Gerhard
06-14-2002, 02:28 PM
Some of you guys may know me for my ranting posts on the Honda Sequential Sport Shift Transmission and Police Officers. However, I think this message will be of use to anyone with an SS Auto 5th Gen.
If you own an SS Auto Prelude, you may have noticed that they shift poorly when very cold (from 30 degrees F or below).
For years I've been looking for a decent Synthetic ATF that might help with both the longevity of my Prelude's transmission, and its generally grumpy cold shifting issues.
As some of you are aware, I'm one of those people who got a bad transmission when I bought my ride new. It eventually blew up under warranty (barely) and I got a brand new one because I bitched so much. (I'd also taken it to the dealer 3 times over 18 months and told them I knew something was wrong. However, it appears that really hard shifts or slippage are not an indication of imminent failure according to Honda…) The point is that neither the old trans or the new one have done well in cold weather driving when the car's been sitting over night.
Anyway, after speaking with one of the other members here I found out about B&M Racing's Synthetic Trick Shift ATF. It's a Dextron III compatible fluid like the Honda ATF, and unlike some other synthetic ATF's this one actually works well in our transmissions. Honda refuses to publish the specifications of their transmission fluids as to prevent aftermarket companies from making compatible fluids. So it’s taken a little while for the industry to catch up for our transmissions.
Until now I haven't mentioned this to anyone, but when I started having problems with my original transmission I tried Redline D4 Synthetic ATF. It caused the transmission to slip all over the place, and I suspect that it might have pushed up the time table of the actual failure of my original transmission. It’s not to say that the transmission didn’t already have a problem, it’s just to indicate that Redline didn’t help! I seriously recommend that you do not use Redline D4 ATF in your 5th Gen Auto. Though it's possible it's been reformulated in the 2.5 years since I tried it, why risk it?
Changing the fluid:
If you've ever changed your trans fluid in the 5th gen, then you are aware that you can only get 3 QTs out of the transmission a change.
However, if you drain the fluid out of the reservoir and then fill it up with 3 QTs of the new fluid, you can them drain the t-converter and the ATF cooler separately.
How? On top of your auto transmission are two ports: One that is the inlet to the trans from the cooler, and one that is the outlet to the cooler from the trans. The return from the cooler is the line closer to the engine block with the long steel pipe that wraps around to the back of the trans. What you do is disconnect this line and put an extra length of hose onto return cooler hose.
In order to connect the two hose segments I used a small metal tube and two hose clamps. The hose clamps prevent any leaks.
Onto the procedure:
You'll need a 1 to 2 Qt container, about 6 more QTs of transmission fluid and a friend to help you.
With the newly lengthen hose now positioned so that it's in the container, you start the car and have your friend signal you to stop the car when the container has about a Qt of fluid in it. (This happens fast, approx 20 seconds.) You now put another Qt of new fluid into the filler hole for the ATF reservoir. Repeat the purging and filling a total of 6 times. You'll notice that by the 6th time the fluid will be a light blue color (if you are refilling with B&M ATF).
Road Test:
I took the car out on the back roads and started shifting through the gears. There is a noticeable improvement in the shifting quality. The trans now shifts a fair amount smoother from one gear to the next.
It then took the car out onto the highway and let it do it's thing in both auto mode and SS mode... one again, it works wonderfully. There is a serious shifting improvement overall.
Cost:
Ok, here is the funny part -> The B&M Racing Trick Shift Synthetic ATF Fluid is $6.45 a QT.
Why is this funny? Honda ATF is $4.75 a QT. The B&M fluid is really not that much more expensive. It's about $20.00 more for a case of the synthetic fluid. After changing the fluid over the first time, you'll only be doing the standard 3 Qt drain of the system every 15,000 miles after that. So, those 3 QTs will cost you about $5.00 more per change.
Considering that the SS Auto Transmission is a $5000.00 job to replace, I'd have to say that a synthetic ATF is probably worth the extra cash.
Of course, time will tell.
