boston1926

can the transmission in a 99 Honda civic dx 16 take any kind of transmission oil? and i put a new engine in my car and it worked for a couple of minutes then the gears all disappeared. (couldn't change gears). do any of you know how to fix the problem?

Vindicator9000

No, you should use Honda manual transmission fluid only, or Honda auto fluid if it's an auto. You should use NOTHING but Honda ATF in a Honda automatic.

A manual transmission will run acceptably on 10W30 motor oil, but I don't know the long term consequences of that.

Is your car an auto or a manual?

boston1926

the car is manual

freonchill

got a 1995 with 170,000mi
checked the transmission last week and a little low on transmission fluid.
should i get it flushed or just top it off?

thanks,

Former User

If you don't know when the ATF was last replaced, then drain and refill with Honda or Honda-recommended ATF. It would be best to do this two to three times because a subtantial amount of old ATF remains in the transmission after draining it.

rick_rabies

top it off.

Vindicator9000

yes, drain and refill. Honda released a service bulletin a few years ago advising NEVER to do a power flush on a Honda automatic. If you want to flush out and automatic, you should just buy several extra quarts of ATF and do multiple drain and fills.

A lot of people talk crap about Honda automatics being junk, and I'll admit that a few vehicles (late model Odysseys) have had auto trans problems, but for the most part Honda automatics can be just as reliable as the manuals if the fluid is changed frequently... like once every 2 years or so... maybe every 20-30K miles. And NEVER power flushed. I've had 2 auto Hondas with supposedly dodgy transmissions, and never had a problem with them well past 100K miles - on a 96 Accord vtec and a 99 CRV 4WD.

Civic autos are just as bulletproof if you take good care of them and don't run more than stock horsepower.

Skadaloz

i always use regular pennzoil 10w30 w/ stp oil treatment on my hondas and never had any problems...it includes durability testing it everyday ripping gears like a madman stealing a car...1st bought the tranny w/ 100k miles and now it has over 250k and still shift smooth like butter....just my 2 cents

andoxviii

iTrader: (1)

Honda designed your transmission to use genuine Honda MTF. Pick up three bottles of it. Your tranny will take about two and a half bottles, and then you can keep the rest of the third bottle. I tried using a synthetic 10W30 and the gears felt notchy (similar to a VW transmission). As soon as I drained it in favour of the Honda MTF, everything smoothed right up and ran as it should.

If you have slight gear-grinding, many people swear by GM Synchromesh fluid.

freonchill

Thanks all, its an automatic.

the only problem with it (other than that the dip-stick was low) is that it shifts late, e.g. 1 to 2 gear prefers to shift closer to 4 (between 3-4 rpm), but my wife said that it has always been that way.

the car used to be her uncles and he took it in for service at regular intervals. her mom bought it to be a back-up car, which it was when we borrowed it @ 147,000mi. Since then, we have done oil changes @ 3000mi (though looking at the service manual, linked from this forum - looks like i dont need to till 7500mi; dont know if that is true or not, use texaco havoline 10w30 and fram oil filter every 3000-4000; can i go to 7500mi?)

guess ill call up the honda dealer, couple of local shops and price-out some honda ATF, see if its cheaper to get it online with ungodly shipping costs; online honda genuine ATF is $7-8 for a 32oz bottle.

Vindicator9000

I don't like 7500 mile oil changes... just scares me. I wouldn't go beyond 4000 personally.

Your ATF is on this page. I've bought stuff from these guys before, they're pretty good:
http://www.handa-accessories.com/civmaint00.html

I know it says it's the 00 Civic page, but they all use the ATF-Z1, back to at least 92 and probably earlier. Looks like it's $5.79/qt. I don't recall how much you'll need, but it should say in the manual. If it's low (or high, for that matter), that could definitely cause slow/hard shift conditions.

chinox2001

I have 98 civic at transmission with 120,000 miles. Never changed the tranny fluid. Book says i should have done at 90,000 and others say u should always change at 30,000. I'm afraid if i do a drain and fill it will ruin it. I've checked the fluid and it a brown kinda pink color, and does not smell burnt. I did purchase 3 quarts of honda atf fluid but to afraid to use them. Any suggestions?

freonchill

k, ill stick to 4k for oil changes.
saw on that page that there is a crush washer for the oil pan screw
do you know if there are 2 washers on the screw?
based on the picture of the replacement screw, it looks like there is or they have a added a larger head under the socket head.
if so, guess i need to order some, as i only have one on my screw.

as for the ATF, ill call the local dealer tomorrow and see if its cheaper than the website with shipping (as $13 shipping almost doubles the price, wish they could just toss it in the $4 any thing ships usps box)

thanks,