I have a01 4 popper auto, is the trans fluid/filter an easy job? how much fluid is dropped when you pull pan? What fluid is best to refill with? Need to add any friction stuff to it? at 138k, not known if changed before and trans shifts fine should I do this?

 

It is easy to drain. There is no real filter, it is more of a screen and it doesn't need to come out. To try to get it out is a very big job. When you drain you only get out about 40% of the fluid. So, the procedure is drain, then fill, drive, then drain then fill, drive, then drain then fill. You can do it over the course of several days. The biggest thing is ONLY use Honda brand fluid. This generation accord is very sensitive to the transmission fluid. Actually, this generation accord has a very bad reputation for automatic transmissions overall. You can get a case of Honda brand transmission fluid from your closest Honda dealership parts department and you can get some discount. It is pretty much just open the drain plug, drain it, plug it back up, and fill it. I think each fill is 2.5-2.75 quarts. If you don't know if it has been changed before, I would just drain and fill once and see how it goes for awhile. If it acts weird in any way, don't drain and fill again for 30k miles or so. Really old fluid gets particles in it and wears the transmission. The extra friction helps it to shift, so removing all of the particles would/could cause it to slip and become useless.

 

It's recommended to cycle through each gear after refilling. Then repeat the drain/refill process.

 

at 138k and it is the Trans that has a bad rep and it is operating well maybe I should well enough alone??? The car is rusty, couple bumps to the chin on her, the airbag system is not working. Maybe when it dies it is time for the old girl to go to the junk yard.

 

Buy two 1 gallon jugs and a drain pan/bucket. Drain the fluid. Pour the old fluid into one of the jugs. Place both jugs on a level surface. Fill up the empty jug with Honda automatic transmission fluid so it's the same level. Pour that fluid into the transmission.

If you follow that you can not screw it up. Also, you can remove the shift solenoids and clean off the gaskets. This will help with any shifting issues you may have.

 

When I got my 2002, the previous owner never changed the tranny fluid in it so when I got it the fluid was LITERALLY black. SMH. I ended up doing my own trasmission flush. I drained the fluid then added fresh fluid to the Trans. Disconnected my supply line to the cooler and blew compressed air into the return to force the remaining old fluid through the cooler and back into the Trans. Then started the car and kept the Trans full of fluid until the fluid coming out of the supply line changed from the old black fluid to the fresh fluid. If you go this route, its extremely important not to let the Trans starve for fluid. Then I reconnected the hoses to the cooler and topped off the fluid level and done. Hope this helps.

 

I bought 12 qts of Honda Transmission Fluid from my local Honda dealer. The guy behind the parts counter always quotes the higher list price, but don't be afraid to ask for a lower price per quart. I was able to get the price knocked down from $9 to $5.50 per bottle.

Changing the transmission fluid is pretty easy. As others of said, drain/fill, drive the car around a bit and repeat the process 2-3 times. i installed a magnafine transmission fluid filter after the last drain. I recommend it.