I got the fluid from:
OK Auto, 4WD, and Tire
2621 Sate Rt 57
Stewartsville, NJ 08886
(908) 454-6973
I’ll update folks on the fluid as time goes on.
-Gerhard
If you own an SS Auto Prelude, you may have noticed that they shift poorly when very cold (from 30 degrees F or below).
For years I've been looking for a decent Synthetic ATF that might help with both the longevity of my Prelude's transmission, and its generally grumpy cold shifting issues.
As some of you are aware, I'm one of those people who got a bad transmission when I bought my ride new. It eventually blew up under warranty (barely) and I got a brand new one because I bitched so much. (I'd also taken it to the dealer 3 times over 18 months and told them I knew something was wrong. However, it appears that really hard shifts or slippage are not an indication of imminent failure according to Honda…) The point is that neither the old trans or the new one have done well in cold weather driving when the car's been sitting over night.
Anyway, after speaking with one of the other members here I found out about B&M Racing's Synthetic Trick Shift ATF. It's a Dextron III compatible fluid like the Honda ATF, and unlike some other synthetic ATF's this one actually works well in our transmissions. Honda refuses to publish the specifications of their transmission fluids as to prevent aftermarket companies from making compatible fluids. So it’s taken a little while for the industry to catch up for our transmissions.
Until now I haven't mentioned this to anyone, but when I started having problems with my original transmission I tried Redline D4 Synthetic ATF. It caused the transmission to slip all over the place, and I suspect that it might have pushed up the time table of the actual failure of my original transmission. It’s not to say that the transmission didn’t already have a problem, it’s just to indicate that Redline didn’t help! I seriously recommend that you do not use Redline D4 ATF in your 5th Gen Auto. Though it's possible it's been reformulated in the 2.5 years since I tried it, why risk it?
Changing the fluid:
If you've ever changed your trans fluid in the 5th gen, then you are aware that you can only get 3 QTs out of the transmission a change.
However, if you drain the fluid out of the reservoir and then fill it up with 3 QTs of the new fluid, you can them drain the t-converter and the ATF cooler separately.
How? On top of your auto transmission are two ports: One that is the inlet to the trans from the cooler, and one that is the outlet to the cooler from the trans. The return from the cooler is the line closer to the engine block with the long steel pipe that wraps around to the back of the trans. What you do is disconnect this line and put an extra length of hose onto return cooler hose.
In order to connect the two hose segments I used a small metal tube and two hose clamps. The hose clamps prevent any leaks.
Onto the procedure:
You'll need a 1 to 2 Qt container, about 6 more QTs of transmission fluid and a friend to help you.
With the newly lengthen hose now positioned so that it's in the container, you start the car and have your friend signal you to stop the car when the container has about a Qt of fluid in it. (This happens fast, approx 20 seconds.) You now put another Qt of new fluid into the filler hole for the ATF reservoir. Repeat the purging and filling a total of 6 times. You'll notice that by the 6th time the fluid will be a light blue color (if you are refilling with B&M ATF).
Road Test:
I took the car out on the back roads and started shifting through the gears. There is a noticeable improvement in the shifting quality. The trans now shifts a fair amount smoother from one gear to the next.
It then took the car out onto the highway and let it do it's thing in both auto mode and SS mode... one again, it works wonderfully. There is a serious shifting improvement overall.
Cost:
Ok, here is the funny part -> The B&M Racing Trick Shift Synthetic ATF Fluid is $6.45 a QT.
Why is this funny? Honda ATF is $4.75 a QT. The B&M fluid is really not that much more expensive. It's about $20.00 more for a case of the synthetic fluid. After changing the fluid over the first time, you'll only be doing the standard 3 Qt drain of the system every 15,000 miles after that. So, those 3 QTs will cost you about $5.00 more per change.
Considering that the SS Auto Transmission is a $5000.00 job to replace, I'd have to say that a synthetic ATF is probably worth the extra cash.
Of course, time will tell.
I got the fluid from:
OK Auto, 4WD, and Tire
2621 Sate Rt 57
Stewartsville, NJ 08886
(908) 454-6973
I’ll update folks on the fluid as time goes on.
-Gerhard