Honda Car Forum

Hi,

I've just replaced the Auto trans. fluid in my '87 accord ( 93k Miles)
I was told by my local Honda dealer to use Dexron fluid.
I was informed to use 2.8 Litres, and I did the replacment with a hot
engine.The dipstick measured to the top level but I put less than 2.8
litres in.

The guy at Honda said to check the level cold, although he also said
to fill it up untill it over-flowed (I think he was getting confused
with the manual box !)

My concern is that I checked again before driving (with the engine
cold) the level was then about 5mm above the high mark. Checking when
hot ( within a few minutes of turning off the engine) and the level is
still exactly right.

What are the potential problems of having too much fluid in there ?
How much difference will the level of the ground make to the reading
since I checked the fluid hot in the car park at the rec. centre.

Interestingly the Honda handbook and the Haynes manual do not mention
any difference in hot/cold readings. From what I have read on usenet
the hot reading should be HIGHER not lower..

I guess I will ride my bike to work tommorrow and drain out a bit of
fluid in the evening,I really don't want to blow an oil seal or
somthing. I think it is better to have a bit too little in there and
top it up..


Simon

Stop being a paranoid schizo. It's perfectly fine, stop messing with it.

Drive the car.



U.S.A. "Go West Young Men..."

Mexico "El Norte Hombre..."

SimonP wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> I've just replaced the Auto trans. fluid in my '87 accord ( 93k Miles)
> I was told by my local Honda dealer to use Dexron fluid.
> I was informed to use 2.8 Litres, and I did the replacment with a hot
> engine.The dipstick measured to the top level but I put less than 2.8
> litres in.
>
> The guy at Honda said to check the level cold, although he also said
> to fill it up untill it over-flowed (I think he was getting confused
> with the manual box !)
>
> My concern is that I checked again before driving (with the engine
> cold) the level was then about 5mm above the high mark. Checking when
> hot ( within a few minutes of turning off the engine) and the level is
> still exactly right.
>
> What are the potential problems of having too much fluid in there ?
> How much difference will the level of the ground make to the reading
> since I checked the fluid hot in the car park at the rec. centre.
>
> Interestingly the Honda handbook and the Haynes manual do not mention
> any difference in hot/cold readings. From what I have read on usenet
> the hot reading should be HIGHER not lower..
>
> I guess I will ride my bike to work tommorrow and drain out a bit of
> fluid in the evening,I really don't want to blow an oil seal or
> somthing. I think it is better to have a bit too little in there and
> top it up..
>
> Simon
---------------------------
I'd buy a $1 turkey baster at the Dollar Store and use it to suck out
about .25 litre. Since you're using Dextron III, you might notice shifts
that are a bit more solid. Apparently Honda ATF has some extra friction
modifiers that smoothe things out.

'Curly'

-----------------------

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you must remove them to reply directly . . . . . . Thanks.

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On 25 Aug 2003 13:34:02 -0700, srp@lycos.co.uk (SimonP) wrote:

>Hi,
>
>I've just replaced the Auto trans. fluid in my '87 accord ( 93k Miles)
>I was told by my local Honda dealer to use Dexron fluid.
>I was informed to use 2.8 Litres, and I did the replacment with a hot
>engine.The dipstick measured to the top level but I put less than 2.8
>litres in.
>
>The guy at Honda said to check the level cold, although he also said
>to fill it up untill it over-flowed (I think he was getting confused
>with the manual box !)
>
>My concern is that I checked again before driving (with the engine
>cold) the level was then about 5mm above the high mark. Checking when
>hot ( within a few minutes of turning off the engine) and the level is
>still exactly right.
>
>What are the potential problems of having too much fluid in there ?
>How much difference will the level of the ground make to the reading
>since I checked the fluid hot in the car park at the rec. centre.
>
>Interestingly the Honda handbook and the Haynes manual do not mention
>any difference in hot/cold readings. From what I have read on usenet
>the hot reading should be HIGHER not lower..
>
>I guess I will ride my bike to work tommorrow and drain out a bit of
>fluid in the evening,I really don't want to blow an oil seal or
>somthing. I think it is better to have a bit too little in there and
>top it up..

Though they don't have the exact manual for your year, check here for
details for the Accord 1991-93 which should be similar:
<http://www.honda.co.uk/owner/serviceManuals.html>.

Rgds, George Macdonald

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

> ---------------------------
> I'd buy a $1 turkey baster at the Dollar Store and use it to suck out
> about .25 litre. Since you're using Dextron III, you might notice shifts
> that are a bit more solid. Apparently Honda ATF has some extra friction
> modifiers that smoothe things out.

Yup, I'd go with this approach too. Depending how deep it is. If what Curly
says doesn't work, you can buy a transparent plastic hose at Home Depot etc.
for a buck and use it to drain some fluid out through the dipstick hole.
this way you don't have to mess with your plug, the crush washer etc. Things
sometimes get messy when you try to put a plug into a hole while the liquid
is already pouring through it, trying to stop the leak quickly, overtight
the plug etc.

I have a 91 civic and did exactly this last month. Slip the plastic
tubing over the end of the baster to give you a little more reach and
pull the excess out. Kinda of messy and time consuming, but easier
and cleaner than attempting to play with the drain plug. Worth it
just for the peace of mind.



On Tue, 26 Aug 2003 17:31:59 -0400, "Paul Bielec" <me@no.spam> wrote:

>> ---------------------------
>> I'd buy a $1 turkey baster at the Dollar Store and use it to suck out
>> about .25 litre. Since you're using Dextron III, you might notice shifts
>> that are a bit more solid. Apparently Honda ATF has some extra friction
>> modifiers that smoothe things out.
>
>Yup, I'd go with this approach too. Depending how deep it is. If what Curly
>says doesn't work, you can buy a transparent plastic hose at Home Depot etc.
>for a buck and use it to drain some fluid out through the dipstick hole.
>this way you don't have to mess with your plug, the crush washer etc. Things
>sometimes get messy when you try to put a plug into a hole while the liquid
>is already pouring through it, trying to stop the leak quickly, overtight
>the plug etc.
>

Scotty

On 26 Aug 2003 23:23:12 -0700, srp@lycos.co.uk (SimonP) wrote:

>great link thanks, cant seem to find the info on changing the atf yet
>though.
>
>I have the handbook for my old prelude which says to check the fluid
>with the engine off and on level ground. I think the mistake I made
>was to check the level before letting it cool down properly, which
>means that the pistons etc. in the gear box were still full of fluid !
>I wish they specified hot or cold , or how long to leave it for!
>
>Anyway thanks for the replies, i drained out half a litre and topped
>it back up with new fluid. Cant say itis any smoother really than
>before. Apparently having too much can cause foaming though.

Everything I read in other Honda manuals indicates the auto-trans fluid
level should be checked with the engine at normal operating temperature.
One, from a '92 Integra, mentioned "within one minute" of shutting the
engine off.

>Simon
>> Though they don't have the exact manual for your year, check here for
>> details for the Accord 1991-93 which should be similar:
>> <http://www.honda.co.uk/owner/serviceManuals.html>.

Rgds, George Macdonald

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