Or how an AC problem lead to transmission failure.

I have taken the time to write this because I appreciate all the help this forum has given. I also hate it when people fix their issues and never let us know how things turned out.

If you are having shifting issues with your transmission perhaps this will help.

My daughter owns a 1998 Honda Accord LX 4 door with the 4 cylinder engine. Her AC unit stopped working and that is where I got involved. After troubleshooting her system I came to the conclusion that the control panel was not working. I decided to drive her car to the junk yard so if I found a replacement part I could change it out in the parking lot to see if that was indeed the issue.

On the drive out there I noticed the transmission give a quick jerk when shifting between gears. It only did it that one time so I did not think too much about it. Normally my daughter only drives it about 2 miles to work and about 15 miles to our house. She would rarely get it to 55 mph. I took it out onto the open highway to about 70 mph and drove it for over an hour to get to the junkyard. At the first yard I did not find what I needed so I drove about another 45 minutes on the highway to get to another one. After finding my part and getting the AC working (it was very hot out) I started on my way home.

When pulling out of the junkyard my engine started revving high when upshifting and then slamming into gear. It all started acting up quite suddenly. I managed to get home although I had my doubts I would. It was slipping in every gear including first. Between gears I would let off the gas so the RPM dropped down and that made the shifting smoother. Sometimes it would take 5-10 seconds before it would finally go into gear. Once in gear it would stay there. I checked the fluid level and that showed normal. I checked the fluid for contaminates and burnt color, and although it probably had been along time since a fluid change, it was in good condition. I thought maybe the transmission filter needed replacement but I found out this type does not have a serviceable filter. After reading several forums stating the symptoms were direct evidence that the transmission was trashed and would need rebuilding or replacement, I found one that described how to check the shift solenoids to make sure they were operating correctly.

This car basically has 6 solenoids. 4 are individual units and the other two are built together in one piece. One by one I disconnected each and tested them by connecting the terminals to the battery and listening for the click of the solenoid. Note that on the dual solenoid unit there is no ground wire. Both wires are positive and the ground is through the chassis of the unit. They all seemed to be operational. I was beginning to resign myself to the idea that the tranny was gone. Then I read that one of the solenoids has a filter screen that can get clogged. In reality it turns out that they all have one. I decided to remove each one and clean it then recheck it to make sure it was really operational. Note it is much easier to remove the battery and the tray to access the solenoids. You will more than make up time for the 5 minutes it takes. Note that the bolt under the tray only needs to be loosened and the tray can be pulled up. When you remove the dual unit take care not to lose any of the 3 O-rings inside.

I checked each solenoid using a straw. Each unit is either open or closed in its normal state, and when activated it will move to the other state. Blowing through the straw placed over the port holes determined if it was working in both states. The individual solenoids each had a tiny filter screen at the tip of the unit and the dual solenoid has two larger screens that sit inside the unit. The screens on this one were so dirty I could not see light through them. I cleaned everything with carb cleaner then put everything back on the engine and reconnected them. Note when installing the dual unit it is easier if you place the 3 O-rings on the engine, not inside the solenoid unit. I test drove the car and the transmission is working perfectly. Wow. Tomorrow I will change the fluid. Not bad for a car with 287,000 miles on it!

Squeaky

 

Paragraphs? Please?

 

Thank you for the lengthy post, however dirty and clogged screens for the shift solenoids is not that uncommon, especially on those vehicles where the fluid in not changed regularly. There are several threads here that describe to to check them and clean them.

It suggest doing a drain and fill, drive the car for 500 miles, do another drain and fill and continue doing this until the fluid is relative clean, or at least three times. Doing a drain and fill only removes about 1/3 of the fluid, thus the solution to pollution is dilution in this case.

 

Thanks for the write up.

 

I wrote this on a word doc then pasted it in. The sentences were put together by that action.

 

Very informative Squeaky! Thanks and good luck. I hope your daughter has it for another 287K!