Before I changed my ATF in my prelude, I was pretty nervous. One, because its the SS (have to baby it), and secondly cause I couldnt find the damn fill hole! Well I did it last night, and I would like to share a little info that may help people who have not done it before.

Honda charges 144 for a drain n fill 3 times. I figured it costs about 55 to do it yourself with Honda ATF 4 times. (just for the ATF)

2001 Prelude

Supplies:
-9 Quarts of Genuin Honda ATF (3 if you only want to drain and fill once)
-3/4 inch rachet (small extension helps)
-funnel with a long neck
-drain pan
-ramps
-rags
-flashlight
*optional hand held fluid pump (its like a giant syringe with a clear plastic hose as the needle)

1. You need to raise the car, if you can raise the front and back, that would be preferable, but not an option for a lot of us. The main thing is to get the front up. I used a set of ramps.

2. Crawl under, the drain hole is actually easier to get to than the oil drain plug. The transmission drain plug has a square in the middle of it. A 3/4 inch rachet will pop right into it, I used an extension, made it a little easier.

now that you see where the drain plug is, get your drain pan ready.

3. Pull out the transmission dipstick (the one with the yellow plastic coating on it, low in the engine compartment between the battery and block) Clean it off, put it to the side. Crawl under the car and take out the drain plug. Allow to drain for for five min or so.
*my car ramped up drained out approximatly 2 quarts 8 oz.

4. Put the drain plug back in. Now your ready to fill. I was unable to track down the fill hole, but it doesnt matter, its easier to use the dipstick hole, no worries, its large.
Place the funnel down into the dipstick hole (make sure its clean). Now you can either pour it directly into the funnel, or use the fluid syringe pump. The pump isnt really nessesary, maybe a little less risk of a mess. I bought it thinking I would find the fill hole. Pour 2 quarts of new Honda ATF into the tranny.
Ok, your tranny is almost full now, put the car in Neutral and have a friend help you ease it off the ramps (this will get it level so you can get an accurate read on the tranny dipstick, if you dont do this, you may overfill!). Now depending on your ramp angle, the last little bit may vary. My car took another 8 oz on top of the two full quarts.

**Change complete

Now if you want to completely change out the fluid in the tranny, you need to do this process 3 times per honda, 4 times is what I have always been told before I talked to Honda. Nine quarts will do it four times. Between each drain and fill, you need to circulate the tranny fluid. Go for a short drive and come back, ramp it up and start over.

I didnt know how much fluid it would take, so I didnt buy enough to do it 3 or 4 times. I plan on finishing the process this weekend. Even with just one drain and fill, my tranny shifts much much smoother and quicker.

I hope this helps!!

 

Well that sounds annoying. Here at Toyota, we have a machine that runs the new fluid through the transmission so you don't have to drain and fill 3 times. Costs $130 I think

 

Wouldnt that be flushing, which is highly forbidden on Honda trannys?? Not only that but its still 130 dollars vs 55. Personally I like doing what I can myself so I know its done right.

 

u dont have to do that for a manual tranny too right...the drain n fill numerous times?

 

nope, only auto. The only reason you have to drain and fill the auto that many times is because you only change 1/4 of the fluid when you drain it. Since the SS tranny "bakes" the fluid (which leads to the dreaded failure), its good to completely change it every 10-15k IMO.

 

ok dont gotta worry about that than. u know i must say to u whitenoiz. u come on here n one of ur 1st posts is a how to thread. most noobs come on n ask stupid rediculous questions that can be answered by reading a thread about the same thing 10 threads down the page.

 

Why can't you "flush" a Honda transmission? And technically it's not a flush because an external pump is moving the fluid

 

Honestly, I dont know the technical reasoning behind not flushing honda transmissions. Maybe someone can answer that for you. I have just read over and over, here, preludepower, honda-acura, etc that you should never do it. That may not be a flush, but its close enough for me. I wouldnt do it to my transmission, but thats just me. Drain and fill, it may be a pain, but thats how it should be done. Even the honda techs drain and fill. (I asked)