Hi all

I am going to be working under my car for the first time. I am a bit nervous about it. I do a lot of mechanics on scientific machines, bicycles, and the house so I am pretty mechanically inclined.

I have a question on the transmission drain and fill. I am going to jack it up on the center front jack point (it is pretty far back there that upside down dome with the hole going to be tough to reach) and put it on the jackstands at the two side front points. Should I do the drain while it is jacked then drop it so that it is level then do the fill? I assume I should pick up a transmission crush washer with the Honda ATF fluid.

Second I am getting the P0848 issue with my third clutch transmission pressure switch so I am replacing that along with the crush washer. The wire connector you just press to release it?

 

I found some more pictures there is a thing that looks like a metal chair caster under the front that is a jack point. That should be reachable by the jack.

 

I jacked my '13 from the driver's side (U.S.) side to replace the ATF. I'd rather work around a cold engine, so I ended up jacking up the one side, loosening the drain plug, slightly tightening it again, lowering the car, driving it to get it hot and then easily removing the drain plug without jacking it up, then letting it drain into a pan, all on level ground.

To properly retighten the drain plug, I had to jack the car again to get enough swing room for my torque wrench. (36 FT-LB).

I'm not sure why that "chair caster" is there, but I don't think that is a jacking point. However, I'm new to the Fit world and could be wrong.

 

What year model or generation Fit do you have?

You should indeed be able to use the front center lift point to access the ATF drain plug; BUT, I would personally try to lift the car up entirely (on 4 jack stands) though this is more of a personal preference since it gives me more room. For that, I typically just use the rear center rear jack point to pop the car up, slide 2 stands at the rear side jack points, move up on either side of the car and then use the front jack point on the FRONT SUBFRAME, raise and again put to stands on the (front) side jack points

Fluid capacity for an ATF drain and refill is usually in the 2.8 to 3.2 quart ball park from what I've seen first hand.

As for the 3rd gear pressure switch, you simple squeeze the clip to release it if I recall correctly. You may need to push it forward if a lot of road grime has built up and isn't allowing the lock tab to release.

 

Yea I found one picture with that caster looking thing circled but now I am not sure. I'll try to reach the dome with the hole. A lot of the helpful threads with pic no longer have the pics because the hosting sites deleted them.

I have a 2009 Base model.

 

That is dangerous getting under the car simply held up with a jack. I had a neighbor killed doing that hence my nervousness. I am going to jack up the front and put it on 2 jack stands.

 

If that was my post, I wasn't clear -- I always put jackstands in place after jacking up a vehicle. I also use good quality rubber wheel chocks to prevent any chance of the vehicle rolling. Yep, safety is not a category where any of us should cut corners in cost or time.

 

2013 Fit Sport On Jackstand


Speaking of jacks, jackstands an wheel chocks, here's a picture from my garage. The Fit is such a small machine that by lifting the front near the jacking point, the rear wheels lift off the ground. I moved that rear wheel chock over to the other side.

It's hard to see, but I built a device that extends along the length of the pinch weld. I lift with the floor jack and then insert the jackstand adjacent to it, then lower the floor jack.

 

Jack Pad Device 1




Jack Pad Device 2


Here are two close-ups of the jack pad device I built. I use the floor jack on the right side, then insert the jackstand to the left of it. It works well, but I modified the design a bit to insert a durable soft material on the floor of the channel stock where the pinch weld rests. I rubbed a small bit of paint off the underside of the pinch weld in one place.

The wood is poplar and cut cross grain. It's a tough, durable wood and with the grain running as you see, it won't split. I dadoed a shallow inset along the length of the wood to set the metal channel stock in so that it won't slip out. The small metal pieces under the wood on the saddle of the jackstand are there to be absolutely sure that the wood is fully supported across its width.

 

If I'm NOT actually going to get under the car, I just use a hydraulic jack to lift the car - like for rotating tires or maybe working on the brakes.

If I AM going to be under the car (to drain transmission fluid), then I put it on four jack stands. I can drain and refill while the car is lifted and I don't have to worry about the car being level. Jack stands are not that expensive and once you get them, you have them...forever.

