Transmission Oil Q&A

[EuroAccord13]

Just had the manual transmission oil on my car done tonight in the comfort of my cramp and short of space garage, 39500KMs it's got and the oil is black and contains sludge that looks like a cat's puke...

According to the manual, it says to replace at 1200000kms and I'm like ?????? How can the tranny oil last that long?

What I wanna ask is with tranny oil that black and with sludge.. Is this a bad sign? This car has only been to Heathcote 2 times...

But heck, with the new tranny oil, shifting into gear is so much smoother now, little or no crunching, synchros on the first and second gears are better now...

What do you guys think of a car having super black tranny oil with sludge at only 40000kms? Makes me wanna do this every 10000kms now.....

[h22a accord]

120000km seems very high between changes....My manual says to change every 20k and when i do the oil is still nice and clean.

Black sludge is never a good sign lol. What oil does the manaul recommend? Mine recommends honda FEO engine oil.

if i were you i'd change every 20k as it wont hurt.

[GreekWarrior]

120000km seems very high between changes....My manual says to change every 20k and when i do the oil is still nice and clean.

Black sludge is never a good sign lol. What oil does the manaul recommend? Mine recommends honda FEO engine oil.

if i were you i'd change every 20k as it wont hurt.

120000km wtf, my manual says change every 20-40k.

[SPEEDCORE]

I would also change it again along with your next engine oil change... to try to clear more of that crap out.

[wynode]

Black with sludge ? :|

I've always used the Honda gearbox oil (golden coloured oil) and whenever i've changed it its looked just a bit darker (but still golden). The oil you put in there.....it had a golden colour too?

Because gearbox oil doesn't wear/burn like normal engine oil so I'd be VERY surprised to see a black/sludge like liquid coming out of your gearbox.

Also, most of the parts in the gearbox are metal and assuming the K20 g/b has a magnet in it (most d and b series engines have one), it should pickup most of the metal that would come loose as a result of wear.

So yeah.......anyone else changed their oil in the euro?

[EuroAccord13]

The oil that came out was no where near golden in colour, it wasn't even yellow to speak of, all black

Yeah, I used Honda's MTF and filled it up till the level gauge spilled out with the new fluid.

I'm not sure if I have that magnetic element in the G/B, I think I'll do another flush after 10000kms and see if the MTF is black.. I service the car every 5000km and don't think I wanna do it at that time, too much work LOL!

[aaronng]

Usually you don't change transmission oil unless you change a tranny part or you have a symptom of a problem. That's why when you change it, it's still nice, clean and golden.

It's your shortshift man! hehehehe I know shortshifters really wear the triple cone synchros on transmissions that have it. Euros have triple cones on the 1st and 2nd gears and double cones on the 3rd to 6th.

[spanks]

If its a synchro problem you should be finding golden specs in your oil..and even if the dampers between 1st and 2nd were wearing it still doesn't explain the black oil...check it again in 5,000ks and see what it looks like.Hmmm strange....

[EuroAccord13]

What issues will I have in the long term if my tranny continues to give me black oil?

[wynode]

Usually you don't change transmission oil unless you change a tranny part or you have a symptom of a problem. That's why when you change it, it's still nice, clean and golden.

It's your shortshift man! hehehehe I know shortshifters really wear the triple cone synchros on transmissions that have it. Euros have triple cones on the 1st and 2nd gears and double cones on the 3rd to 6th.

You should change your transmission oil at the recommended interval...yet 120K sounds like heaps! I generally change mine as SOON as the shifting feels a bit 'stiff'. That's usually every 15K or so. But i'm just being careful.....and MTF doesn't cost that much if you do the change your self.

Not true. It all depends on your shifting. Shift too fast/hard and you work your synchros more (ie they have to do more work in less time).

[spanks]

120k for oil change sounds more like automatic oil change.Was lengthened to this mileage when 01 Civic was released and the new ATF-Z1 oil was simultaniously released..but will check to be sure...recheck oil in 5,000ks and see what its like

[aaronng]

Not true. It all depends on your shifting. Shift too fast/hard and you work your synchros more (ie they have to do more work in less time).
With the stock shifter, you can control the speed you shift gears. With a short shifter, the speed is increased dramatically that when you shift normally, the gears are changing as fast as if you were brutally changing the stock shifter.

I remember calculating the speed increase with a short shifter. Assuming the stock shifter travels 5cm from neutral to in gear, that is 10cm for a 1st to 2nd gear shift. With a short shifter, let's say the travel is reduced to 2cm from neutral to in gear, giving 4cm when shifting from 1st to 2nd. That is a reduction of 60% in the distance that your hand travels. So when you are shifting a shortshifter with normal hand speed, you are still moving the linkages 1/0.6 or 2.5 times faster than that of a normal shifter. I think the triple-cones don't like fast shift speeds. It's smooth when shifted normally but when you shift fast, it becomes notchy. The double-cone gears of 3rd to 6th are always more notchy, no change in notchyness if you shift quick or slow.

[aaronng]

120k for oil change sounds more like automatic oil change.Was lengthened to this mileage when 01 Civic was released and the new ATF-Z1 oil was simultaniously released..but will check to be sure...recheck oil in 5,000ks and see what its like
Autos need their fluid to be changed more often. I think it was 48,000kms?

[spanks]

Autos need their fluid to be changed more often. I think it was 48,000kms?


Service schedule was changed with 01 civic..

[h22a accord]

I changed my transmission oil this morning, this oil is 20000km old.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/dtaila/oil.jpg

[wynode]

yup that's what it should look like. Nice n golden :thumbsup:

[EuroDude]

Yep thats what mine looked like today after 80,000km (may have been 100,000km actually) tranny oil usage. It had a slight black tinge but still looked like Golden Syrup.