"motsco_ _" <"motsco_ > wrote in message
...
> Gregg Gruen wrote:
> > My 1994 Accord seems to do something strange at highway speeds. It
> > seems that the torque converter is locking up and unlocking
> > repeatedly. I try to maintain a very steady speed, but I'll feel it
> > unlock and watch the tach jump up ~250 RPM, then watch it drop it back
> > down again. This will happen on flat road, but very much more so on a
> > slight (and I mean slight) incline. If I use cruise control, the
> > problem it's so bad, but still present. It seems like it's more
> > sensitive than it should be. It'll just as much as every 5-8 seconds,
> > especially if the road isn't perfectly flat.
> >
> > Otherwise, the trans seems to shift fine. Shifts a little rough,
> > especially when it's cold, but nothing to really complain about too
> > much. I did a trans fluid change, but I didn't use Honda fluid
> > (changing again this weekend w/ Honda fluid after what I've read about
> > that).
> >
> > Can anyone give me a recommended adjustment I can make? Could it be a
> > bad TC solenoid? Or is this just a standard Honda auto trans? It's
> > the first one I've owned.
> >
> > About 140k miles, no check engine light.
> >
> > Also, I've noticed two distinctive clunks when I put the car in drive
> > from park, especially when it's cold. It's almost as if it's a
> > two-part shift process. There's a slight delay between the two.
> >
> > I'm trying to take it easy on the car. I just bought it, and I'm
> > afraid of any trans problems coming up already.
> >
> > Thanks
> > Gregg
> --------------------
>
> The non-Honda fluid explains everything you described, probably.
> Especially the really solid shifts. The short delay is famous on
> Odyssey, but might get better after drain-n-fill. You'll have to do a
> second drain-n-fill later, and be sure to do both of them when tranny is
> warmed up, so you get a higher % of the crud into suspension. Let it
> drain several minutes, then, if you want to be thorough, start the
> engine for ten seconds and 'pump' out the converter by putting it into
> reverse / D4. You'll get almost another quart out.
>
> Some won't agree with that last part. . . . 'Curly'
>
> P.S. Always mention your mileage :-(

Disclaimer: Much of the information I pass on is speculation, based on my
experience with Honda transmissions. My experience includes 8 years building
and rebuilding Honda torque convertors, 6 years of
building/analyzing/rebuilding Honda automatic transmissions, and 10 years as
owner of Honda Accords(currently 5). Please use this information for
reference only.

Hi Gregg:
I also have a '94 Accord that my daughter drives and I have had that
same hesitation at initial takeoff for over 100,000 miles. It's annoying and
unsettling, but I don't expect it's gonna get any worse. I have always used
genuine Honda ATF, and kept it changed at about 33k miles. No other
transmission troubles, and that car is approaching 175 k miles.

I don't believe the two symptoms are related. The trouble with your
lockup function is probably electrical; either PCM or external solenoid. I
don't remember which solenoid(s) control lockup on that model year, (later
models use a shift solenoid and linear solenoid to control lockup function)
and I'm not advocating that you start swapping them out. It seems to me that
the T/C shifting in and out of lockup wouldn't be caused by defect in the
T/C though. If the friction disk on the lockup piston were worn the slippage
would probably be so subtle that you wouldn't see it a s a shift in and out
of lockup. If it were worn badly you would probably experience a jerk when
lockup was achieved, but once locked it would stay locked until electrically
shifted out again.

If you really have concerns about gunk in your fluid, strain it through
a paint strainer after you drain it. Chances are you would find any
significant solids in it, especially if you are changing it regularly(30~35k
miles). Also, check it for a burnt smell; that might indicate that something
has been excessively hot. If you do find much in the way of particles, then
you might as well plan ahead for a transmission swap in the distant future.

I wonder if it's worth the effort to completely drain your ATF. The
solids in the ATF have to be awfully small to pass through the strainer, so
I wouldn't expect very much to be suspended in the oil. You have at least
two magnets in there to collect ferrous material(one inside and one in the
drain plug), a strainer with media that has about a 50 micron mesh(I think),
and numerous screens in the hydraulic path to capture potentially
troublesome particles in the oil. Changing the ATF isn't going to remove or
even disturb these trapped particles anyway. Much of the fluid that does not
drain is kept in the torque convertor, and the T/C check valve is what keeps
it in. That fluid has not settled in the T/C; oil flow through the T/C is
very aggressive and there is no settling going on in there. It even has
centrifugal filtering built in so it captures solids as it turns.
I find it hard to support the recommendation to run your
engine/transmission when you have the drain plug open. ATF is lube oil as
well as hydraulic fluid, and if your running your transmission through gear
ranges with no fluid you have clutches(probably 1st, potentially all)
running dry, gears meshing(oil pump, idle gears, drive gears) and bearings
(shafts, case bearings)turning without the lubrication that was engineered
in. Inside the torque convertor there are bearings(on stator assembly) and a
friction disk(lockup clutch) as well.
The question is how long can they run while dry, (or at least while not
immersed in ATF), before damage results, and I do not have that answer. I
suggest that if you are going to run the transmission without ATF in it, do
not do it for any length of time beyond what Curly recommends. With all due
respect to Curly; he may very well have experiences that I don't.
Doc
PS: Use genuine Honda ATF. These transmissions were designed around it's
use.