changing manual transmission fluid

What is the typical price to flush/replace manual transmission fluid
at a honda dealer?

Spec: 1998 Civic EX, 5-speed manual, 30K miles


Also, how come it isn't as easy to replace transmission fluid as it is
to replace the engine oil? Some cars have a drain plug, but it doesn't
completely drain the transmission fluid. There must be a good reason
why auto makers make it so you have to remove the pan. Otherwise, I
would do it myself if it was as easy as changing the oil.

Thanks in advance for any advise.

 

Loosen one drain bolt, drain, add 1.8 quarts of Honda MTL.
$5 per quart, or $9 per quart at dealership RAPEAGE prices.

http://www.bettendorf.com/~mrbone/pictures/RR/tranny_oil_holes2.jpg

 

But it *is* easy - certainly easier for a first-timer than getting the oil
filter off. The drain is simple - warm the trans up first. Get yourself
some plastic tubing - 1/2" OD should be about right - stick a funnel in one
end and the other end in the trans fill hole and pour away.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

I wimped out and had it done at a local dealer for $35. Probably I
will do it myself in the future when I feel more comfortable, or have
someone with more knowledge by my side.

 

$35 at the dealership is not that bad IMHO.

 

Unless they just pumped bulk oil into it ;-)

 

Heh. Reminds me of a friend's uncle, who would save used motor oil,
from cars, for use in his old Allis-Chalmers tractor. He'd just poor
it in there, filthy dirty, dead flies, and unidentifiable clumps,
taking so much pride that good ol' American Iron could deal with that.

 

They use the same MTF that they would have used had I brought my car
in for a 30K tune-up and charged me $500 to do so. They're reputable
when it comes to service, though expensive like all other dealers.

By the way, thanks mista bone for the picture. I saved it for future
reference.

 

Thank BlackDueceCoupe, he took the pic, I'm hosting it and using it as a
teaching tool.

 

You might be thinking of an automatic transmission, where most pans have to
be removed in order to replace the filter, and there is no drain plug.

A manual transmission usually has a fill plug, a drain plug and no filter.

By comparison to an engine oil change, the only difficult is that there is
no handy filler tube, so you probably need some sort of pump to get the oil
into the transmission. Make sure you pull the filler plug before the drain
plug. There have been some stories about filler plugs that won't come out.

I drained the oil before I discovered that the filler plug was permanently
stuck in the transmission on a 67 Datsun.

 

I will keep that lesson in mind. And you're right, I didn't know the
pan only applied to an automatic when I posted that question. Many
how-to websites didn't state that clearly upfront. My confusion was
some usenet posts and online forums mentioned that draining the fluid
through the drain plug only flushed half the fluid. They must have
been referring to automatics, not manual transmission cars.