Before I get flamed, let me explain that of the 6 or 7 cars I've owned, the 1994 Civic LX I just bought is the only one with an automatic transmission. None of my family drives an auto, and neither does my girlfriend...

Okay... Question... The car shifts sortof hard into 2nd gear, so I was thinking of changing the fluid... I was looking it over, but didn't see anyplace to fill it, nor did I see a dipstick to check the fluid. Maybe I just wasn't looking hard enough? Can someone explain this oh-so-difficult concept to me? LOL

Thanks...

 

Damn... Need to search BEFORE posting... Found a pic of the dipstick location... I'll check it tomorrow... Couldn't, however, see where to fill it. Is the spot the same as on a manual? (on the side)??

 

You fill it through the dip stick hole.

EDIT: if the ATF is very dirty, you should replace the oil using a machine, draining it manually will only get around 60% of the old stuff out.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You fill it through the dip stick hole</TD></TR></TABLE>

Are you serious???

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by B18C_EJ8 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Are you serious??? </TD></TR></TABLE>

That's how you do it on alot of Hondas, the dipstick is very short and has a hole of around 1 inch diameter.

 

Filling thru the dipstick hole is pretty common, not just on Hondas. It's actually more difficult on some non-hondas, with the 1/4" tube for the dipstick.

When you drain/fill, the torque converter doesn't drain, so you're only changing about 1/3 or 1/2 of the fluid. If the fluid's dirty or smells burnt, do maybe 3 drain/fills, drive it around in between. I've heard(?) that Honda auto-trannys don't really like to be flushed with a machine.

 

Get one of those metal funnels with the 18" of flexible tubing coming off the bottom from Pep Boys/Autozone etc. Check the drain plug for metal shavings too, or you'll be stuck pushing your car to back out of a parking spot one day.