transmission oil change?

My 2001 Civic has 117k miles on it. I've heard from some that I shoudn't
have the transmission power flushed or it might cause problems. Instead,
I'm told to just drain it 3 or 4 times. Comments?

Mike

 

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If it's an auto, you take it for a drive, drain the fluid, wipe the
magnet, replace the copper crush washer. You refill it with Honda Z1,
and drive it around for a while. You do it again next weekend. You can
certainly do it a third time if you wish. I like to give it a week so
the magnet will catch as much stuff as it can before I get to wipe it
off the second time. It's less than 4 quarts each time. On an Odyssey /
Accord you can get over 4 litres out of it.

'Curly'

 

Honda recommends the drain/fill muliple times routine and not the power
flush. I don't know exactly why, but I bet they have their reasons!

John

 

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Best guess why they don't want you 'power flushing' the auto: There's an
internal filter, and if somebody (Monkey Lube) hooked up the pressure
lines the wrong way, the filter's contents would be distributed evenly
though the whole tranny and cooler. Wouldn't be pretty.

'Curly'

 

Is this something to do just on high-mileage autos?

On a new car, following recommended procedures, the dealer will change
the fluid about every 30k miles. Do they do a multiple flush even
then? Guess not.

J.

 

Mainly it applies if the drain and refill hasn't been done regularly, so the
fluid is nasty. If done on schedule (in the owner's manual, IIRC) it only
needs one incremental drain/fill per interval.

Mike

 

My '03 owners manual specifically calls for the multiple drain/fill
routine at the specified service intervals. This is because draining
only gets less than 1/3 of the fluid out in a single drain. Much is
trapped in the torque converter and cooling circuit.

John

 

| Much is trapped in the torque converter and cooling circuit.

Does your g-box have a filter ? My F20A's did not, so its fluid had a
lot of dirt. My Mitsubishi 4G15P's g-box has a filter : its fluid was
clean even after 76701 km 's use.

 

Aha, thanks! Think I'll ask the dealer about this, what their
practice is. I've been very unhappy with Honda auto performance in my
last two cars, and I know the oil change helps, at least briefly.


J.

 

Well it sounds like a unanimous agreement NOT to flush. I'm not a mechanic
so don't know what "wipe the magnet" means. Will a reputable mechanic shop
do that without being told are do I have to explain what I'm trying to
accomplish and will be back another time or two (I've had it drained once
already)?

Mike