TheMuffinMan

iTrader: (1)

So you're giving information on a Honda Accord based on your Mazda? Not the best idea really for any brand to brand DIY.

Everyone above is correct, GoLowDrew's post gets most of it. Take off the passenger wheel and try to keep the car level when you take off the drain bolt. Just simply use a ratchet or a ratchet with an extension to take off the drain. My '97 had never had it done and it took a LOT of work to get it loose so keep that in mind. Drain out all the fluid and refill by using the dipstick tube. Drain and refill tactic works the same as it does with an manual fluid change.

19Accord97

Why do you need to remove the passenger wheel? I've never done that and everytime I refill the tranny it takes about ~2 2/3 quarts. I don't think having it jacked up/on ramps makes any sort of major noticeable difference in the amount of fluid drained.

Jmb106jr

Here is my experience purchased my 1 owner 95 Accord Lx 2 years ago w/ 206k on it. Found the tranny fluid Brown and gritty! Who knows if it was ever changed. I did 4X drain and fills. It now has 244k on it, it shifts perfectly fine! Change the fluid, Old fluid = bad, new fluid = good. I do mine right on the ground no ramps needed or tire removal.

TheMuffinMan

iTrader: (1)

Easy access to the drain bolt, I only jacked up the one side. It also keeps you from having to get under the vehicle to loosen it

I'm assuming you're either driving up on ramps, jacking up the front, or using a lift as mentioned in your post?

If the entire front is even you're probably ok, I just made sure the drain bolt was the lowest it could possibly be to get rid of all the old fluid.

19Accord97

Gotcha. My car is so low I have to drive it on 2 2x4's so my jack will fit under the front. Then I just put it on jackstands and drain. Like I said, even with only the front on jacks I still drain 2 1/2 - 2 2/3 quarts.

FinzWake

I know I'm late on this thread but I'm going through a similar situation with a '98 Accord LX - auto trans. Car has 170k miles and we bought at 150k. I was going to drain/replace the Trans fluid today and bought 4 qts at Honda dealership. I exited thru Service Center and started talking to a service guy who i said it was a very bad idea for me to consider changing the fluid. He suggested I would be opening up a can of worms since there is no record of the fluid being changed - slippage problems and such.

I then stopped at a local old-time auto parts store and the guy behind the counter said the same thing... this guy owns the shop and talks the talk.

I've been reading thru these threads and I personally feel old oil/fluid is never a good thing but I'm concerned about creating problems for myself

The fluid level is fine and color is fine: more red than brown. No burnt smell and not gritty between my fingers. I don't think the trans shifts as smoothly as when it was new but no problems or anything.

I want to change the fluid and feel it should be done but I'm just worried about what these guys have told me. I forget the phrase I read but I intended on doing a drain-fill-drain-fill-drain-fill (3 time) to ensure all fluid is changed

Am I being paranoid? Listening to the wrong guys? I look forward to any input.

Thank you

DCFIVER

A drain and fill will not cause any problems. It is the transmission flushes via a machine that will cause(or more accurately, will reveal ) problems with the transmission. Occasionally, when a transmission is failing, clutch particles are suspended in the trans fluid and aid in shifting by acting like a friction additive. When you flush out the transmission and torque converter (which only a machine will do completely) you also flush out any of the particles in the fluid. New fluid will then reveal worn clutch packs, and subsequently, a slipping transmission.

FinzWake

Thank you DCFIVER... Sometimes things "just make sense"... old oil/fluids not at all sensible. But with so many people telling me something that doesn't make sense, I started questioning myself.

Now the problem I face is that my local honda dealer wants nearly $11/quart... Compared to trans replacement, not a concern. But still... $11/quart and then 3 drains... damn... LOL

Thanks again

dwllama

so how often should a drain/refill be done as service to the transmission?

I've had my car for about 20k miles and (last I checked) the fluid color was fine (pink with no hint of brown or grittiness). I have major service records for the vehicle from the previous owner (of 2, don't have the first owner's records), for stuff like brakes, timing belt, etc but not anything like oil changes and so on. so I have no way of knowing if/when it was last done. shifts a little hard sometimes but not enough that I've really worried about it (its 'not as good as it should be' as opposed to 'bad enough to be a problem')

mine's a 96 if that makes any difference.

edit: has 199k on it as of last week.