Quote Originally Posted by Brumm View Post
DD? Dead Doornail? haha.
Well, after yet another trip back to the dealership for something unrelated (so far it's been the air intake hose, dodgy battery, leaking PS pump, spark plugs crapping out... awesome, right?), hopefully the next step is to take it to an auto trans place, so they can assess roughly how much life it has left. Dude there seems pretty honest and helpful.

Transmission dude told me that replacing fluids won't solve the problem of a clogged filter (which is the root cause of the slipping and sticking), so save my pennies for a bigger fix. It's still the original transmission, so it's done ok to last this long i suppose. Bad timing for me though!

Once i know roughly how long i have till it dies, i can figure out what i can afford. Sadly, i've put in too much already to just write it off, but don't quite have the $$$ for the reco just yet.

Considering this was a serious design flaw (that i didn't know about), i fail to see why Honda didn't address it earlier. Seems most of the 90's models are affected. I just don't know if it's a 'luck' thing, a symptom of neglect, or just a matter of time. (Hence why i don't want to spend all my money on the gamble of a 2nd hand tranny)
DD - Daily Driver
The only design flaw with the 89-99 4 Speed Hondamatic is that the filter is not serviceable unless you pull apart the transmission and rebuild it
The most probable cause is that it has worn out/clogged filter and bad particles getting into the gears
Now.. before you blame Honda on a 'serious design flaw'
Was your car's Transmission services every 30,000kms like it says in the logbook?
If not, then it's the last owners own neglection and maybe yours for not doing the service earlier
The transmission in our car's (of this particular generation) are pretty reliable
When you reverse and put it into D4 without stopping - Bad stuff happens
When you floor it when it is not warmed up - Bad stuff happens
When you put the wrong ATF in - Bad stuff happens

What im saying in regards to Daily Driven - is if it isn't you can put it aside for a while

The 5 speed Automatics release in 99 - onwards are rubbish

Regular servicing/maintenance and no abuse will keep these transmission Kosher
You cannot expect a car of almost 20 years to be perfect in the engine/transmission area
I'd suggest changing fluids and see how you go
Have you looked at the TCU? - transmission control unit