A friend recently gave me a 93 Accord that needed some repairs. When shifting the car from Park to Drive (or Reverse for that matter), the shift into gear is quite rough. You hear a faint whistling sound, and then the transmission shift engages. When the car is warming up as I drive it, the shifts between 1st and 2nd are also a little rough. There is no slippling, just rather abrupt shifting.

I thought that maybe the motor mounts might be contributing to the issue when I shift from Park to Drive, but they look like they have been replaced recently. The trans fluid looks a little dirty. I was going to change it when I replaced the CV axles.

Is the rough shifting a fairly common characteristic of Accords of this vintage, or is this a sign of something more ominous? The service manual recommends Honda Premuim Formula ATF or Dexron II, although I have read elsewhere that many recommend that you use genuine Honda ATF only. Has anyone tried using Dexron VI in this transmission? What is your recommendation as far as fluid is concerned? Any ideas in regard to the rough shift from Park to Drive?

 

The rear engine mount is the one that's not easy to see, maybe it hasn't been reaplaced. It's stuffed between the engine & firewall, center, low. That's also the one that's vacuum operated to get softer when you shift into D or R. (Manual tranny doesn't have the vacuum-operated mount.)

The whistling noise is another clue for that mount. Check it out.

 

Thanks for the reply, Jim. I'll definitely look at this. Any recommendations on ATF for these transmisisons?

 

Honda brand ATF. Everyone says there's a difference. But I'm not too much of an auto-tranny guru, so ???