Oh hell. I get tired just reading these maintenance rituals people come up with. It's a Honda, not a '53 Studebaker. And this is a message board. Go by the owner's manual. If you DIY go by the shop manual. Here's a link to the Honda procedure. It's about a 15 minute job. 30 if you're anal and remove the splash shield.

And as a message board denizen and an A/T owner, I can tell you the fluid will look and smell different after it's been in there a few thousand miles due to heat and oxidation. The color is to make it easy to see tell from other fluids should it develop a leak, it's not fine wine.

 

Yeah, I remember reading posts about burnt fluid, that smelled, with metallic flakes in it, wasn't a problem. Maybe the fluid today, changes color and smells different, but having metallic flakes in it? Somethings wearing out. It's hard to believe metallic flakes in the oil, will not cause excess wear, on bearings, gears, etc.

 

I checked the manual and it does say change at 60k if driving in mountainous areas or conditions that would heat the atf too much (which is pretty much the case in L.A.) regardless of what the MM says.


Was going to drain the atf lines how you described it, pirate, but going to be doing it alone, so going to be doing it the fill/drain a few times way.

 

Metal flakes are normal in transmissions since there are a lot of soft metals. In engines, only a very small amount is normal, but if the pan looks like its covered with metal pixie dust, then there's a problem.

 

Changing all the fluid by running and adding fluid as the old fluid is pumped out, could be done by one person. Run the car for 15 seconds or so and shut off. Check and see how much fluid came out. Add that amount of fluid, and repeat, until you have it done.

 

I added a trans cooler and drain every 30k (mobil1syn.) and filter change at 45k and cut it open it was dirty gray in color. The filter is a snap just remove the battery and it's right there, unlike USA A/T where you have to drop the pan.

 

Flushed the trans over the weekend. Shifted better after the first drain and fill and was clearly amber by the 3rd drain and fill. It had a bit of amber color to it when I drained it the first time and there wasn't much junk on the plug either. All in all, shifts a lot smoother and quieter now compared to before