Amsoil ATF in 03 Honda Odyssey?

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Multiple drains and refills are more effective in Hondas than in many other transmissions, because a greater percentage of fluid is drained each time.
 
One can only change 3.5 qt of the 8.5 qt in the Odyssey. You have to DRIVE the vehicle between drain and fills. I do not believe that a flush machine or the Z-tech machine cannot change all the fluid in these transmissions. BTW, The dealer puts the car on the rack and drives the while the vehicle is suspended. At least they are supposed to. I change the fluid and drive it around and then drain and fill again. Changing the transmission fluid is easy.

Based on 3.5 of 8.5 quarts replaced,
1st drain and fill will replace about 40%
2nd drain and fill will have replaced about 64% total
3rd drain and fill will have replaced about 78% total
4th drain and fill will have replaced about 87% total

I ran Schaeffer ATF (SAT 204) for a few years and it was good. I had no problems at all, and the tested wear values were lower than with the Z1.

I just switched over to RLI Biosyn ATF. I'm up to 64% replacement and so far it's good. I believe the fuel economy is better, but I need more time to know.

RLI doesn't have the ATF on their website, but they do sell it and will provide the stat sheets. If you are interested, it's $3 cheaper per quart if you buy it by the gallon.

I'm biased against the Honda Z1 fluid. There have been a LOT of failures with that lubricant. I can't say that it is the problem, but my opinion is it definitely is not part of the solution based on the number of people whose transmissions died with that fluid even with fluid changes.
 
Today, I flushed the ATF in my 03 Odyssey that was Honda Z-1 with Amsoil ATF. I put 6 oz. of Auto-RX in the ATF 1000 miles ago. I used 20 quarts of Amsoil ATF. I first drained and filled the ATF pan, then disconnected the ATF cooler return line and flushed the system 2 quarts at a time. I am pretty sure I needed all 20 quarts (2, 2.5 gallon jugs) because the draining ATF was still a little darker than the new ATF at the end. I will probably drive for about 5k then do a few drain and fills in a row and change the ATF filter at that time. I ordered the inline OEM filter but haven't recieved it yet. It is stated to be a lifetime filter, but we all know nothing is lifetime. I will change it out when I get it. I will also be adding a Magnefine inline filter as well to the ATF return line in the near future.

Honda doesn't make a very good trainy and I want to safeguard mine as much as I can.

Overall, the shifting is smoother and crisp. But, I have only had the Amsoil ATF in the trainy for the day and drove about 20 miles. Only time will tell how well it works for me in this application. I have been very happy with Amsoil ATF in my Nissan.
 
Originally Posted By: Cooper
Today, I flushed the ATF in my 03 Odyssey that was Honda Z-1 with Amsoil ATF. I put 6 oz. of Auto-RX in the ATF 1000 miles ago. I used 20 quarts of Amsoil ATF. I first drained and filled the ATF pan, then disconnected the ATF cooler return line and flushed the system 2 quarts at a time.



You must be a rich kid with a lot of $ to spare. Most transmissions have a capacity of 10Q +/- 2Q. I think you blew away 8Q of ATF just like that..

BTW coming back to flush, you don't have to flush 2Q at a time (higher chance of cross contamination of old and new ATF).

Drain pan and fill the pan with one extra quart (usually pans hold 4Q +/- 1Q). Remove return line, start engine and while having someone in drivers set go over each gear for 10sec for a total of 60sec will get 6Q out. Keep filling the pan, you don't have to catch up on drain vs fill rate.. Once 6Q is out via return line (total of 10Q, pan + return line flush), stop, fill pan, reconnect and done.
 
Originally Posted By: MaximaGuy
Originally Posted By: Cooper
Today, I flushed the ATF in my 03 Odyssey that was Honda Z-1 with Amsoil ATF. I put 6 oz. of Auto-RX in the ATF 1000 miles ago. I used 20 quarts of Amsoil ATF. I first drained and filled the ATF pan, then disconnected the ATF cooler return line and flushed the system 2 quarts at a time.



You must be a rich kid with a lot of $ to spare. Most transmissions have a capacity of 10Q +/- 2Q. I think you blew away 8Q of ATF just like that..



Well, I didn't need to drain 10 quarts. I needed to drain 20 quarts. Probably more. I was flushing the transmission. The ATF was still dark, so, I flushed it until it wasn't anymore. I am pretty sure that was the point. Not to be rude, but you are pretty ignorant for saying I blew away 8 quarts. I also didn't want to run the pan dry, that is why I did 2 quarts at a time. The pan already had new fluid in it, so, cross contamination was minimal.

Honda Odyssey AT's are not the best design that Honda has made, so anything to help it is what I will do.
 
Originally Posted By: Cooper
Today, I flushed the ATF in my 03 Odyssey that was Honda Z-1 with Amsoil ATF. I put 6 oz. of Auto-RX in the ATF 1000 miles ago. I used 20 quarts of Amsoil ATF. I first drained and filled the ATF pan, then disconnected the ATF cooler return line and flushed the system 2 quarts at a time. I am pretty sure I needed all 20 quarts (2, 2.5 gallon jugs) because the draining ATF was still a little darker than the new ATF at the end. I will probably drive for about 5k then do a few drain and fills in a row and change the ATF filter at that time. I ordered the inline OEM filter but haven't recieved it yet. It is stated to be a lifetime filter, but we all know nothing is lifetime. I will change it out when I get it. I will also be adding a Magnefine inline filter as well to the ATF return line in the near future.

Honda doesn't make a very good trainy and I want to safeguard mine as much as I can.

Overall, the shifting is smoother and crisp. But, I have only had the Amsoil ATF in the trainy for the day and drove about 20 miles. Only time will tell how well it works for me in this application. I have been very happy with Amsoil ATF in my Nissan.


