91 Accord hard shift???

[rlyons]

My 91 Accord automatic is shifting so hard it shakes the dash. The sport mode button does nothing in or out,almost like it is staying in sport mode. It has a new transmission computer. I have changed the fluid with Honda fluid. I have no fault codes at all. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

[cb7rice]

the trany itself is just dieing.? it is 15 years old.

[Accord13&BA4]

Well, to be honest, 90-93 Accord automatic transmissions do shift harshly with age. Good thing you did change the fluid though. Next time you change the fluid, add half a bottle of lucas oil. It should slightly smooth out your 2nd gear harshness.

Ive noticed this in about 3 Cb7 Accords i have driven, including mine.

One thing you can do; perhaps is inspect your rear motor mount which takes most of the "shift" load.

Either way, it's the enivitable. Our auto trans tend to shift harshly unless rebuilt...or swapped for a manual.

[92BLACKEX]

Yea it could be going, My friends 91 SE did that before it went out, and we did add lucas oil and it made it alot smoother. Its like a damn shift kit, how many miles on it?

[rlyons]

I'm going to try the lucas today. I don't know the miles, it came out of a juck yard. Makes me mad though because the original one was very smooth and it only had 100,000 on it. I bought a radiator from AutoZone and the transmission cooler in the bottom tank burst and put antifreeze into the transmission and ruined it, they said sorry we are not responsible except to replace the radiator. I have fought with them for months but they have a lot of lawyers on their payroll. Never again will I walk through an AutoZone door for parts though.

[rlyons]

Well I give up, nothing seems to help this tranny so I am pulling it again. I have a wrecked 2 door sitting in the yard so I am going to pull the engine and tranny on it today and use that tranny. Crossing my fingers that there is nothing wrong with it. I know it moves but couldn't go anywhere to see how it shifted as the radiator is busted.

[Accord13&BA4]

I agree, i hate Autozone and most of their soulless employees.
'I shopped at 3 Autozones, and all places had the same type of employee & managers...I seldomly go in there, well just to buy oil and fluids that's it(NO offense to the CB7Tuner members who work there).

OK, back on topic.
Have you tried the Lucas oil? they have a Lucas oil specifically for transmissions. I think it's synthetic...not 100% sure.

Like I said my man, our Accord auto trannys tend to shift harshly with age, you cant escape that. Your best bet is a manual swap(seeing you pull and drop the motor & tranny yourself). Or perhaps you can search for a rebuild kit, repair the solenoids and such...with the motor pulled out, it'll be way easier to get the cluch pedals in and do the swap...have you not thought about that?

my man, best of luck, i hate to hear my fellow CB7 people have such a bitch of a time.

AND F Autozone. Napa & Advance auto for teh winnage.

[pixelmonkey]

i'm having the same problem with my 92 and will be replacing the transmission fluid with honda and lucas.

hope the swap takes care of your problems!
chris<pixelmonkey>

[ludeude1992]

5 speed swap time

[rlyons]

I wish a swap was an option but this car belongs to my daughter and she can't drive a standard. She has had a rough time this year as she is a single parent(usless ex is in prison and never paid support anyway) and needs her car badly to go to work and get her kids to school. Her house was vandelized in June and everything she owned was stolen or smashed. I am trying to get her back on the road as cheaply as possible. I dropped the tranny again today and have the engine and transmission from the wreck sitting on the floor. I am going to get a new front seal and axle seals in the morning and clean it up a bit and hopefully I can get it back on the road in a few days. I ordered a new strut mount today as the one in there was completly busted. I have another 90 4 door Accord I picked up last weekend for a project for my son and I and it shifts as smooth as silk. Needs some interior work and a steering gear but we wanted something for him to learn to work on anyway.

[owequitit]

My tranny has just under 220K and still shifts like new.

Lucas oil is going to kill your tranny.

The only thing you can do now is either live with it or replace it.

Dexron II is listed as a suitable replacement for Honda ATF, but that isn't the whole story.

Honda formulates their fluid specifically for their trannies. If you take a new Honda auto tranny and use only Honda ATF and change it per the maintenance schedule, the tranny should well outlast your ownership of the car.

If Dexron II/III has been used as a substitute, and your tranny is shifting harshly it is too late. Honda ATF will prevent it from shifting hard and maintain the integrity of the tranny, but it can't fix what has already occured.

[rlyons]

That's kind of what i thought but it was worth a shot. Didn't work but I tried.

[owequitit]

That's kind of what i thought but it was worth a shot. Didn't work but I tried.

Well it was definitely worth a shot! If it had worked, it would have been far easier than changing the tranny!

Just no such luck I guess.

[rlyons]

I finally have a transmission that works. I got lucky with the transmission out of the wreck, it had been rebuilt and it works great. Just waiting on new motor mount to come in and we wre back on the road, with that one anyway. Next is the 90 Accord, going to tackle the new steering rack and some interior upgrading on it.