My dad put Valvoline Ford Tranny fluid in my 1992 Honda Accord DX and now it makes a humming/grinding noise between 3rd and 4th gear (35-40mph).

I need to get it flushed, but I don't know how to do that. I have a few questions:

1) How do you flush the transmission?

2) Where do you buy Honda transmission fluid? (I can't find it)

3) Will my transmission go bad now that we put 2 quarts of Ford tranny fluid on top of genuine Honda tranny fluid still in there... and traveled 3000 miles??

4) What else should I do?

 

Lovely.

Drain plug - open it and leak out fluid when tranny is slightly warmed

Fill plug - open it and fill the tranny up until the fluid starts leaking through the threads

honda dealership

i wouldn't be driving on it

drain and refill x 3

 

So drain the fluid once it is warmed up... then fill it up with 3 quarts?

Or do I drain and refill it 3 times?

Sorry, I don't know too much about cars or hondas

 

You will drain a little over 2 quarts.

Drive around, warm up the car a little bit then drain the fluid. Fill it back up, drive around some more and drain again. Fill back up, drain again.

That should clear up majority of the gunk ford fluid

 

I am thinking about getting it completely flushed... where is the best place/cheapest to go for a transmission flush. will they put in the fluids I ask them to?

 

Should I get it flushed or just drain and refill the transmission fluid. I have heard and researched... people say NEVER to flush the transmission...

Is this true? or should I get it drained since I have drove 3000 miles with the wrong fluid?!

 

There are two schools of thought on the matter - one is that you shouldn't flush the transmission since it will knock crud loose and ruin the transmisison. I think that what happens is that people start to have problems with their transmission so they do a flush thinking it will fix everything. It doesn't fix anything, it just helps prevent further damage. Anyway, their transmission goes bad so they blame the flush.

I believe that you should regularly flush your automatic transmissions, keep good fluid in there. But then again, I've never done the flush on a Honda since my Accord has manual transmission though I have flushed both an old Volvo I once had as well as my '95 Camry.

As far as instructions, check out this:
http://www.ipdusa.com/uploads/sku_files/7945_INST.PDF

That's the instructions for a flush kit from IPD USA (a Volvo supply company), you don't really need the kit though.

To do a flush...

1. Figure out the capacity of your transmission, buy that much ATF plus a few extra quarts - keep the receipt in case you don't need all of it.

2. Have some empty milk jugs marked with a permanent market to quart lines. Have enough jugs to cover however much fluid you have.

3. Have about 6 or 7 feet of 3/8" ID clear rubber tubing, probably about 30 cents per foot from your local hardware store.

4. You'll need a transmission funnel, about $2 or $3 from your auto parts store. Make sure it's for this job - it'll have a long neck and a narrow end on the flexible tube part of it.

Now you'll need to figure out which line goes from your radiator to your transmission. There'll be two, one from transmission to radiator and one from radiator back to the transmission. Disconnect the line from the radiator to the transmission and slip one end of the 3/8" ID tube onto the nub on the radiator. I'm assuming that (1) there is a nub; and (2) 3/8" ID is the right size (it was for both my Volvo and Camry).

Take the caps off of about four or five bottles of tranny fluid. Put the funnel in the transmission dipstick tube. Put the other end of the rubber hose into a milk jug marked with quart lines. Start the car up and double check to make sure fluid is filling up the hose. As fluid enters the milk jug, be adding fresh fluid into the funnel in the dipstick tube. Put fluid in as fast as it is coming out (that's why the milk jug is marked with quarts, so you know how much came out). At some point, with your foot on the brake, shift through the gears for about ten seconds per gear.

Normally the old fluid would be dark and you would see when the new fluid was starting to enter the tube, at that point you would stop. Since you already have new fluid in there I'd just put in the capacity, plus a couple of quarts (taking out an equal amount).

Check with local mechanics, see if they'll take the old transmission fluid at no charge (my local one did).

It sounds complicated but really, it's only a ten or fifteen minute job.

 

Heat... great post. Thanks. I have an AT that I want to swap in my 6th gen Accord SE. Known AT problems and Honda extended the warranty on it. I think it's a servo issue. I was way over anyway, so it doesn't do me any good.

I changed the tranny fluid last October, and it seemed to shift worse. I suspect it was what you said earlier. Tranny was already having problems and shifting a bit rough, and flushing the fluid just made what was already bad more evident.

If I don't replace the MT soon, I'll flush it using your technique and see what happens.

 

One more thing - the flush I was talking about above is assuming the guy has an automatic transmission.

The Mufffin Man is assuming he has a manual transmission, his instructions are on how to change the fluid (you don't do a flush on manual tranmission, you just drain and refill).

And as to where to buy Honda transmission fluid - you buy it from a Honda dealer. Or from an online source such as here: http://www.handa-accessories.com/accmaint00.html

 

The problem I am having with the transmission is that it is making a humming/grinding noise that sounds like a bearing in the transmission. Between 3rd and 4th gear (35 to 40mph) it begins making that sound. It stops once I am a little above 40 mph.

What kind of bearing would be causing this to happen? Any ideas anyone?!

 

Could be that the Ford ATF was too viscous and didn't lubricate properly. Small passageways don't get enough flow with high viscosity. Since you've driven it so much like that, it may have damaged a bearing. At certain speeds, it makes the bearing vibrate because now it's too loose. It's like being on resonance when it is at 35-40. As the speed increase the frequency changes and the bearing stops vibrating as much - enough so that you don't hear it over the road and engine noise.

It might get better over time with Honda ATF as it re-seats itself. But it will probably never go away completely.

 

Oh snap, should've asked I was just going off of a manual.

Auto is similar but you fill through the dip stick.