Need HELP w/ ATF total drain and re-fill procedure 2.5 TL

fringescoundrel · Newbie Joined: Oct 01, 2004 Posts: 3

Could someone please tell me what is the ideal procedure for the total drain and re-filling of an Acura 2.5 TL (automatic) transmission? Also, how much fluid will that need?

I feel my Acura dealer is screwing me over with the estimated price to do that at $ 185. I checked with Jiffy Lube and they offered to do it for $ 60. Is Jiffy Lube a good place to go for this procedure...I also learned that the Acura dealer would do it with a machine and the Jiffy Lube mechanic would do it without a machine.

Any comments from someone knowledgeable on the subject will be sincerely appreciated.

Much thanks!
FS

mossman · All-Acura Enthusiast Joined: Jul 16, 2004 Posts: 40

I heard that it is not good to use a machine to flush the trans. It can cause damage. It is not hard to replace the fluid yourself. Buy a haynes manual to aid you. Look under "capacities" or "fluids" in your owners manual. It will tell you how much trans fluid you need. $60 isn't bad at Jiffy Lube. BUT, BE SURE THEY ONLY USE HONDA ATF. It is specially formulated for our transmissions. You should go to the dealership and purchase the fluid, then take it to Jiffy Lube and have them do it if you don't feel confident doing it yourself.

fringescoundrel · Newbie Joined: Oct 01, 2004 Posts: 3

Thanks! This is exactly what I have done...bought the HONDA ATF from the dealer and went to JiffyLube...the only thing is that the dealer told me it is better to use the machine since that involves total flushing and re-filling, so I asked the Jiffy guy to use the machine...the transmission is behaving a lot better but I now wonder if the machine based flush caused any damage. Thanks for your reply anyway!

mossman · All-Acura Enthusiast Joined: Jul 16, 2004 Posts: 40

No problem. I have always heard not to flush the trans. I have never been told exactly why. My guess is that if there is any debris or metal shavings, etc. in the trans, flushing them out could damage the internals???

fringescoundrel · Newbie Joined: Oct 01, 2004 Posts: 3

Well, if it did..too late now!

I appreciate your responding

grnAc · Newbie Joined: Dec 05, 2004 Posts: 3

You should always flush yiur system out when you cange your tranny fluid! Your tranny is set up like a maze with different directions, your tranny has a set route to go and when it heats up with the liquid, little medal type balls form and slowly start to block off all the routes to the maze, in the end causeing your tranny to studder or stick in some gears. When you flush your system your removeing all the balls wich are blocking the way instead of just draining the fluid and replaceing it with new fluid