First Tranny Oil Change

[Jan Humphries]

Hey guys! Just bought an EP3 and doing some maintenance on it.

I want to change the manual transmission fluid and was wondering how many quarts of Honda OEM tranny oil I need to order?

I'm also ordering some Royal Purple engine oil and a K&N oil filter.

Thanks!

[Ubeyo]

theres a DIY on this... but im pretty sure you just need 2. Its a fill till it spills type of fluid change

[Mighty_Mouse_Ep]

Yup you need 2 quarts some people like using synchromesh rather then honda mtf or people have mixed different types of fluid. You do need a fluid pump to do it or a funnel with a really long neck.

[Powers]

I recommend penzoil synchromesh. It really does make a difference.

[captaingamez]

I used Penziol Synchromesh, it felt exactly the same as Honda MTF to me. which is not a positive thing in my opinion.

Amsoil Synchromesh on the other hand, that stuff is pure gold. I have never noticed a more drastic change in a transmission than when I changed to Amsoil. the stuff is a miracle and I have been running it for 100k miles. I NEVER grind now, I can throw it into second at redline and it does not give a shit. Slides in like hot knife through butter. The transmission always felt notchy until I used the Amsoil.

[captaingamez]

Please stay away from royal purple

I have read UOAs that show severe breakdown at 1000 miles.

The issue is that up to about 1000 miles Royal Purple actually works well, then it breaks down incredibly fast, the stuff comes out looking like literally water, and it does not do a good job of protecting your engine at all after the first 1000 miles.

The worst thing is when you have to tear down an engine that someone used RP on, it is absolutely DISGUSTING inside, everything inside your motor turns purple, and I have seen it turn to sludge, and that is really not pretty. Avoid Royal Purple at all costs.

ALL ROYAL PURPLE. Their additives all dye everything inside your engine purple and turns to crap. If it was an actually good oil, then they would not need the marketing gimmick of dying it purple.

Use Mobil 1 or Amsoil or Castrol if you value your engine. Regardless of the brand of oil you are putting Mobil 1 in at an least a %15 ratio, because ALL additives to ALL oil come from Mobil 1, so whatever oil you put in its gonna be Mobil 1s additives anyway, so I would just go with Mobil.

[Ubeyo]

Dam imma try that amsoil synchromesh next time i change it lol

[captaingamez]

Its great stuff, and it should only cost you aboud $24 for the 2 quarts you need.

Another good tip is that you measure the amount going in the tranny beforehand according to the service manual, and then pull the Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS) and dump the oil in that hole in that exact amount. This makes the job a lot easier than snaking a hose around to the fill hole.

The VSS is located on the back of the transmission at the top, its held in by one 12mm bolt.

[Jan Humphries]

You guys rock!!!!

Alright guys new shopping list!!

1. Mobil 1 5w-30 Extended Performance Synthetic Oil. Is this the right one to get? It's the gold one
2. K&N HP 10-10 Performance Wrench-Off Oil filter. Anyone have any experience with this? I decided to get this one vs the regular black one
3. Amsoil Synchromesh MTX Fluid

As far as brake fluid goes does it matter? Should I use Honda's OEM?

[captaingamez]

That Mobil 1 will work great. If you arent in an ultra cold place, I would use the 10w-30, I read that the cam galling issue is caused by 5w oil, but I am not sure how accurate that was.

My motor seems to love the Mobil 1 10w-30 high mileage, since I have over 150k miles on my engine.

The brake fluid isnt a huge issue, unless you are hard on your brakes it will make no difference to you. ATE makes great high temp rated fluids that are cheap, but for a Daily, Honda OEM works just fine.

KN filters are great, just dont use a wrench to put them on, hahaha. Best advice with oil filters is they should always go on hand tight, and come off without having to use anything but your bare hand on it.

In my days as a tech, one of the biggest problems was always overtightened oil filters and oil drain bolts.

[mitchlikesbikes]

2qts is right. i used honda mtf but i used redline MTL in my 240k cherokee and the trans is smooth as butter now.

basically amsoil and redline are the way to go. don't fuck with royal purple or anything else in your trans.

[Jan Humphries]

Thank you guys!

[Ubeyo]

just ordered some amzoil syncromesh! too excited! :D