Hi,
I changed the transmission oil of my honda Accord 2000 SE 2 days ago. The old oil was all dark.
I put in the new Honda ATF oil (dark red in color). Took the car out for a drive and felt so good. The transmission shift was very good compared to before the oil change.
Two days later I see that the oil is getting dark again and shift is not that as smooth as soon after changing the fluid.
The car took on 2.2 - 2.4 litres of fluid.
Someone tells me that I need a transmission flush in order to get ALL the old oil out because the car holds more than 2.3 litres (like more than 10 litres) and the old oil contaminated the new oil. Is it true that there is more oil inside the transmission than we replace e.g. the torque converter holds fluid as well? Do I need a transmission flush? Can I frequently change trans fluid to replace the old oil? When I replaced the fluid my level was just above the max mark, is this a matter of concern?
Dropping the pan only removes about 35% of the total volume of fluid in the transmission. The rest is held in the torque converter, valve body, and the transmission cooler. So this is like only draining one quart of engine oil and replacing it with one quart of fresh oil. The old oil in the pan just contaminates the one fresh quart of oil.
If you want to change all the transmission fluid, you need to have a transmission fluid exchange service performed. Some call it flush.
Tester
I would just drive about 5K miles and do the pan again (bonus easy if you have a drain plug - somewhat rare - just drain & refill). Then again in another 5 or 10k. By then the fluid would be pretty clean.
Or - if you want to avoid the flush machine - I have never done this and it might not be advisable - not really sure. But I have seen a shade tree method for complete fluid exchange that involves pulling the cooler lines, putting the inlet line into fresh fluid & the outlet line into a drain pan/bucket - run the car until outlet fluid is clean. Like I said - I don’t know how smart that is, so I’d research it a little if you wanted to do it.
If you DIY changing the trans fluid a couple more times is cheaper than having someone do a flush.
If you do get a fluid exchange or flush make sure they use Honda fluid and not some substitute or additives.
You do not want to do this.
That transmission pump will pump out transmission fluid much faster than you can introduce transmission fluid back into the transmission. Then you say bye-bye pump.
Anyway, that’s what a transmission fluid exchange machine does. You remove the inlet line to the transmission cooler, connect the exchange machine between the inlet line and the cooler. Start the engine and run the transmission thru the gears. The transmission pump forces the old fluid into the exchange machine while at the same time the machine introduces fresh transmission fluid back into the transmission. What could be easier?
Tester
Put trans flush in search and you will find alot of posts about flushes breaking loose crud and some of it does not get out, then it clogs up trans a week or 2 later then $$$$
How many miles on your Accord?? Which engine do you have in it??
transman
Your old transmission fluid really shouldn’t have been dark to begin with. Have you been replacing the fluid according to the maintenance schedule up to now?
I agree with cigroller . . . drain the same amount again in a few miles . . . I’d do it every oil change, since you’re going to be down there and dirty anyway . . . draining out 2 1/5 liters and re-filling with fresh every oil change is no big deal and it will eventually replace the old fluid without much trouble. The new fluid change will drain while you’re draining your motor oil. Just make certain that you re-fillthe engine with motor oil, the tranny with ATF. Check with your parts store . . . . some Honda cars require Honda fluid, some will allow for a substitute. Rocketman
I have about 195K km on the 2.3L 2000 SE model. I bought the car in 2006 with 150K km on it and this is the first time I have changed the trans fluid. I don’t know about the history before I bought it.