DIY: Changing Manual Transmission Fluid

[BATANG CITY JAIL]

tools needed.
17mm socket, 3/8 ratchet and a big ass syringe



lift the car up. (jack stand or lift)



under the car.


take the filler bolt first, use a 17mm socket.. ( bastards over fill my MTF)


unbolt the drain bolt, use a 3/8 ratchet.


drain the fluid
put back the drain bolt.

suck the MTF, use a big ass syringe



squeez the MTF fluid into the fill hole.


empty the 2qt. just to make sure...it wont over fill coz once it filled up it will drain out.

put the filler bolt.

and put the car down. and

[BATANG CITY JAIL]

BUMP...

[UncleSid]

thanx...i was wondering how this was accomplished...+1 for u.

[airportguy770]

How much harder would this be if it was done using just jack stands is there enough room to do this without a lift?

Also, Where can you get those of those "big ass syringes" is that a cheap tool that can be picked up at autozone, advanced out etc....

[Janizary]

Just one word of advice for anyone attempting a fluid change of any form (oil, tranny, diff, etc.). NEVER drain the fluid before you ensure that you can actually get the fill bolt off.

Shouldn't be an issue on such a new car, however, I have seen it happen...and when it does you are in deep kimchi. (empty tranny and no way to get new fluid in...)

Thanks for the pics, BCJ. That should help some folks out.

[BATANG CITY JAIL]

Originally Posted by airportguy770

How much harder would this be if it was done using just jack stands is there enough room to do this without a lift?

Also, Where can you get those of those "big ass syringes" is that a cheap tool that can be picked up at autozone, advanced out etc....

you can do it with jack stands, once your under the car you can basically have an access to thoes bolts, and i did'nt expect to unbolt those bolts easily.


the trick is, once you loosen them up, move out, then unbolt it by your hand slowly, the oil will just shoot out and will make a mess.

yes you can find those syringe in any auto store, i don't know how much it cost but those stuff will came in handy specially if you wana drain some fluid like brake fluid,clutch fluid, etc.etc...

if you do it on the jack stand take your right wheel off , make sure that you have long hose so you can access the fill hole at the side.. and make sure that the car is even....

[BATANG CITY JAIL]

Originally Posted by Janizary

Just one word of advice for anyone attempting a fluid change of any form (oil, tranny, diff, etc.). NEVER drain the fluid before you ensure that you can actually get the fill bolt off.

Shouldn't be an issue on such a new car, however, I have seen it happen...and when it does you are in deep kimchi. (empty tranny and no way to get new fluid in...)

Thanks for the pics, BCJ. That should help some folks out.

actually the bolts are no issue, they are easy to get off...the issue is how you put the ratchet into the fill bolts, but you will figure it out easily though..

[eugenekim.net]

nice diy, let us all know how that new mtf is working...

[ADewan]

i drove it back with the new fluid from Honda. Made them change it under warranty. It seemed a bit better. But true test will come tommorow morning with its nice and frozen.

[BATANG CITY JAIL]

^^yup same here... the notchiness are still there but ive been trying to missed 3rd,but it wont pop back now..( hopefully it fixed).

the shift through gears are more lighter specially 4th to 5th and 5th to 6th.
also i felt like the acceleration is smoother...

plus, they over fill it..

[Seemund]

thank you very much i love u !

[wannapar3]

Originally Posted by airportguy770

How much harder would this be if it was done using just jack stands is there enough room to do this without a lift?

Also, Where can you get those of those "big ass syringes" is that a cheap tool that can be picked up at autozone, advanced out etc....

The problem with using jack stands is that you need to have the car level to do a proper fill. Otherwise the fluid level won't be correct.

[BATANG CITY JAIL]

use 4 jack stands...

or on 1 stand just filled it up like 1.8qt to 2qt.

okey...jack the drivers side,
unbolt the filler plug,
then unbolt the drain plug.
put the car down,
let it drain.
jack the car up again
put the drain bolt back
take off the wheel
fill the transmission up to 1.8qt-2qt
put the wheel back
put the car down,let the excess fluid out
jack the car up,put the filler plug back in.
put the car down then

[Janizary]

Originally Posted by BATANG CITY JAIL

actually the bolts are no issue, they are easy to get off...the issue is how you put the ratchet into the fill bolts, but you will figure it out easily though..

That was a general warning on fluid changes, BCJ. I'm sure that for the new car removing a fill bolt should be (relatively) easy. However, as it ages, or after some random garage tech over-tightens a fill bolt, some poor smuck will end up draining their fluid, then be unable to remove the fill bolt. Unfortunately it happens and is a good policy to check to ensure you can remove the fill bolt before draining any fluids. Again, it is a general warning.

I've seen it happen to folks (primarily) on trans fluid changes, and worse, differential fluid changes (cracked the diff, drained fluid, put the cover back on...then they decide to crank off the fill bolt and its rusted/jammed/etc. stuck. On my project jeep the first time I went to change the trans fluid you would have thought the fill bolt had been welded on. It tooks a week (no kidding) of PB Blaster, banging, heating, low impact vibration, and a REALLY long breaker bar to finally get it off. Lol. Glad I check that before draining the fluid!

[BATANG CITY JAIL]

^^ he's right.... make sure you take the filler plug first b4 taking the drain plug out...

[Janizary]

BTW, you can get a suction/fill gun at autozone, usually right near the gear oil section. Mine was ~$10 I think.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog (The expensive snapon tools version)

http://www.autobarn.net/te30-118.html

http://www.etoolcart.com/browseprodu...n-ATD5004.HTML

These things are a 'required' tool if you want to have an easy, relatively mess free fluid change for your manual transmission, differentials, etc.

[BATANG CITY JAIL]

snap-on FTW...

[blueroadster]

If you need to buy a tool for the job, I would recommend using this as it can also be used for many other purposes.

[BATANG CITY JAIL]

okey..its been 2 days since i change my MTF...
tonight is cold, 30F, i start the car and i notice that the rpm at idle is going down faster than before. i run the car and you can really notice the notchiness of the shifting but the good news, 3rd gear is behaving. (crosses finger) 3rd gear have not poped out on me since yeasterday.

how about you guys? for the ones who changed thier MTF.

[slimjim8481]

For us 1.8 owners what weight fluid do I use?