Water in tranny

[White-Powder_23]

Hey guys, I just picked up a 92 Accord LX sedan with the F22A1 and auto trans. Here's the deal; got the car cheap as, during the massive flooding in the northwestern Arkansas as of late, the previous owner made the car a boat in a flooded roadway. I've drained all fluids, motor seems it will survive, however I can't be sure the same for the trans. Any ideas on how, since there was water in trans, I can save the trans? I'm trying not to have to drop it, but my research dictates doing so to access the filter. Any help would be appreciated.

[deevergote]

It would be smartest to remove the transmission, open it up, and let it dry thoroughly.
I have no experience with taking an automatic transmission apart, so the only advice I could give is what I would do if I found myself in your situation... which would be remove it, let it dry completely, lubricate all gears with ATF (so no part is running completely dry), reassemble and replace the transmission, fill it with Honda ATF, drive it for a short while, drain the fluid, and fill with new fluid again.

Also, something you may want to watch for, is HOW the water got in there in the first place. The transmission is pretty well sealed, considering the fact that it is filled with fluid that gets whipped around by gears. If the fluid isn't supposed to get out of the transmission, water shouldn't be getting in!
Is the water actually in the gearbox, or is it just in the void where the flex plate resides?

[SterlingVMoses]

Honestly, it'd be better to just replace the transmission altogether. Its not very expensive, depending on where you are. Idk about other places but here in Houston transmissions for a 92 LX (which I also happen to have just replaced a few months ago) are going for $300...A manual trans is going for around $250 but then you go into having to get other parts to.make the swap, like master cylinder and clutch parts plus a new ecu. I'd recommend just swapping the whole transmission out in general though. You're gonna have to drop the tranny out to access the filter though. Its inside the tranny so there's no other way to get to it from my understanding.

[deevergote]

Even if it were possible to get at the transmission's guts while it was still on the car, it would be considerably more difficult than simply removing it!

[F22Chris]

X2 get another trans. It'll be like 75-100 bucks from a yard. If the fluid isn't milky you might be able to get away with just letting it dry though, you also have an excuse to do a 5 speed swap now!

[SterlingVMoses]

Also, quick sidenote, I'd also be worried about the electronics of it if the car had that much water in it. If it had so.much water that BOTH the transmission and engine were flooded, you're probably gonna have to deal with shortages in wiring and sensors as well as maybe even the computers. Just a little something to beware of.

[irelandmc]

How do you know there was water in the trans? Did you drain out some fluid? If you run it and it drives right (if there's water in there, running it will emulsify the water and oil temporarily), then pull out some fluid and it looks normal, I would just do a three series of fluid changes and run it until it gives you a better excuse to replace it.

X3 If you drain it and it's milky, one way or another that trans needs to come out.

[White-Powder_23]

I only know that which I was told by the prev. owner and what I'd found getting into tearing the car apart. So lemme go over what I was told (sry for being long winded); car was driven into a water covered road, car died, was recovered and towed, not having been attempted to restart it. I bought the car a couple weeks later. Trailered it home, drained the oil (quite milky), pulled front bumper and headlights (water logged), pulled drain plug on trans. Fluid was still quite pink, but had a little milk to it. I was told water came up to the impact strips, so I assume tranny was submerged. Water most likely went into motor and trans via dipsticks. Anyhow, I've gutted the interior, save for the dash assy, and checked all visible/accessible wiring connectors, as well as did a corrosion prevention treatment to said connectors.


Now, I plan on the following; completing the oil change, (being that I only removed the plug) putting a few quarts of trans fluid in and attempting to start the car. I saw a good DIY on flushing the trans by adding a length of hose to the trans via inlet to radiator, starting it, and shutting it down once good, clear, clean trans fluid emits from hose, reconnecting hose to radiator, add more tans fluid. I'll do it again in a few hundred miles, should it last so long.

I still have to drain and refill the power steering reservoir, but that's cuurentl the least of my concerns.

I'm fairly certain the car will run, I'm just concerned the trans may not function whereas we all know how reputable honda slush boxes are concered. So pleas, fellas, help me save this ride from the grips of death!

[deevergote]

Hopefully the engine didn't hydrolock. If that happened, there's most certainly internal damage.

You can try the trans flush as you mentioned. I'd be curious to see how that turns out, as I haven't seen that method before.
These automatics tend to be very picky with their fluid, so for the final fill at least, you should use genuine Honda fluid.

[cp[mike]]

personally I would use the hose technique to flush the trans with cheap fluid as best I could, then run it for a while, and flush it again with clean fluid. You should be able to tell how the old fluid looks while its draining again. I suspect any remaining water would evaporate once the engine was at full operating temp... Is it bad that I don't think a little bit of remaining water would really cause any damage? I would only end up dropping the trans once it actually died/stopped shifting.

The flex plate/clutch area is pretty sealed away from the rest of the hydraulic guts. Technically it is open to air, but it also has drain/breather holes so it shouldnt be FILLED with water. Perhaps just minor surface rusting from having been wet for a bit. Again, full operating temp would take care of any remaining moisture in my opinion.

P.S. just visibly looking at the electronics may not be enough. If you can, any low-down electrical modules should be opened up to dry, if possible. Like pull the ECU/TCU out and remove their covers. Same for any plastic-shelled modules that exist along the floor/lower dash.

[F22Chris]

The transmission fluid for our automatic transmissions is cheap as is, this due to being dex2. Just get a few gallons of dex3 from a parts store and do 3-4 flushes.

I would think a little bit of water would be normal (correct me if I'm wrong) due to moisture build up in wetter environments. Like mike said, it should leave the fluid as it reaches temp if there's a little bit in there, but just in case do the flushes.

Atf isn't very thick, so I'm sure if you drain and fill it, and there's still small amounts of water left, you won't have to worry about any major viscosity changes. I would add oil to the engine until clean oil comes out, just be aware that there WILL be watery oil still in the oil pump, and small amounts in the head, so do more than one oil change too.

If it turns over you're good man, just check the fluids like crazy to make sure until you're certain there's no water in the system.

How's the coolant look?

[White-Powder_23]

Thanks so much for all your input and suggestions, fellas. I've done all I'd intended, and «««SHOCKER»»» I now have a running AND driving car. Got her sputtering, then driving, on father's day, and being that I couldn't be with three of my four girls, that put a bit of cheer in my day. Thanks again, guys.

[deevergote]

Awesome. Glad you got it working!

[White-Powder_23]

So, as I'd expected, car did very well for roughly 200 miles; now this... since getting it going, the car won't rev beyond 3,400 rpms. It bogs out and stutters. Now the slush box won't shift on its own, but it'll shift manually, first to second gears, that is. It won't shift to third or fourth gears at all now. I'm suspecting the solenoids. Any ideas fellas?

[deevergote]

Is the check engine light on? Is the D4 light flashing?