 

Alco RS-1 -

Your garage looks clean enough to perform surgery in! Roomy too.

 

Ok I can see that to get at the front center jack point I need to put the trolly jack in from the side. I had anticipated jacking up from the front and just placing the jack stands on the pinch welds but there is no way any jack can reach that far back from the front of the car.

Thanks for the pics.

 

OK I got it. It was a big PITA. I got the jack in and there was no room to pump. I ended up turning the wheels all the way to the side and manuver the handle so it was in the wheel well but I was still getting interference from the mudguards and tires but I finally got it and it is on the jack stands now. I may get a set of ramps for next time and then jacking while it is on the ramps. I considered ramps from the start but saw a picture of failed Rhino ramps and read about clearance trouble with the fit.

 

Oh boy it was a pain getting the drain plug out. It was so overtorqued that I broke an extension and it took me an hour to drill the nub out of the bolt and finally with a socket wrench and cheater bar I managed to get it off. I also had to replace some of those stupid body clips which are $5 a piece from Honda (ripoff)

 

Sorry that you had such a tough time sschoe. Evidently the drain plug was previously applied without a torque wrench. Well, at least future changes will be easy.

 

It looks better than it really is, but thanks. I'm blessed to have a place to work.

 

I was just thinking how handy a small impact wrench would be on our cars. No need to jack to get wrench leverage. It you can reach the engine oil or transmission oil drain plugs, just use the impact wrench. It'd be handy for tire lugs too.

These things are pretty amazing these days. This 18V DeWalt DC820 has a 1/2 IN Drive, 145 FT/LB of torque and the head is only 5-3/4 IN long. They make 1/4 IN and 3/8 IN models too. Cool stuff.

 

I just finished. It should be easier in the future now that I know how to do it. Here is what I learned.

When jacking turn the wheels all the way to the left and go at the center jack point (that upside down dome with the hole at the end of the plastic splash shield) from the passenger side with the handle in the passenger front wheel well.

The sensor was extremely easy. The connector is U shaped. Push in the flat part and pull it off then it is unscrew old with a standard adjustable wrench and screw in new with new crush washer and put on the connector. It was a bit messy. Even after doing the drain about 10-20ml of ATF still came out.

The drain plug yea it was a huge pain but I finally got it.

I should have bought 4 quarts of ATF as I put in all 3 and it is barely at the min mark. checking it is a pain having to start it up and stop it.

I bought a funnel with the flex tube on the end from Autozone. A long rigid one didn't go into the dipstick hole because it was blocked by the battery.

I should have replaced it sooner. I had a drain fill at 57000 before maintenance minder said to and the stuff that came out today at 84000 was more brown than red so I may do another one before winter. I say every 10k is probably right and I am not too hard on my fit. Honda Transmissions are know to be delicate so it is good to baby them.

PS I never use a torque wrench. I've just worked on so many bolts over the years I just have a feel for how tight to make things.

 

I bought only 3QT as well (@ $6.58 QT from HondaPartsUnlimited), then had to rush over to the Honda Dealer on Saturday afternoon and pay $9.00 QT to top it off at ~ 3.5 QT. The procedure to get the level right is indeed a pain, but I figure the Dealer would never take such care as I did to get it perfect. I don't know why the Owner's Manual states 2.6 QT for a drain and fill. I'll do another drain and fill in 10,000 Miles I think, as my fluid too looked pretty awful.

I always use torque wrenches, as don't have the "feel" for what's right. We require that the maintenance staff at work use torque wrenches when bolting pipe flanges together with a gasket between, as some of our guys claim to know what feels right ..... and the flange later leaks.

 

It is probable since the front of the car is jacked up and thus elevated and the drain plug is closer to the back end of the transmission that more fluid is drawn out the drain plug.

I think once a year (10-15k) is a good interval for a drain fill. That way you have all new fluid every 30k miles. Like I said I've read all the horror stories of Honda transmission failures.

Yea the dealer near me charges $2.50 for crush washers, $5 for body clips $8.15 for a quart of ATF and I remember paying ~$30 for freaking wiper inserts the first time I got them.