[FAQ] How-To: Change your Manual Transmission Fluid At Home

[imadigitalgod]

This write up was created to show an easy way of changing your manual transmission fluid. This writeup was done on a 1999 Civic EX, D16Y8 engine with manual transmission. I also did this writeup because many people never change the manual transmission fluid. I know my transmission fluid was probbaly never changed because the transmission fluid change before the one i just did for this writeup, the fluid came out black, like motor oil. This is an easy job and important job to be done to your car to keep it in top shape. Make sure the car is on a flat surface. I just pulled my car to the end of my garage where it drops down a little bit at the edge so its easier to get under while keeping the car on a flat surface. This level surface is needed for proper drainage and filling. Materials Needed: 1.) 2 Bottles of Honda Manual Transmission Fluid (MTF) 2.) 17mm wrench 3.) 3/8" Ratchet 4.) General Purpose Funnel 5.) Large size of clear tubing 6.) 3/8" Torque Wrench(optional) 7.) Two new washers for the Drain and the Fill bolt. First things first, you may have to take the splash guard off to get to the side of the transmission. This is done by removing the plastic screws inside the fender and some bolts that are under the front lip of the car. This picture is showing the side of the transmission that is facing the passenger side wheel. This picture shows the two bolts that you will be working with: 1.) The Filling bolt and 2.) The drain bolt. The first bolt that can be taken off is shown in the picture which is the Filling bolt. This is done with a 17mm wrench. Turn the bolt counter-clockwise just to loosen it. After the bolt is loose, the bolt should continued to be turned counter-clockwise untill the bolt comes free from the transmission. As the bolt loosens, some transmission fluid may come out of the filler bolt, this is normal. The second bolt that should be removed is the "Drain Bolt"; this is done with a bare 3/8" ratchet. As the name says, this drains all of the fluid from the transmission. In this picture you can see the ratchets 'square' fits right into the drain bolt. Turn the bolt counterclockwise untill loose enough to turn by hand. Slowly turn the bolt by hand untill broken free from the transmission. NOTE: Make sure there is a drain pan underneath the transmission drain hole. When oil first comes out, it will shoot out away from the transmission so make sure the pan is in a place to accomidate where the oil will end up falling. This obviously is the fluid draining from the transmission. On the drain bolt and the filler bolt, there are washers on each. It is reccomended that you go to Honda to get a replacement washer for both before installing them back into their proper holes. When all of the transmission fluid comes out, reinstall the drain bolt. If you have a torque wrench, tighten(turn clockwise) the bolt to 29 ft/lbs. If you do not have a torque wrench, turn the drain bolt with the 3/8" ratchet clockwise untill the bolt is fairly tight but dont turn it so much that you are straining your whole body to tighten it. The torque wrench method is reccomended. Next we need to fill the transmission up with fluid. Lift the hood of the car up and secure it so it wont fall down. This area is where we have to look at first that is highlighted with the circle. Looking down this area we can clearly see the transmission filler hole. Next we need to take our funnel and attach the clear tubing to it. You can get this tubing at many home improvement stores or hardware stores. Make sure the funnel's end fits snugly into the tubing. Next we look at the engine bay area again and drop the tubing down that area so the end of the tube reaches the fill hole. If the tube is too long when you set the funnel & tube like this, you can shorten the tube. When the tube down in the proper position by the drain bolt, slide the very end of the tube inside the fill bolt hole like shown in the picture. Make sure the tube isnt able to easily slip out. When you have the tube in the filler hole, open both of your Honda Manual Transmission Fluid bottles and pour each bottle of fluid down the funnel one at a time. NOTE: By the end of the 2nd bottle, the fluid should be leaking out of the filler hole so be sure to have an oil pan underneath the transmission where it will leak out at. The fluid should run out by the 2nd bottle because the transmission holds 1.9 quarts, and each bottle is 1 quart = 2quarts total u are pouring into the transmission. After you pour the 2nd bottle in, remove the tube from the filler hole and let the rest of the excess fluid drain out into the oil pan. When the fluid is done leaking out and levels off, install the filler bolt in its proper hole. If you have a torque wrench, tighten(clockwise) the 17mm filler bolt to 33 ft/lbs. If you dont have a torque wrench, tighten the 17mm filler bolt with the 17mm wrench fairly tight but not so tight you are straining your whole body. The torque wrench method is reccomended. Be sure to dispose of the transmission fluid in a proper recycling place. Many automotive stores have dropoff points where you can recycle your used oil/fluid. Modified by imadigitalgod at 1:59 AM 7/23/2006

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[RotiEatter]

Nice write up.

