Im planning to replace my Civic's transmission fluid next week, which brand would you recommend? Amsoil or Honda ATF ($7.50/quart here)? Also where can I fill the fluid? in the dipstick or where?
Thanks
Thanks
Transmission drain & refill
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Refill at the dipstick.
Both a good ATF, but I use Z-1 cause I bought 2 cases of it. If I didn't buy soo much Z-1, I would be using Amsoil.
Both a good ATF, but I use Z-1 cause I bought 2 cases of it. If I didn't buy soo much Z-1, I would be using Amsoil.
JHZR2
Staff member
Id probably go with the Honda stuff since honda ATs are relatively picky and unreliable.
Amsoil is harder to get, but a better ATF. Many on this board with a Honda use Amsoil. The Amsoil is only a $1.00 or $2.00 more per QT and worth it. Your Civic probably takes 3QTs for a drain and refill (capacities are listed on Amsoil website).
Do you know how to do a flush via the cooler method? That would give you the best results if using the Amsoil.
Amsoil's ATF is an excellent choice for your Civic. Use it with confidence, I've been using it since I got my car. You fill the fluid through the dipstick hole, use a really long tube/funnel.
I wonder if Redline makes an ATF for Hondas? If so, would be my choice.
RL claims their D4 is suitable for Honda AT.
Thanks for quick replies. Anyway, with Amsoil/redline, do I need to flush via the cooler method or just a simple drain? I don't know how to do the first one.
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With any new ATF (dino or synthetic) you need to determine whether you want to replace the fluid or refresh the fluid. However without a UOA hard to determine which you should do.
If you have pretty good ATF and only need to refesh it then a drain of the pan and refill should be fine.
If your ATF is beat and needs to be replaced, then a cooler line flush (which you can do yourself) is much better than multiple drain and refills (uses less ATF, thus lower cost and much greener) is the way to go.
If you have pretty good ATF and only need to refesh it then a drain of the pan and refill should be fine.
If your ATF is beat and needs to be replaced, then a cooler line flush (which you can do yourself) is much better than multiple drain and refills (uses less ATF, thus lower cost and much greener) is the way to go.
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^ Nice, I'll make a research on how to do the cooler line flush. I hope its not that hard. lol.
***Its ATF is quite dark compared to my Accord which is reddish.
***Its ATF is quite dark compared to my Accord which is reddish.
Go to amsoil.com it is on there just type in transmission flush and it should come up. Good luck. Its actually quite easy. No worries.
Use the Honda fluid especially if the car is under a warranty. Its just not worth the hassle if a problem should arise, even if the car is out of warranty I'd still stick with the Honda Fluid. After working at 2 different Honda dealerships I learned their transmissions can be problematic, especially in the Odyssey, and older V6 Accords.
Frank D
Frank D
Kestas
Staff member
For those interested, here's the fluid change method I use on all my cars that don't have a torque converter drain:
1. Pull the transmission dipstick (located near the firewall in most cars). Fresh fluid is translucent and cherry red. Some darkening is normal, but if it is reddish brown or mustard color and smells like burnt varnish, it is worn out.
2. Make sure the fluid is warm.
3. For pans that don't have drain plugs, remove all pan bolts except for the corners. Remove the bolt from the lowest corner, then loosen the other corner bolts a turn or two. Carefully pry the pan to break the gasket seal at the lowest corner. Drain mostly from this corner. With good technique you can avoid or at least minimize the red bath.
4. Remove pan. Inspect the pan before cleaning. A small amount of fine grey clutch dust is normal. However, if you find metal shavings, there has been transmission damage. Remove all old gasket material. Clean the pan and magnet with solvent and wipe dry so there is no harmful residue. Shop air can be used to clean the magnet. Hammer back any pan damage from previous overtightening.
5. (Optional) Drill hole in pan at low point and install a drain kit available from most auto supply houses. Make sure the kit protruding inside the pan doesn't interfere with anything on the transmission.
6. Replace filter. If it’s a metal screen filter, it can likely be cleaned and reused.
7. Position gasket on pan. Some gaskets have four holes slightly smaller than the rest to allow four bolts through the pan and through these smaller holes to hold the four bolts and gasket in place.
8. Hand tighten pan bolts in a criss-cross pattern. After that, use a torque wrench to tighten bolts to proper ft-lbs as per manufacturer.
9. Refill the transmission using only the amount shown as “refill capacity” in the owners manual (or an equal amount that was drained), using the type of fluid specified for the vehicle.
10. You now have replaced the trans fluid and filter according to manufacturer’s requirements. Fluid is changed in the pan only.
You can stop here and go to Step 17 if you just wanted a regular drop-the-pan fluid change. For a complete exchange of the fluid (including transmission body and torquer converter) continue with the next steps.
11. Obtain the total system capacity of the vehicle from the manufacturer. Have this amount - plus a bit more - of fluid readily available.
12. Disconnect the oil cooler line from the oil cooler. Tickle the ignition to find the flow direction. Direct the stream of fluid toward a receptacle. It is better to use a clear length of hose with a shoplight laying next to it so you can see when all the old fluid has left the unit.
13. Start the engine, let it idle to pump out old trans fluid until you start seeing air bubbles.
14. Stop the engine. Refill transmission through fill tube with fresh fluid - same amount as pumped out (usually about 2-3 quarts).
15. When either the fluid color brightens or the total capacity has been replaced, shut the engine off and re-attach the oil cooler line. All trans fluid has now been changed.
16. Button everything back up. Clean up the mess.
17. Recheck the fluid level. With the car on level ground, set the parking brake and the transmission in “Park” or “Neutral.” Let the engine idle for a few minutes. Shift the transmission through all detents, pausing momentarily at each position, before returning the lever to “Park” or “Neutral.” Check the fluid level again and check for leaks. Refill fluid so it is slightly undercharged. This way it can be properly checked and topped off after a long drive.
