Auto Question

[Blind_Sabotage]

I have a 91 ex and i have a pretty bad transmission leak... I top it off every couple of weeks, but my question is about it not shifting in the morning. It gets stuck in 1st and sometimes 2nd... I can either shift it manually or floor it for a few seconds and it will eventually shift. Is this because of the tcu? when i check my fluid its pretty dark and it probably needs a drain-n-fill but i dont think that causes the shift problem right?

[dean_harryman]

Yes, actually dirty fluid can cause shifting problems...

I would drain the tranny, and pop off the cover on the bottom.. and replace the filter, then fill it with a quality fluid of your choice.

That could very well take care of your shifting problem....

As for the leak, where is is leaking from....is it leaking on the ground?

it is unlikely, but you may need to replace your torque converter, JUST A THOUGHT!

[Blind_Sabotage]

it leaks on the ground and i havnt looked as to where from. I called autozone and they said that I didnt have a changeable filter in it... i thought that that sounded odd. Also, do you check the fluid with the car running or off?

[dean_harryman]

Hmm... Ive never worked on an auto cb7, I assumed it would have a filter??? correct me peoples if I am wrong..

And to answer your question, with all cars I have worked on, you check the atf with the car warmed up, and running... it will say in your Haynes or other manual you have,and if you don't have one....when you go to autozone next....GET ONE!

[SMseagren83]

no changeable tranny filters in a cb7. later honda auto trannies have strainers that could be replaced......

[dean_harryman]

HMM... thats good to know, thanks SM.

[Leung]

it ws a good thing i read this otherwise i would still be looking for that tranny filter thinking there was one. LOLOL.

[civicboisi]

If you're having problems shifting in the morning from 1st to 2nd gear...it's probably from the transmission fluid you lost from the night before. For some reason, these Honda transmissions are really picky about the amount of fluid that is in the transmission. Mine was like that too for awhile, checked the fluid and it was a tad low, added a bit and she ran smooth as silk.

All I'm saying is that it's kind of hard to diagnose a problem, especially with a significant leak like that where you're constently adding fluid.

And yes, you check the level of fluid with the engine running and at normal operating temperature.

[Djmoua]

i think you DO need a drain-and-fill for your fluid if its THAT dark. Otherwise your leak could also be the prob

[oranger]

Typically, to really get good fluid in there you have to flush these out. When you drain and fill, it only gets about 30% of the fluid out. You can power flush, if you know how, but it's really complicated for a novice, or you can drain and fill about four times, once every couple weeks, to dilute the bad fluid enough that its not a problem. No filters on these.

[Blind_Sabotage]

hey thanks guys... some dumb guy at an oil change place told me to check it with it off but I thought he was crazy so I asked you guys. Thanks a lot, that helps out big time.

[MyHonnaCB7]

Thats what i hate about auto's. you cant drain all or even near all the fluid in it. You can only change like 2.5 qts instead of the total like 6 qts. unless u get one of those expensive flushes. I'm gonna try to come up with a way to "recondition" or "clean" the fluid so all that other fluid that u cant drain will be like brand new again.

[NorcoAccord]

I know for the brakes at pep boys they sell a vaccume machine I bet you could adapt that to to the tranny as well.

[MyHonnaCB7]

Yea, but im talkin a fluid of some sort that u put in your tranny fluid and "cleans" it. kno wut im sayin?