While I think its a good idea to use an extra quart or two during a flush, your Honda has a total fill of 8.5QTs so using 20 QTs for a flush would seem to be overkill. You would be better off stopping at 10 QTs and using the other 10 QTs to do drain & refills over the next few years.
 
Another good way to do it would be to use the 10Q Amsoil towards the end. Drain pan and fill with 5Q of Castrol Import MV ATF, then flush with Amsoil...

Cooper: If I did come across as critical, accept my apologies..
 
Originally Posted By: Cooper
Today, I flushed the ATF in my 03 Odyssey that was Honda Z-1 with Amsoil ATF.
Overall, the shifting is smoother...

Because your transmission slipping every time it goes up & down - usually observed when people go with universal fluid instead of z1, same like riding clutch if you know what I mean and it's not going to help but instead accelerate transmission failure. Honda transmission designed to have a quick and firm lock - only achievable with properly formulated fluid and friction modifiers. If you have weak transmission design it will fail anyways with or without amsoil.
 
Originally Posted By: gaspo

Because your transmission slipping every time it goes up & down - usually observed when people go with universal fluid instead of z1, same like riding clutch if you know what I mean and it's not going to help but instead accelerate transmission failure. Honda transmission designed to have a quick and firm lock - only achievable with properly formulated fluid and friction modifiers. If you have weak transmission design it will fail anyways with or without amsoil.


That's simply not true at all. Other than the transmission being rather weak.
 
Originally Posted By: gaspo

Because your transmission slipping every time it goes up & down - usually observed when people go with universal fluid instead of z1, same like riding clutch if you know what I mean and it's not going to help but instead accelerate transmission failure. Honda transmission designed to have a quick and firm lock - only achievable with properly formulated fluid and friction modifiers. If you have weak transmission design it will fail anyways with or without amsoil.


I agreed with Pablo. Even I had ATF changed with Honda Z1, I can feel that the transmission shifted smoother. So I think it is because of the new fluid or The Z1 causes the transmission to slip.
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My friend has been using Mobil 1 ATF. He hasn't had any problem so far. Isn't that something.
 
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Yes, I know that the transmission is weak in the Ody. But, I think that filter changes and using Amsoil should help. Even if it may help to fail just after warranty instead of before the warranty expires.

We will see.
 
I also kept flushing the ATF until it came out red and clear. It was pretty ugly and almost purple. Also note that I used Auto-RX in the transmission before this flush.
 
Transmission is shot. Getting it rebuilt at 109,000. Originally switched from Z1 to Amsoil ATF at 64,000 and did drain and fills every 10k since then. So, as for what I can deduce from this....Amsoil ATF made the transmission slip more than I would like. It is NOT suitable for the Honda transmission. It is more than likely due to the design of the Honda and the clutch packs. My personal opinion, I will use the Honda fluid from this point that was designed for the Honda transmission. The Amsoil ATF should not be used in this application. My $3k mistake.
 
Originally Posted By: Cooper
Transmission is shot. Getting it rebuilt at 109,000. Originally switched from Z1 to Amsoil ATF at 64,000 and did drain and fills every 10k since then. So, as for what I can deduce from this....Amsoil ATF made the transmission slip more than I would like. It is NOT suitable for the Honda transmission. It is more than likely due to the design of the Honda and the clutch packs. My personal opinion, I will use the Honda fluid from this point that was designed for the Honda transmission. The Amsoil ATF should not be used in this application. My $3k mistake.
My Odyssey went about 70K miles with Z1 only. Yours lasted much longer. So it is not possible to say if Amsoil helped the transmission last longer or not. Other uncontrolled variables include flushing method and AutoRX.
It is not clear whether Amsoil helped or hurt.
Amsoil has a guarantee.

Maybe you could ask Amsoil to reimburse you based on their warranty. More likely, Amsoil would find a way to not pay whatever the merits or demerits are.

Quote from Amsoil warranty
"The Amsoil warranty claims: shall be limited to :
The cost including labor and materials , to repair, or at the option of AMSOIL INC , to replace damaged components lubricated by Amsoil products according to Amsoil recommendations."
Link below:
http://www.amsoil.com/lit/g1363.pdf
 
Originally Posted By: thrace
My Odyssey went about 70K miles with Z1 only. Yours lasted much longer. So it is not possible to say if Amsoil helped the transmission last longer or not. Other uncontrolled variables include flushing method and AutoRX.


How often did you drain and fill the transmission with Z1? I did multiple drain and fills with Amsoil on mine a couple of years ago. I used about 20 quarts of Amsoil to almost completely flush the transmission after the Z1 with the AutoRX was in it.

Originally Posted By: Pablo
Amsoil will not replace a defective Honda transmission.


I have no intention of asking Amsoil to pay for anything. I know their track record of NEVER backing up that warranty, even if the fluid is "RECOMMENDED" for an application but isn't really designed to specifically work in that application.
 
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Originally Posted By: Cooper

Honda Odyssey AT's are not the best design that Honda has made, so anything to help it is what I will do.


well this is what you said in 2008. with all the 2 gen oddyssey trans failing at before 50,000 miles i think you did ewxcellent on yours. like the others have said how do you know that amsoil didn't extend the life of your engineering marvel? mike
 
Actually Amsoil has picked up the tab as a warranty claim several times even when by right the unit was defective or the owner abused the unit. So your "never" word is interesting.

We cannot say if the Amsoil ATF extended the life of your transmission. But MTTF is around 70K, so perhaps it did. I, for one, can understand how you are angry. I will be also very grouchy if my 2006 Ody transmission dies. It's had full Amsoil ATF since around 10K and we are approaching 90K.
 
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