89 Prelude/Transmission Fluid and Overheating Questions

Hey there, my mother-in-laws 89 Prelude that we drive was just heating on my wife at idle, almost all the way up on temp gauge. Of course she kept driving it........and then called me. She said the temp went down as soon as she started driving. Fan/serp belt has been squeaking lately and i never checked it, i was thinking that it maybe broke, but i have heard the fan kick on after turning the car off on short trips so not sure if its and electric fan???

Also she said it was hesitating shifts pretty bad reving up before shifting to next gear, 5speed (i think) automatic. I checked the tranny fluid a few months back and it seemed a quart low to me and i let the m-in-law know but i dont think she ever got it taken care of. Im pretty sure low fluid would cause this, but thats all i know to do so? I have done some transmission work on my ford explorer but im just not sure if its the same? Do i need to check this fluid at operating temperature while idleing, thats how my ford is? Also what kind of tranny fluid would i use and how to add it, right at the dipstick??

Thanks for the help, shes not back with the car yet but i have the day off so im gonna go through it all as soon as she gets back.

If it over heats at idle, it could be that it is low on coolant. Check that, also, check for leaks in the radiator/hoses/block. The water pump is timing belt driven, so if the engine is at low RPM, the coolant will circulate slower. As for the tranny, check the tranny fluid. Hell, if I were you, just drain it all and put fresh fluid in. I've a 94 Lude, and to drain the fluid, the drain bolt is located around the bottom of the transmission and the bolt has a square hole on the middle of the bolt. Just connect your 3/8" rachet to that square hole and remove it, and you'll see the ATF drain. Might take a little muscle. Most auto trannys fill through the dipstick hole. But remember that Honda uses its own ATF (Automatic Tranny Fluid) and MTF(Manual Tranny Fluid). If you use any other atf or generic you can severely lessen the life of the transmission. So head to honda and get some. The manual fill hole is in a tight spot. The trick for manual tranny is to take off the speed sensor fill it up. I reccomend getting a Hanes manual or something.

Thanks for the advice H23, sorry I didnt reply I got to working on it and forgot I posted on this forum. It ended up just being low on coolant....very low. I hadnt checked any fluids in a while and thought my mother in law was having the care serviced. It was about 3/4 gallon low on coolant, 2 quarts low on oil, 1 bottle low of power steering fluid, and 2 quarts low on transmission fluid. I am thankful the car was still/is still running.

On another note though, the guy at the parts store said a specific transmission fluid was not needed, and I believe I used a generic ATF. I did use the honda power steering fluid though. Hopefully I dont have any problems. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Good deal. IF I were you, I'd drain the tranny fluid and use Honda fluid. Just to be safe. And of course it still runs, It's a Honda!