[Ted]

Some wise guy (not wiseguy) advised "Do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good."

Also, remember that to the extent people are here writing about ATF, they are not creating mischief elsewhere.

 

[0dyfamily]

...Also, remember that to the extent people are here writing about ATF, they are not creating mischief elsewhere.

Yes.

For those of you who are creating mischief elsewhere (note that this guy fits into the middle of the Ody owner demographics) ....

...we don't care how you do it:
-- Cooler hose
-- Drain / refill
-- Drain / refill even more

Just quit robbing banks and change your d@mned ATF!

OF

 

[ButaCupNut]

I've just used Honda brand, about the same price

 

[dvpatel]

For those of you who are creating mischief elsewhere (note that this guy fits into the middle of the Ody owner demographics) ....
..we don't care how you do it:
-- Cooler hose
-- Drain / refill
-- Drain / refill even more

Just quit robbing banks and change your d@mned ATF!

OF

And in addition to not robbing banks, please STOP creating new ATF or Oil weight threads and go to BITOG if you want to play with or like vipers.

 

[0dyfamily]

I've just used Honda brand, about the same price

Amazing how the market shifts.

For a while ATF DW-1 was the pricey one.

Now, it's so reasonably priced, it's in the "let's go get that one" category.

OF

 

[Odyssey.owner]

UPDATE:
Hello fellow OdyClubbers, so I did use Aisin DW1 atf for a few weeks, and decided to get rid of it, and switch back to Valvoline Maxlife atf.
The reason behind it - my transmission is worn out, not sure what exactly, but most likely clutch packs. Not long ago I finally fixed a slippage, the fix was - the replacement of all shift solenoids. Slippage was gone, but 4th gear still had a lag and wasn't locking up properly. Aisin DW1 atf made that lag worse. Switching back to Valvoline Maxlife made things better, the 4th gear is locking much quicker. Not sure why exactly Maxlife is better for my particular transmission, but my guess is - different viscosity. Aisin DW1 viscosity is very close to Honda DW1, while Maxlife viscosity is higher. I had similar results with Redline D4, and Redline D4 also has a higher viscosity than Honda DW1. Redline is just too expensive nowadays, so I'll be using Valvoline Maxlife from now on.

I am not saying that everyone should use Maxlife atf, but for worn-out transmissions, it is probably a better choice.

 

[dvpatel]

Thank you for the update.

My version of the conclusion.

MaxLife was working fine but was getting up to $26 a gallon so we tried this new thing for $40 a gallon but it didn't work so we went back to MaxLife.

 

[Odyssey.owner]

Thank you for the update.

My version of the conclusion.

MaxLife was working fine but was getting up to $26 a gallon so we tried this new thing for $40 a gallon but it didn't work so we went back to MaxLife.

I did try a number of fluids, before AISIN DW1 there was Redline D4 in my transmission. Yes, it got way too expensive.

 

[dvpatel]

I did try a number of fluids, before AISIN DW1 there was Redline D4 in my transmission. Yes, it got way too expensive.

I am still baffled as to if Maxlife and the Lubeguard were working fine on what you are claiming as a worn out transmission, why are you experimenting with different and mostly much expensive ATFs?

Honda DW-1 vs Valvoline MaxLife

So, after extensive research I decided to get rid of recently changed DW1 atf, and replace it with Valvoline Maxlife atf. Did the first drain&fill, and noticed difference right away. Now I can cruise around the city @ 60km/h ( 40 mi/h ) while having 1600rpm on tachometer. That never happened...

www.odyclub.com

 

[WiiMaster]

Same reason I use DW-1 could be used here. You have what works, why are you messing with it?

 

[Odyssey.owner]

I am still baffled as to if Maxlife and the Lubeguard were working fine on what you are claiming as a worn out transmission, why are you experimenting with different and mostly much expensive ATFs?

Maxlife and Lubeguard were working better indeed, but not for long. Fresh atf and fresh Lubeguard would make things better for a while, and then the slippage or downshift clunk, or both, would come back. Same with ECU reset. Sometimes it would help for a few days. Other times not at all.
The best and most consistent results I had with Redline D4 - almost no slippage, and almost no clunk.

After shift solenoids replacement ( all of the ), all problems were gone, except 4th gear lag.

Never had any transmission related codes. But clearly, at least one of them wasn't functioning properly.

 

[Odyssey.owner]

Same reason I use DW-1 could be used here. You have what works, why are you messing with it?

Honda DW1 was the first thing I tried, 4 drain/fills. But it made slippage much worse. Not because Honda ATF is bad, but because I had transmission problems, particularly - shift solenoids.

 

[WiiMaster]

Honda DW1 was the first thing I tried, 4 drain/fills. But it made slippage much worse. Not because Honda ATF is bad, but because I had transmission problems, particularly - shift solenoids.

I was not saying you should use DW-1. I was saying that you found something that works in VML + LG in your AT, why are you messing with it? I don't mess with the DW-1 fluid that works for me, this is the same type of situation.

 

[Odyssey.owner]

I was saying that you found something that works in VML + LG in your AT, why are you messing with it?

That fix wasn't permanent. Probably because underlying problem was electric. Or a sticky valve that wasn't opening/closing properly, who knows..

Anyhow, solenoids replacement was a fix. I wish I knew that 5 years ago. So much ATF wasted. Not to mention Lubeguard.

 

[WiiMaster]

I wouldn't call it a waste of LubeGard, it's still a solid product that helps the AT.

 

[Odyssey.owner]

I wouldn't call it a waste of LubeGard, it's still a solid product that helps the AT.

I meant, it went down the drain. Lots of relatively fresh ATF with lubeguard.

 

[xgmad]

UPDATE:

The reason behind it - my transmission is worn out, not sure what exactly, but most likely clutch packs. Not long ago I finally fixed a slippage, the fix was - the replacement of all shift solenoids. Slippage was gone, but 4th gear still had a lag and wasn't locking up properly.

I am not saying that everyone should use Maxlife atf, but for worn-out transmissions, it is probably a better choice.

The clutch pack is probably not worn out, it would take a significant enviromental change for the clutch packs to wear.

There probably isn't enough line pressure, might want to check the atf pump in the transmission, along with circuit seals.

 

[Odyssey.owner]

There probably isn't enough line pressure, might want to check the atf pump in the transmission, along with circuit seals.

Yes, could be that too. I was thinking about this possible problem.
It's hard to tell until transmission is open.

 

[hpark21]

I had shift stutter as well (way back when I used Z1 fluid) and I switched over to MaxLife and the stutter was gone and I stuck with Maxlife.