New DIY, Trans Oil

DanO · 10 July 2003

Hello

Please read and offer constructive (or whatever) criticism on the new DIY write up for changing the transmission oil.

www.danoland.com/nsxgarage/transoil/index.htm

Thanks,
DanO

DocL · 10 July 2003

Thanks for the DIY tip. This makes it look very easy, especially with the funnel and hose attachment. I think I'll plan on doing this soon.

I've used many of your write up's before and will add this one to my arsenal.

Thanks again!

matteni · 10 July 2003

Hi Dan - great job on the writeup.

Just wondering - have you ever tried to drain the tranny with the oil suction thingy we both have? Just wondering how well this works.

nsxxtreme · 10 July 2003

Dan O,

Nice write up. You might mention that oil will not drain out if the hose is in the fill hole. So you could keep filling, when you take the hose out you get a bunch of oil draining back out. Ask me how I know

.

Klas · 10 July 2003

Excellent write-up as usual with sharp and informational pictures. Thank you, with your DIY’s my first oil change, brake bleed etc. was a lot safer and easier than without.

Briank · 11 July 2003

DanO

Excellent as allways, can I come over to your garage and play.

Briank

DanO · 11 July 2003

Thanks for the kind words and comments! Nick, I thought about using the oil suction thing but forgot to give it a shot—I’m wondering too if it would remove more oil than draining alone, oh well, maybe next time I’ll give it a try!

DanO

matteni · 11 July 2003

Reason I asked is on my Honda Odyssey a rebuild calls for something like 11 qts of ATF but the drain plug only gets out 3 qts (I can get a little more on ramps).

Some people actually drain and fill and drive - 3 times to get as much of the old out as possible.

I actually suctioned out 7 qts through the check stick hole - took forever and I almost got it stuck down in there but it worked.

Didn't save my Odyssey trainsmission from going bad at 36,000 miles! Now I remove the 3 qts with every oil change to keep it as clean as possible. At $6,000 for a new tranny it is a small price to pay.

Juice · 11 July 2003

Thanks. I had already planned on doing the change this week. This was a nice visual and info read for the upcoming project.

Taj · 11 July 2003

Thank for all the write up and pictures, they mean a thousand words.

DanO · 11 July 2003

matteni said:
Reason I asked is on my Honda Odyssey a rebuild calls for something like 11 qts of ATF but the drain plug only gets out 3 qts (I can get a little more on ramps).

The NSX service manual, page 3-6 calls for 3.0 quarts for an overhaul and 2.9 quarts for oil change, so apparently there's not much left after draining.

DanO

coolnsx · 11 July 2003

Dano, thanks for all the photos and info, I know I'm not the only person that frequently uses the information, we appreciate it.

Larry Bastanza · 11 July 2003

Hi Nick,

An automatic is a very different animal

. The main reason for the difference in fluid quantities is that you usually cannot drain the torque converter in an automatic using the "drain" method.

In the big american automatics even if you remove the pan to change the filter you leave the torque converter full of ATF.

Of course if you use the "matteni" suction method you can get a heck of a lot out of the torque coverter

.........LOL

See ya,
LarryB

Juice · 13 July 2003

DanO, how much was the mid-rise lift and where can you get it?

MJK · 14 July 2003

Juice said:
DanO, how much was the mid-rise lift and where can you get it?

I am also looking for one!

This is the best deal I have found on one so far. I've searched (honest!) but if anyone has any unposted better deals or added wisdom, please share!

DanO · 14 July 2003

It's the Bend-Pak LR-60, as White94's link shows. I think that's about what I paid, plus a coupe $100 for shipping. I had it shipped final leg via lift-gate truck so that they could lower it to the ground. The lift weighs 600lbs, which is some serious weight. The lift pads are not long enough to pick up the NSX jack points exactly, but with the supplied rubber blocks, can be lifted just fine from the frame. You will also need to cut some 2” lumber tire blocks to place fore/aft of the lift for clearance. I’ve used it for about 3 years and have been very happy with the design and dependability, but if I had to do it again and I had enough space (height) and appropriate concrete base, I’d go with a 2-post setup…maybe someday…

.02
DanO

Juice · 17 July 2003

More questions

Called my local Honda service center today and ran into a snafu. When I asked what the difference was between Honda MTF and regular oil, they said none. I asked if it was OK to replace my MTF with my Mobile 1 Synthetic and was given the OK.

Then I called back again 10 seconds later (literally) and got another tech. I asked what weight I should use. Once again oil was fine, but now synthetic might be a problem! He warned me NOT to use their MTF because it was designed for cars '01 and up and that I should probably stick to old dinosaur droppings.

I'm a baby's breath away from calling Mark B. to get a straight answer. Anybody know the truth? I plan on doing this tonight!

Larry Bastanza · 17 July 2003

Juice,

I would just go to the local dealer and get Honda MTL, very reasonably priced and works great. Why change from a good thing

HTH,
LarryB

Juice · 17 July 2003

Because of what they said. They said NOT to use it. Wierd. I will probably end up buying it at any rate. $3.36 a quart. Not expensive, but more than most motor oils for sure.

Juice · 18 July 2003

OK, so I bought the Honda MTF. I was at the service center for the crush washers (the only cheap parts for the NSX that I know of!) anyhow. Once again, I want to thank DanO for the instructions/illustrations. A couple of notes:

1. Since your car is warmed up, enjoy the all too frequent encounters with exhaust manifold as the tranny likes to reside in the relative area.

2. Again, for you guys who have a crappy jack with a 1' lift like I do, the breaker bar turns into a Rubix Cube of a puzzle once you realize there is not enough clearance to use the wretched thing.

3. And as stated, be careful to dodge the hot transaxel fluid as it pours out. But it's not as hot as the exhaust that burns you while trying to get out of the way. Did I mention the exhaust is hot?

4. The tubing for the funnel can not have an ED of >5/8" or it will not fit into the refill hole. Also, 3' of tubing seemed excessive. No biggie, but you will probably get kinks in the line if you use anything greater than 2'6".

Cool. Project done. Next: window fix-it thingies.

DanO · 18 July 2003

Thanks for the notes!

Amend the procedure to the max hose O.D. and hose length and put a word of caution about the hot exhaust. Glad it worked out!

BTW: anyone know why some call the Honda Manual Transmission Fluid “MTL” instead of “MTF” ?? What does the “L” stand for?

DanO

Lud · 18 July 2003

DanO said:
BTW: anyone know why some call the Honda Manual Transmission Fluid “MTL” instead of “MTF” ?? What does the “L” stand for?

Lubricant.

DanO · 19 July 2003

Tobal · 19 July 2003

Yea i would like to thanks Dano here for the write up as well...After i read it i went to my local honda and picked up some MTF and the washers to do my oil change...Eventually i didn't really have one of those funnels and tube, but instead i had one of those fluid pumps, but didnt work out...finally decided to try the stretch funnel thing you have....but what i did was cut out a leaky water hose and connected a smaller hose fitting to do the job. Works great

synergy004 · 19 July 2003

what is this

on the bottom i see a hose thingy hanging, is that to your intake. Its to the left of the pic before the driver side tire.

thanks

New DIY, Trans Oil

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