89 Civic Auto Transmission Oil Getting Boiling Hot! Help!
Reaccion
Senior Wagonist
Problem: Hello guys, as you may already know, I own a 1989 Honda Civic wagon (wagovan) with it regular 1.5L 16 valve SOHC engine and tranny. My Compadre and I went to Splish Splash this last Sunday. That is around one hour and a half from my house. My Compradre owns a 1999 Honda Civic SI with turbo, Hondata and many other upgrades. In our way to Splish Splash, we were going a little fast and we kept the same speed rate for about 40 minutes. I noticed that the speedometer cable broke off since the speedometer stopped working. However, I still kept driving. After a couple more minutes, I felt that the transmission slipping to the point that the transmission went on neutral. I quickly pulled over. There was a little smoke coming out of the hood. I check the temperature gauge on the dash and it was normal. When we checked the transmission oil, it was BOILING HOT. The transmission oil was literally boiling in the transmission. The oil was very dirty and burnt as well. My Compadre suggested me to let the tranny cold down. After 25 minutes waiting, the transmission oil was not longer boiling and the transmission went into gears normally again. We finished our trip to Splish Splash but driving normally this time. Everything went fine after that, even in our way back home. I just did not push my wagon that hard. So far so good with the transmission. I have owned this wagonvan for about 4 months and I have not changed the transmission oil yet. I do not know what kind of oil the transmission have. I already bought genuine Honda transmission oil for an oil change along with a brand new genuine speedometer cable. But before that I want to know:
Has this problem happened to any of you?
Why did this problem happen?
Dirty oil?
Bad quality oil?
Is the radiator not cooling down enough the transmission oil?
Please help!!!!!!!!
Solution: LOL! I also installed the speedometer cable on my wagon. I am happy because now the overdrive is kicking in again. Before I installed the speedometer cable, the transmission did not go beyond 3rd gear (it did not go into the overdrive). I figured that since the tranny was stock in 3rd gear going in high speed, the transmission was overheating. I guess that since the engine computer was not reading the speed on the car due to the broken speedometer cable, it was not making the transmission to go into overdrive... Also the check engine light was coming on... Now, everything is back to normal. The speedometer cluster is working; the transmission is not over heating and shifting normally, no check light as either. Problem solved!! LOL!
Has this problem happened to any of you?
Why did this problem happen?
Dirty oil?
Bad quality oil?
Is the radiator not cooling down enough the transmission oil?
Please help!!!!!!!!
Solution: LOL! I also installed the speedometer cable on my wagon. I am happy because now the overdrive is kicking in again. Before I installed the speedometer cable, the transmission did not go beyond 3rd gear (it did not go into the overdrive). I figured that since the tranny was stock in 3rd gear going in high speed, the transmission was overheating. I guess that since the engine computer was not reading the speed on the car due to the broken speedometer cable, it was not making the transmission to go into overdrive... Also the check engine light was coming on... Now, everything is back to normal. The speedometer cluster is working; the transmission is not over heating and shifting normally, no check light as either. Problem solved!! LOL!
Comments
My initial thoughts are:
1. CHANGE IT NOW!
2. CHANGE IT NOW!
3. CHANGE IT NOW!
:P
Like any other system that needs lubrication, having low levels of dirty oil are always gonna cause problems. I would imagine that after your change to Honda ATF you wont have issues anymore.
You need to change the oil for sure. Maybe the convertor isn't locking up. That would heat up the fluid. I am just guessing based on my experience with my Dodge AT.
Yes, there is not separate radiator to cool down the transmission oil. It is a closed circuit. I do not think that it needs flushing either. What do you think? I am definitely going to change the transmission oil. It is just that I want to make sure first that the problem does not continue so the transmission does not keep on boiling oil including the new Honda one....
LOL, there are not dumb questions. As a matter of fact, I let the oil lube specialist to check the transmission oil for me when I changed the oil for first time. I did not even check it myself. I just assumed that the transmission had enough oil on it because when I pulled over to check what was happening, I could see the oil boiling. This meant that the tranny oil was full enough to the point that I could even see the oil when it was boiling. If the oil level would have been low, I do not think that I was going to be able to see it just by removing the tranny oil dipstick.
Yes, I am definitely going to change the transmission oil. It is just that I want to make sure first that the problem does not continue so the transmission does not keep on boiling oil including the new Honda one. About the converter, sometimes the when the wagon is idling and I am about to take off, I have to accelerate a little bit in order for the transmission to go on drive (I does not do this very frequently though) instead of going into drive by itself right after shifting from Parking to drive... Would this have anything to do with the issue?
So, you think this is normal or is it something else? I just want to drive my wagon with worrying about transmission or engine issues...
Well no. It is actually that the car stays in neutral even though you shifted from parking to drive. And then when you accelerate a little bit, the tranny would go into drive...
Not, it is just like it slices into the gear... after the transmission is in drive, it would shift normally.
http://www.hondacivicwagon.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=103&p=453#p453
Oh, okay... Very interesting... I took my wagon yesterday for a full transmission flush... They unplugged the hoses that go to the radiator to cool down the oil and connected them to the machine... One hose was taking the dirty oil out and by the other one there was the new oil entering... They ran the engine until the 12 quart change was done...