I'm still trying to get the bugs out of the transmission I rebuilt.

I bought the master kit from Makco transmissions, with all new seals, clutches/steels.

Anyway when the trans is cold it shifts into drive hard, then flares between 1st/2nd shift, then 2nd to third.

After it warms up it shifts fine all day long.

I have tested all of the solenoids, and they check out fine as well as bought a new 2nd clutch switch.

Drained the fluid twice now, with HONDA fluid.

I can't figure out what this could be.

 

Unfortunately the hydraulics are very finicky on the V6 transmissions. There is a rebuild procedure including soaking and washing the transmission thus in general if one tries to rebuild one, even with factory parts they generally will still not function properly. I can only assume that you are talking about a V6 since no other information was posted...

 

Sorry, I got a little ahead of myself. Its a 2000 Honda Accord 4 cyl.

 

Some of your symptoms can be remedied by shift cable adjustment. I looked at Honda shop manual diagnostic symptoms chart.

good luck

 

Thanks. I actually did have to adjust the park/neutral switch once as I got CEL.

I will try to fine tune it tomorrow, thanks for the reply.

I will post as soon as I find out something.

 

Well, I was able to try playing around with the cable, and it really didn't have any effect.

Then today I played around with the neutral/park switch, and still didn't get any difference in shifting.

Of all of the auto trans I've built over the years this is the most problematic.

Also, I would really like to know what the difference is between the Honda trans fluid, and the other "compatible" fluids out there.

The problem as I can see it is that there is something going on with the trans when the trans fluid is cold, and thicker, vs when the fluid is operating temp, and thinner?

 

My understanding is the Honda ATF has "friction modifiers" to tune the friction coefficient of the clutches. This is something I've read in posts by others. I've never seen any definitive source info.

Shop manual has other symptoms that match yours but appear to point towards internal parts as source of problems.

good luck

 

Thanks.

That is what is making it hard to determine as every search I have done on the symptoms, I keep coming up with transmissions that are on their way out, not rebuilt units.

I would bet its some kind of residue that I might have missed when cleaning the trans case. This mixed in with the trans fluid make its too thick on startup.

 

Well guys I finally fixed the problem today. I know this is kinda long, but it might save someone a costly trans replacement.

I kept on thinking about the issue of how the trans acted differently when cold vs warm.

Today I pulled the case plug to drain the fluid, and examine it in a clear container. I noticed that the plug was gunked up again.
[The first time I drained the fluid didn't notice the gunk on the plug. The second time I had the fluid out I noticed the gunk, but didn't think that much about it although I DO remember cleaning the plug before putting it back in the case].

I don't have a professional case cleaner like we did as the trans shop I managed years ago so its usually carb cleaner that does the trick to clean parts [which I might add has worked great for years on daily driven stuff, NOT high performance builds].

Somewhere there was obviously some gunk/sludge that was trapped [maybe in the tc??], and when cold this gunk would keep the trans from shifting correctly until it warmed up, and thinned out].

Today, after draining the fluid I poured about 2 quarts of paint thinner into the case, enough to submerge the valve body [the strong thinner used to clean my paint gun], and let it sit in the case for about two hours. IMPORTANT! THE ENGINE WAS NEVER CRANKED DURING THIS TIME!!!!!!!

Later, I drained the case, and saw a few decent sized chunks of black sludge come out with the thinner. After that I let the car sit in the sun for another three hours to let the thinner evaporate [hood open, case plug left out, as well as the trans dipstick].

Refilled the filtered fluid [filtered it with come cotton gauze, and a paint filter], and started the engine.

I clenched my butt cheeks as I pulled the shifter lever down to "4". There wasn't any neck snapping jerk into gear as was before. I put the car in "R", and backed down my long driveway, and put the trans back into gear. Again, no hard gear engagement.

Drove the car around the block, and it shifted just like it should.

So, this might help some of you out there with trans issues. My symptoms were the same as every thread I could read on the net where the trans was about to die. I knew I put the trans back together correctly with all new parts [less the TC] which is what puzzled me.

IF your trans starts the hard shifting, and flaring between gear shifts, do like I did with the paint thinner before you give up on the trans as it just might be gunk. Oh, and I would let the trans sit overnight with the plug, and dipstick out to let the thinner evaporate more fully.

Thanks for all of the replies, and I truly hope this helps someone else.

[NOTE: this trans was shot when I bought it, and I knew this, as the clutches in two drums were down into the metal after I pulled it apart, which may be the case if your trans is having the symptoms mine had, BUT it still MIGHT just be sludge]

 

A few questions:
What year accord was this done one, also what size engine.
Also, did you have any problems develop later on as a result of this work?
Thanks