bravozero

Hi folks, just bought a 1995 del Sol S auto last weekend with only 140,000 miles on the clock, so far she's running great after a minor tuneup job.

It looks like the previous owners used the car as a weekend roadster and did very little maintenance on it, all of the fluids in the car are old and dirty. I managed to get the more important ones done so far, except the transmission. Now, I've owned autos in the past and I know you have to really keep them maintained, especially Honda automatics. However, the technician said that the transmission fluid was quite dirty, didn't check to see if it had a bad burnt smell to it or not, might check that after work.

My question is this... since there's not maintenance history on the car and it's at 140,000 miles, should I take the chance and get a good transmission flush and fill done at the local Honda dealership? I've read stories about getting maintenance done on older automatic transmissions and then they fail. This is my daily beater and I need to make sure she runs great with no issues, as well as the possibility of freeing up some extra miles per gallon with a properly-maintained vehicle. For the most part it shifts fine but there are times where it can be a little "jerky" especially when it's cold.

Any opinions or suggestions? Thanks!

DelSol-B18

iTrader: (4)

When I always buy auto vehicles I look to see if the trans fluid is redish/pink if it's dirty I don't even bother with it. Usually I it's dirty and smells burnt. Something is burning up such as the clutches. GL

Former User

Do NOT flush the transmission. Instead, do several drain and refill cycles with some driving in between. And it's best to use Honda ATF.

bravozero

Forgive me since I am not used to automatics (mostly manual and dual-clutch transmissions), but any particular reason not to flush at this point?

Former User

Flushing can release all kinds of gunk, which can kill an old transmission. Do only ATF drain and refill cycles.

bravozero

Cool, much appreciated.

Another question I have... I adjusted the throttle cable yesterday so that there wasn't a lot of play in the accelerator, after doing that I noticed the transmission was shifting at higher RPMs so I researched that and found out I needed to adjust the throttle lever cable as well to "match" the linkage cable. I played with it for a while and I think I fixed it, since the transmission shifts at lower points now. However... my accelerator seems even more sensitive and my fuel gauge moved more than normal for a 15-mile commute, and the TCC didn't lock up until about 50 MPH.

Any ideas?

bravozero

I figured it out, the throttle control valve cable was too tight at first, causing higher and harsher upshifts, but yesterday the cable was too loose and it was causing some slipping. I reset it back to where it was before, adjusted it just a little bit loose and it's driving almost perfectly now, no more harsh shifting or slipping, and still keeping the RPMs down.