Heres the deal: my girlfriend recently bought a 91 accord auto and the transmission shifts pretty harshly. I have read that this could possibly be caused by a bad tcm. Any ideas on where I should shart first? I havent a clue on auto tranmissions all I haveever had are manuals. I havent had a chance to drive it yet but she also said sometimes going up a hill she can floor it and it just doesnt want to accelerate im assuming it may not be downshifting properly all the time. Thanks for any help.
Help w/ 91 Accord auto trans.
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That's a tricky one. The poor shifting and accelerating on hills could be traced to lots of things.
How many miles on this car?
What is the condition of the engine?
Was the transmission maintained? When was the last flush+filter?
Sometimes linkages (throttle, throttle position cable) can be loose or stretched such that the tranny thinks throttle position is less than it really is.
How many miles on this car?
What is the condition of the engine?
Was the transmission maintained? When was the last flush+filter?
Sometimes linkages (throttle, throttle position cable) can be loose or stretched such that the tranny thinks throttle position is less than it really is.
Drive it to give us a better description of what is going on.
CHECK THE FLUID LEVEL FIRST!
CHECK THE FLUID LEVEL FIRST!
Far more likely the fluid is just worn out. What does the fluid look like? Is it bright red, or brown and nasty? Change the fluid a couple of times first. If the control module was bad you would probably be seeing check engine lights or flashing "D" indicators.
Originally Posted By: Dave Sherman
Far more likely the fluid is just worn out. What does the fluid look like? Is it bright red, or brown and nasty? Change the fluid a couple of times first. If the control module was bad you would probably be seeing check engine lights or flashing "D" indicators.
+1
Far more likely the fluid is just worn out. What does the fluid look like? Is it bright red, or brown and nasty? Change the fluid a couple of times first. If the control module was bad you would probably be seeing check engine lights or flashing "D" indicators.
+1
It's normal. My 92 Accord has the harshest, most jerky, clunky transmission I have ever seen. They're pretty well known for it. I owned this car ever since it was 3 years old with 17k miles on it. Its always been this way and has never gotten any better or worse. The good news is, it's supposedly a very reliable transmission that can go 200k+.
Review from 1993:
Quote:
On the other hand, the automatic transmission has had jerky and sometimes harsh shift quality. That’s an important point to remember when road testing a used Accord from this time period. Shifts won’t be silky, folks. That said, they shouldn’t “hammer” into gear, either. I will say that the automatic transmission, while not the smoothest in the world, has proven strong and durable.
Review from 1993:
Quote:
On the other hand, the automatic transmission has had jerky and sometimes harsh shift quality. That’s an important point to remember when road testing a used Accord from this time period. Shifts won’t be silky, folks. That said, they shouldn’t “hammer” into gear, either. I will say that the automatic transmission, while not the smoothest in the world, has proven strong and durable.
Before my Dad passed, he had a 92 Honda Accord. He kept it well maintained at the local Honda dealer. Six months before he passed in 02 the trans went out. He couldn't afford a new trans so a mechanic there found a 91 trans and put it in for him at his house. He also said that the 92 trans have several plastic parts internally which caused a lot of problems for the 92 year models. That's why he said he put the 91 year trans in because it didn't have the plastic parts. I now have the car and the trans is still going after almost 8 years. Haven't verified this from Honda but that's what the man said.
Originally Posted By: Kaboomba
That's a tricky one. The poor shifting and accelerating on hills could be traced to lots of things.
How many miles on this car?
What is the condition of the engine?
Was the transmission maintained? When was the last flush+filter?
Sometimes linkages (throttle, throttle position cable) can be loose or stretched such that the tranny thinks throttle position is less than it really is.
It has 149,xxx miles.
The engine itself seems to run rather well. I got everything to do a full tune up and timing belt change this weekend.
As far as the flush or maintenance of the trans I havent got a clue. We bought it from a family friend but I dont really think they kept up on the trans maintenance. Is the trans tune stuff from seafoam any good? I thought of maybe running it a while before changing the fluid to see if it could do some cleaning.
I read about the cables having slack and causing problems I will definitely check that out as well.
That's a tricky one. The poor shifting and accelerating on hills could be traced to lots of things.
How many miles on this car?
What is the condition of the engine?
Was the transmission maintained? When was the last flush+filter?
Sometimes linkages (throttle, throttle position cable) can be loose or stretched such that the tranny thinks throttle position is less than it really is.
It has 149,xxx miles.
The engine itself seems to run rather well. I got everything to do a full tune up and timing belt change this weekend.
As far as the flush or maintenance of the trans I havent got a clue. We bought it from a family friend but I dont really think they kept up on the trans maintenance. Is the trans tune stuff from seafoam any good? I thought of maybe running it a while before changing the fluid to see if it could do some cleaning.
I read about the cables having slack and causing problems I will definitely check that out as well.
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We had a '93 Accord for 14 yrs. Great car. Just do a couple of drain and fills and it'll be fine. Yes, the trans is jerky in that generation Accord.
I had the cable replaced under warranty as it got very stiff and hard to shift.
I had the cable replaced under warranty as it got very stiff and hard to shift.
Can't really help you (though I have at various times owned an 89, 90, 91 and 92 Accord), but check out www.cb7tuner.com Lots of good info on 4th gen Accords there.
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In 1994 or 1995 Honda went from Dexron to Z-1, and that smoothed out the transmission shifting a little bit.
I know this because one time my dad put Dexron III in his 1995 Accord, and transmission was much more jerky.
Now, maybe if you got some ATF HFM additive you could solve the problem or at least minimize it.
I know this because one time my dad put Dexron III in his 1995 Accord, and transmission was much more jerky.
Now, maybe if you got some ATF HFM additive you could solve the problem or at least minimize it.
You should do a couple drain+fill cycles, then a ARX treatment, then a flush. The idea is to work up to the new, clean fluid without releasing too much muck at once.
Does the fluid look or smell burned? Does it look or feel dirty? Does it look opaque or cloudy?
If the fluid does not have a burned/sour smell, is not thick, brown or black, or look milky or cloudy, the drain+fill+ARX+flush will likely do the trick.
All the best
Does the fluid look or smell burned? Does it look or feel dirty? Does it look opaque or cloudy?
If the fluid does not have a burned/sour smell, is not thick, brown or black, or look milky or cloudy, the drain+fill+ARX+flush will likely do the trick.
All the best
The fluid looked ok not burned or anything like that. I changed it anyway. I also adjusted the throttle cable it had some slack but the cable to the transmission itself didnt have any. After driving it if I come to a complete stop it accelerates just fine but if I have to slow down then speed back up it doesnt always downshift properly.
a drain and fill is not going to help a sluggish shifting problem . Do a full fluid exchange using these products. Spend the $100 bucks and have a pro do it or buy it off ebay for about $10. imo arx takes too long and too much work to the average parson. By the time you do all the flushes you could get it fixed in one day.
http://www.bgprod.com/products/transmission.html
http://www.bgprod.com/products/transmission.html
if you suspect a computer is bad take it off and open it up for inspection,
when they go you will see a burned spot on the circuit board or a bad capacitor..... it will be visible..... and it is usually fixable if you can get the proper part that whent bad and can solder.
when they go you will see a burned spot on the circuit board or a bad capacitor..... it will be visible..... and it is usually fixable if you can get the proper part that whent bad and can solder.
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