1993 Integra 1.6 dual carbs - 116,000 km. Light acceleration produces flare on the 1-2 shift; not noticable under heavier acceleration. Any obvious culprits (cables, modulator, solonoids)? Is a fluid change the first thing to try? If so, any advice on how to chage the fluid. Should I drain and add new and then pump some of the fluid out of the radiator loop to flush? Should I remove and clean the solonoids after draining the old fluid? Thanks

 

replace fluid and most likely the kickdown cable isn't adjusted correctly. Back it off a tad and see if it shifts how you'd like it to.

You really should use a pressure gauge to set the kickdown cable corectly...but feel also works

 

So the Honda kickdown cable influences shifting other than just "kicking down" - something like the GM TV cable?

 

The cable is more of a "pressure gauge" than an actual "kick down" cable. It lets the tranny know exactly how much throttle you are trying to apply so the tranny can know how to react (very over simplified).

Flush that tranny first with genuine Honda ATF.

1. Drain tranny
2. fill
3 run on stands for 45 min- 1hr.
4 repeat 2-3 more times

Make sure the tranny cable doesn't move untill the throttle has been applied at least 1/16" (does that make sense?)

 

I changed the fluid by draining the sump and refilling, then I removed the return hose from the radiator and ran the engine to pump out the old fluid that remained (until it ran red). The old fluid was BLACK - glad this is not my car. My friend has reported that there has been some improvement, but I think we'll have to adjust the TV cable. It seemed very slack when I had a look at it, but I didn't know how to adjust it properly. with Chicken's info, we could give it a try. So, the TV cable shouldn't move until the throttle CABLE has moved 1/16", or until the throttle valve has tipped open 1/16"?

Thanks