ceophlo

I CANNOT get the fill bolt off to save my life. Will I need a breaker bar? I just got the car and I want to change the tranny fluid since the car has just over 100k miles and it appears the previous owner didn't care it very well. I'm scared to strip the threads. Will a breaker bar work?

zeroptzero

yup use a breaker bar and use one quick motion by giving it a quick snap. In order to get a breaker bar to work you will need to get some clearance under there so put it on jackstands, a ratcheting breaker bar is even better.

ceophlo

Thanks. Gonna buy one tomorrow.

AZS2KDancer

What's the BORG, please?

Chuck S

I'm on a transmission oil change schedule of every other oil change so both it and engine oil will be changed in about a month before the car goes in the garage for the winter. Differential oil changed last summer. Maybe with the oil change after this one.

Just a smudge of dirt on the differential magnetic bolt. Any benefit, other than curiosity, of magnetic gear box and engine oil drain plugs?

My '06 engine is using 0.9 quart of oil every 5000 miles. 0.9 quarts? Oil/filter change uses 5.1 quarts and I've periodically added oil to keep it at the full line using the remaining 0.9 quarts. She's at full this moment.

-- Chuck

neekomax

Thank you so much for this great OP and ensuing tips. I just bought an '04 S2K with 100k miles on it last month.My buddy's mechanic/tuning guy looked the car over and said it looked pretty good (phew). He suggested trans, diff, and clutch fluid changes, along with throttle body and injector cleaning, and a valve adjustment. He gave me an idea of what it would cost to have him do all of that, aaaaaand I went home and started trying to figure out which of these I could do myself, haha.

So far I've gotten the clutch fluid changed (super easy), and today, thanks to this and one other DIY post, I attacked the transmission fluid. This is the first time I've ever really used a wrench (always leased German cars before, no need), and I'm really satisfied and happy to have done it myself. Bottom line: Little messy, but well worth it. Great learning experience. And while my fill and drain bolts weren't very dirty at all, and the old fluid looked ok, the shifter is now butter smooth, HUuuuuge difference. I'm actually quite surprised, because my Subaru friend who came by to help (I needed a 1/2" socket drive that he had) said that I probably wouldn't feel it. Oh but how I do. So much better.

Interestingly, it was the jacking process that was way more difficult than anything once under the car. Luckily, my neighbor helped out for that and we got it figured out. But now I'm that much more educated in that as well.

My 2 cents: Make sure that your pump fits whatever size container (quarts of Honda trans fluid, in my case) that you're using. The pump I got was made for gallon containers, so I had to cut the top off the quart containers to get the pump in there. Live and learn.

On to the diff!

jts09

Thanks for the great DYI. I know this is an old thread, but this and a few others have let me do some maintenance items that I would normally leave to a shop. Much more satisfying doing it yourself. Too bad I didn't read to the end. I bought fluid pumps off of the Walmart website and they was made to fit gallon containers. Planning to use one for the tranny and one for the diff. Luckily, I found an clean, empty container with the correct size opening.

Diff is next.

'06 Suzuka Blue (~50k)

mqtran

I realize this is a very old thread but don't use teflon tape on anything with a torque spec. Teflon tape is a friction modifier and you risk over tightening the bolt before hitting the torque spec.

cosmomiller

Do not use teflon tape or any paste that plumbers use. Clean the threads if you need to, usually just a rag will do, and use a calibrated torque wrench. One time. Don't go back and keep trying to torque it down once you set it the first time. If you are unsure, loosen it and then retighten properly. You probably can get by re-using a crush washer once but it is best to use a fresh one.