Hi guys so I recently got a del sol, thing about it is once the car is at operating temperature my I don't feel the gears kicking in. The car runs fine when cold, gears shift smoothly, once at operating temp I don't feel them shifting and when running at 40mph the rpm starts going over 4000. When I slow down though I feel the gears shifting down, but I there is a burning smell that comes through my vents. I tuned the car up, just havent changed the cap, rotor or cables, one of the canister cables is nt plugged idk if that makes a difference. The car is a 93 del sol, has a D16z6 engine 1.6 vtec. Has anyone had these issues? What are the first steps I can take or check on it. There is no check engine light on. Any help appreciated.

 

I'm guessing the car is automatic?

Buy 3 qts of Honda automatic transmission fluid at the dealer and do a drain and refill of the transmission.

If you see a lot of grey filings that look like grease attached to the drain plug when you pull it out it probably has never been changed before.

Honda automatic transmissions come back to life after a fluid change.

 

Yes, I forgot to include that it's automatic. Yea I recently did that. I added the red valvoline oil. When changing the oil it was pretty dark and grimy. Is there a specific oil I should add? Should I drain it and re do it 1 more time. I don't think it was ever or recently changed till I did it a few days ago.

 

Yeah I would try it one more time. The Honda ATF is a little expensive but I would go with it. The transmission should improve a little bit better after each change.

I have the same car with auto.

 

Alright, I'll give it one more change tomorrow. Hopefully it rids the issue. Am I supposed to feel the gears switching when in operating temperature, this is my first honda so I'm not sure how they run. Last car I had was a fox mustang. When running between 4000 to 6000 rpm I smell something burnt, no smoke just a burnt smell.

I feel the gears shifting down when I brake. I just don't really feel the, shifting up.

 

Upshifts will be barely noticeable. Honda automatics are designed to be smooth shifting. I think the engineers took pride in designing that into the car. I wouldn't beat on the tranny. Mine has 228K on it. I've replaced the engine once but have the original tranny.

 

Yea that's what I was thinking also. I feel it shift down. The only thing that freaks me out is a burnt smell. I also feel like the vtec isn't quite kicking in. Is there anything I should double check?

 

How many miles on this thing?

The clutches inside the clutch packs do wear. Some Hondas, like 2001 Civic, are notorious for burning them up around the 200K mark. If, at some point during it's life, you heavily wear the 2nd gear pack (as an example), the clutch medium can clog the filter (if equipped) or valve bodies and fluid stops circulating properly. Packs aren't cooled and start to overheat making the problem worse.

 

It has 170,xxx
Where is that located at? I was also thinking it could be the tranny sensor. Was just reading on similar issues but any other advice I greatly welcome.

 

Sadly, these filters are just a perforated screen INSIDE of the tranny case. If one of the clutch packs is worn to the point of packing the filter with clutch material, you're going in anyway.

USUALLY, you'll get some kind of indication of a bad solenoid or sensor on an automatic. I believe Honda's illuminate D4 on the dash in the event of problem or failure.

 

Mmm ok well right now when on gear at D4 it doesn't light up. Runs fine when cold, it's just the moment when it reaches temperature. Sometimes it runs fine and sometimes it loses power. Also the gears not kicking in. I'm gonna check out the sensors then and the selenoid. The burnt smell has to be coming from somewhere which usually happens when the gears don't kick in over 3000rpm