This may seem like a dumb question but...how do I check my transmission fluid? What are the steps, procedures, how do I know if it has to be changed, what do I need to change it etc.?

Any help is appreciated.

Jason

PS> Sometimes my shifter goes hard into first gear and when I am going into first from second it sounds like there is some kind of scrape/whine sound? could that just be the shifter bushing?

 

Magik,
To check the fluid, put the vehicle on level ground, I'm assuming you have a manual tranny here. There will be two bolts on the passenger side of the transmission. The fill bolt is a regular hex head 17mm, the drain is a round one with a square 3/8" hole for your rachet. Always undo the fill before undoing the drain. Undo the fill bolt and see if fluid comes out...if it does, your level is ok.

I change out our tranny fluids every 30-40k miles. I also exclusively use RedLine MTL. I've been using it for about 5 years and between the vehicles, about 150k miles with no bad side effects.

Certainly, changing out the fluid will be the first step in tackling your scraping/whining sound.

Bogatyr

 

Thanks you sir! Much appreciated!

Anyone else want to chime in?

Jason

 

I use Honda Mtf. You can also use 10w30 engine oil. Good luck.

 

Surprise Surprise to all the afficiondos of expensive oil. I changed my fluid when I did the clutch job and refilled with Gulf 10w30 bulk oil right out of the tap. I was amazed at how much easier it was to change gears with fresh oil. Not knocking the expensive oils, but it would seem to me that most of the improvement you feel after changing the transmission oil is due to it being full of nice clean fresh oil, not from any kind of superpremium oil.

 

v8guy,
While it's true that any new oil will help the real test I've found with Honda trannys is cold weather performance. I used to put Castrol GTX in my transaxle and found the winter shifting to be notchier than with MTL.

Since you did notice a marked improvement, how many miles were on the original tranny oil that you drained?

Bogatyr

 

lol 157k. The oil smelled like a dank musty basement but was free of metal filings. Tranny still shifted fine, no grinding or anything. I've noticed it is much easier to shift with the new oil.

I know what you are talking about, I just graduated from SUNY Binghamton. It gets COLD!!!!! up there. My stang used to grind going into second on those chilly binghamton mornings unless I shifted really slowly untill the tranny warmed up.

 

I changed mine and it made a small difference.
I used regular 10w30.

 

hmm i dont think your tranny fluid would help your tranny grinding,that bad syncros buddy,it's a big problem with honda tranny's