1. Pull the transmission dipstick (located near the firewall in most cars). Fresh fluid is translucent and cherry red. Some darkening is normal, but if it is reddish brown or mustard color and smells like burnt varnish, it is worn out.
2. Make sure the fluid is warm.
3. For pans that don't have drain plugs, remove all pan bolts except for the corners. Remove the bolt from the lowest corner, then loosen the other corner bolts a turn or two. Carefully pry the pan to break the gasket seal at the lowest corner. Drain mostly from this corner. With good technique you can avoid or at least minimize the red bath.
4. Remove pan. Inspect the pan before cleaning. A small amount of fine grey clutch dust is normal. However, if you find metal shavings, there has been transmission damage. Remove all old gasket material. Clean the pan and magnet with solvent and wipe dry so there is no harmful residue. Shop air can be used to clean the magnet. Hammer back any pan damage from previous overtightening.
5. (Optional) Drill hole in pan at low point and install a drain kit available from most auto supply houses. Make sure the kit protruding inside the pan doesn't interfere with anything on the transmission.
6. Replace filter. If it’s a metal screen filter, it can likely be cleaned and reused.
7. Position gasket on pan. Some gaskets have four holes slightly smaller than the rest to allow four bolts through the pan and through these smaller holes to hold the four bolts and gasket in place.
8. Hand tighten pan bolts in a criss-cross pattern. After that, use a torque wrench to tighten bolts to proper ft-lbs as per manufacturer.
9. Refill the transmission using only the amount shown as “refill capacity” in the owners manual (or an equal amount that was drained), using the type of fluid specified for the vehicle.
10. You now have replaced the trans fluid and filter according to manufacturer’s requirements. Fluid is changed in the pan only.
You can stop here and go to Step 17 if you just wanted a regular drop-the-pan fluid change. For a complete exchange of the fluid (including transmission body and torquer converter) continue with the next steps.
11. Obtain the total system capacity of the vehicle from the manufacturer. Have this amount - plus a bit more - of fluid readily available.
12. Disconnect the oil cooler line from the oil cooler. Tickle the ignition to find the flow direction. Direct the stream of fluid toward a receptacle. It is better to use a clear length of hose with a shoplight laying next to it so you can see when all the old fluid has left the unit.
13. Start the engine, let it idle to pump out old trans fluid until you start seeing air bubbles.
14. Stop the engine. Refill transmission through fill tube with fresh fluid - same amount as pumped out (usually about 2-3 quarts).
15. When either the fluid color brightens or the total capacity has been replaced, shut the engine off and re-attach the oil cooler line. All trans fluid has now been changed.
16. Button everything back up. Clean up the mess.
17. Recheck the fluid level. With the car on level ground, set the parking brake and the transmission in “Park” or “Neutral.” Let the engine idle for a few minutes. Shift the transmission through all detents, pausing momentarily at each position, before returning the lever to “Park” or “Neutral.” Check the fluid level again and check for leaks. Refill fluid so it is slightly undercharged. This way it can be properly checked and topped off after a long drive.
Based on Amsoil site: http://www.amsoil.com/scripts/runisa.dll?amsoiloaf:index
I only need 6.4 quarts of atf??? Please clarify this before making a purchase.
Thanks
I only need 6.4 quarts of atf??? Please clarify this before making a purchase.
Thanks
I just did a drain and refill to my daughter's 99 Civic last week.
I went with the Honda ATF fluid instead of Amsoil. I didn't want to wait and order the Amsoil, plus my local dealer sold it to me for $5 a quart since I bought a case of it. It takes 2.5 quarts for the refill.
The drain plug is a 3/8 female square that you insert your 3/8 ratchet into and unscrew. Makes it very easy to find that way as well. Just drain it into a pan, put the plug back on when it's done dripping, and then refill from the top through the dipstick tube with a long funnel.
If you need to replace more of the fluid and don't want to do a flush, you can just do back to back drain and refills. Somewhere there is a formula for how much you actually change by doing multiples, not sure where it is tho.( Be sure to take it for a short drive between changes
I went with the Honda ATF fluid instead of Amsoil. I didn't want to wait and order the Amsoil, plus my local dealer sold it to me for $5 a quart since I bought a case of it. It takes 2.5 quarts for the refill.
The drain plug is a 3/8 female square that you insert your 3/8 ratchet into and unscrew. Makes it very easy to find that way as well. Just drain it into a pan, put the plug back on when it's done dripping, and then refill from the top through the dipstick tube with a long funnel.
If you need to replace more of the fluid and don't want to do a flush, you can just do back to back drain and refills. Somewhere there is a formula for how much you actually change by doing multiples, not sure where it is tho.( Be sure to take it for a short drive between changes
How many drain and refills did you do? anyway, my local autoshop is charging me $55 for cooler line flush labor.
Originally Posted By: Loopie
Based on Amsoil site: http://www.amsoil.com/scripts/runisa.dll?amsoiloaf:index
I only need 6.4 quarts of atf??? Please clarify this before making a purchase.
Thanks
I would get 8 QTs. The Amsoil website is pretty close in my view.
Based on Amsoil site: http://www.amsoil.com/scripts/runisa.dll?amsoiloaf:index
I only need 6.4 quarts of atf??? Please clarify this before making a purchase.
Thanks
I would get 8 QTs. The Amsoil website is pretty close in my view.
I would just do 2 drain/refills to get out the old ATF, you will be surprised just how dirty the magnetic drain plug on your Honda gets.
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