Transmission flushes - yea or nay?

[dougthegreat]

Hey all!

"That time" is coming up when I should get my A/T serviced, and I'm currently at about 108K miles on my 99 Accord V6. I've heard from reputable folks that flushing can be good for your tranny, or it can make a bad situation a lot worse. My question is, has anyone had it done here? Does anyone have arguments for or against it?

[Greenblurr93]

i think if nothing is wrong with your tranny yet, then doin a change is good, but if the fluid is burnt and ur tranny slips, i would leave it until it dies

[dougthegreat]

Originally Posted by Greenblurr93

i think if nothing is wrong with your tranny yet, then doin a change is good, but if the fluid is burnt and ur tranny slips, i would leave it until it dies

Ehh, you see, I'm not sure what condition the tranny is in. It's hard to explain it when you're as non-mechanical as i am >.

It shifts into all the gears, but especially on the shift from first to second, it seems rough to me - it'll wait until like 3200-3400 RPM's and feels like it "hangs" for a moment before finally shifting. I don't know if it's just not a great transmission (because I've heard other people say they're not thrilled with the V6 tranny) or if I've got a problem. I guess the bottom line is I should just go and have it checked out at the local tranny clinic.

[Greenblurr93]

When u say "hangs" does the RPM stay and then shift, or does it rev and then shift?? Also pull out ur A/T dipstick, and take a white paper towel, and whipe some fluid onto it, if it is pink or red in color, then its not burnt and thats good, if it is brownish in color then its burnt and thats not good.

[dougthegreat]

Originally Posted by Greenblurr93

When u say "hangs" does the RPM stay and then shift, or does it rev and then shift?? Also pull out ur A/T dipstick, and take a white paper towel, and whipe some fluid onto it, if it is pink or red in color, then its not burnt and thats good, if it is brownish in color then its burnt and thats not good.

When it shifts, the RPM does not rev, it stays pretty constant.

I do know enough to look for the "burnt" color on my AT stick, and check it about once a month. It still looks like cherry pie filling

[Greenblurr93]

then go ahead and change it if u want, it shouldnt hurt anything, and the RPM "hanging" doesnt sound like anything abnormal.

[SilverY2KCivic]

IU'd take it to a Honda dealership, and get the $120 flush. It's not just your average fluid change. They hook it up to a machine which flushes the COMPLETE system INCLUDING the torque converter which holds 3 quarts of fluid in itself. A normal just fluid drain and refill only drains what's in the fluid pan, and NOT what's in the T/C, so you're only draining half the fluid. A complete flush with a fluid exchange macine is able to pump out ALL fluid in the tranny, as well as and depsits in there. This is definitely the way to go I feel. I had it done to my Civic a couple weeks ago, and the tranny feels much better. I've had my car since brand new 5 years ago ('00 Civic) have 50k miles on it right now, and it was my first tranny fluid change ever, so I felt being 20-25k miles OVERdue for it, it would be better if I got the full flush service, especially since I auto-X with my car, and will be road racing it at a track next weekend.