Hiya all,

I've got my little '90 Accord EX project rolling now. Drove it to work for the first time today. First "extended" trip (30 miles) that I've had as well. Some hopefully small issues that I need some pointers on to help diagnose...


At "cruise" throttle with minimal load on the engine, the trans doesn't shift to 4th gear. It remains in 3rd and I have to add accellerating throttle slightly to get it to engage 4th. As soon as I drop the additional throttle, it shifts back to third. Shifts great other than that on the upshift.

The other small tranny problem is it seems to almost disengage to neutral between gears on a "turn-in" type decel...ie: I start to make right or left turn onto a side street from highway speed (55 or so) and transition to residential speeds, the tranny hesitates and then hits hard in engaging the lower (proper) gear (usually 2nd gear in these situations).

One final thing is when I reach the stop point and shift to PARK, the engine surges up and down in rpm several times to about 1500 to 1700rpm before settling back to 750rpm or so. During this period of surging, the PARK indicator will not light and the car lever is locked. After surging subsides, the light comes on and then allows the relay from the brake engagement to unlock the shifter...I hear and feel the "click" in the shifter mechanism.

Now for the really dumb question and observation....When checking the trans fluid, should the engine be running or off? If checked running, the dipstick is covered in oil and I cannot determine a recognizable fluid level. If done with engine off, it appears to meet the full line. I'm assuming that the latter is the correct method....

 

with automatic transmissions you want them running in neutral at normal operating temp...

 

Okay...I can check that easy enough. Any ideas about the shifting anomalies?

By the way...no CEL and no code being displayed....

 

i think a drain and fill of the fluid would make a difference. Use only honda atf-z1!

 

I was actually just going to suggest checking the fluid level first off.... also make sure it doesn't look dark or burnt or smell burnt at all, level car, pull the dipstick out wipe it off, put it back in and then pull it out and inspect it.... a drain and fill of it wouldn't hurt if it hasn't been done in a while

 

how many miles on it..these problems sound very familiar as they happened to my 98 accord. surging is usually to much gas car needs/wants to burn it. might be injectors...to much fuel getting into motor. these are just prob with age..trans is pprob toast. sounds like alot of work ahad of you. I had to replace trans with rebuilt from pheonix remanufactured transmissions.

 

tranny fluid should be checked with engine off,, level surface.......

as for the shifting issues,, replace thr tranny fluid as adviced use Honda ATF-Z1 as suggested ,,,,,,,,,,
if still no luck,
remove the shift solenoids at top of tranny and blow carb cleaner in the passage , if you have compressed air, blow into the passage as well. clean the metal screen of any debris, put all back together,, make sure that the connections are ok ,,no broken or loose wiring

 

Thanks for all the replies folks!

I'll follow the trans drain and fill and the clean solenoids if that doesn't resolve. Is there a transmission filter of pan gasket that I should pre-purchase before starting this project?

A little updated info...the trans fluid is somewhat "brownish" and not the pretty, rich, pinkish/red color of clean new fluid. I don't think it smells burnt...just old.

Also, I was incorrectly describing the symptoms of one problem...the trans is shifting between 4th gear and overdrive when lightly adding throttle at cruise speed. When I let off the gas, it shifts back to 4th gear and will not remain in OD unless lightly accelerating. I described this as 3rd and 4th gear previously. Overdrive is just the lock up of the torque converter? Right? Is this still pointing to fluid and possible dirty/blocked shift solenoids?

Edit PS...How much fluid do I need to refill from drained?

 

I'll let you know...I'm draining and refilling my '90 tonight with honda genuine (Oooo) ATF-Z1.

 

Took 3 qts to refill. Piece of cake. Hardest parts was breaking the drain plug loose. The radius rod is in front of it and there's just enough room for a 3/8 ratchet. I put a bar over the wrathcet handle for extra leverage. Unforunately, I didn't have an opportunity to test drive becasue the car stalled and wouldn't start. After locating and diagnosing the fuel pump relay it turned out to be bad.