[Syndacate]

nice writeup....yo, how often is a trans fluid change recommended on a D16Z6 (manual).

[civperc]

Originally Posted by RotiEatter

Nice write up.

Wrd Good job, great pics.

[CRXified]

darn, i wanted to know how to change a TRANSMISSION at home the easy way LOL

its all good, an excellent writeup :thumbsup:

[imadigitalgod]

Originally Posted by Syndacate

nice writeup....yo, how often is a trans fluid change recommended on a D16Z6 (manual).

I just looked at my owners manual and it seems like it says every 30K miles. I have a D16Y8 engine but we have the exact same transmission.


Modified by imadigitalgod at 8:05 PM 7/12/2006

[The_Todd]

Awesome, doing mine next weekend .

[imadigitalgod]

Originally Posted by CRXified

darn, i wanted to know how to change a TRANSMISSION at home the easy way LOL

its all good, an excellent writeup :thumbsup:

lol i wish there was an "easy" quick way to do that. Well, there is but it will cost u out the but to do that(take it to a shop) and i know i wouldnt want to do that. atleast if u do change it, ull know the 'easy' way of putting the fluid back in it when ur done

[Rock Meathammer]

Originally Posted by imadigitalgod

lol i wish there was an "easy" quick way to do that. Well, there is but it will cost u out the but to do that(take it to a shop) and i know i wouldnt want to do that. atleast if u do change it, ull know the 'easy' way of putting the fluid back in it when ur done

You consider this hard and time consuming?
Great write-up and pics. Very thorough

[imadigitalgod]

Originally Posted by B20 EJ6

You consider this hard and time consuming?
Great write-up and pics. Very thorough

lol no i meant i wish there was an easy and fast way of changing a transmission. I know changing the fluid is a piece of cake. i just wrote this for those who havnt done it before.

[Rock Meathammer]

gotcha

[GoT HaTcH]

nice writeup. seems like alot of ppl also use the speed sensor hole to refill because it is easier to access.

[vlc92189]

awesome write up..! makes things so clearly, thatnks! doing mine this weekend.

[LyghtFunky1]

Didn't need it, but great writeup none the less!

[Digithalgravel]

good sh*t

[Bense]

Originally Posted by GoT HaTcH

nice writeup. seems like alot of ppl also use the speed sensor hole to refill because it is easier to access.

Yes. VSS is much easier, just use a long extension and a 10mm socket

[prison_snitch]

nice write up perfect for newbies. i might be doing this but its a single slam so who cares

[rhdjdmda6]

wow ur tranny fluid was like new !!!! first trans oil change on ur car? u can also fill from the speed sensor its just a 10mm bolt pull it out, take out the drain plug and fill plug, plug up the drain plug fill it up from the vss when it leaks out the fill plug , u plug it up and you'll good to go. !

[philosofy1]

Originally Posted by Bense

Yes. VSS is much easier, just use a long extension and a 10mm socket

thats exactly how i fill the tranny back up, since for some reason my fill bolt is frozen. also, i'm just picky when it comes to the maintence of my engine, i change tranny fluid every time i do a oil change.

[imadigitalgod]

Originally Posted by rhdjdmda6

u can also fill from the speed sensor its just a 10mm bolt pull it out, take out the drain plug and fill plug, plug up the drain plug fill it up from the vss when it leaks out the fill plug , u plug it up and you'll good to go. !

well for me this is the easier way. since you take the filler bolt and the drain bolt off anyways to do the vss fill, and since i allready have this funnel and tube right at hand its quicker for me to do it through the fill bolt

if i didnt take pictures this time and make sure they show up well, i could have done the trany fluid change in about 2 minutes

[LShatchie]

nice job

[Super Trooper]

THANKS

[tommy.]

so when u add the 2 quarts and by the end of it..it should level off on its own? And no more oil will start leaking off right?

[tn]

very nice write-up, will come in handy when I change mines

[MurdersV8s]

sick write up. gonna do that right now.