Thank you for making this video. It is by far one of the best I have seen. As a retired Mechanical Engineer, I really appreciate the attention to detail as well as your excellent communication and presentation skills.
I appreciate your videos on these Acura’s man. Just the transmission fluid and front diff would have costed me almost a grand at the dealer. Just bought a house and these videos saved me !
Thanks for the great video! I did the coolant today, the 2019 seems to have eliminated the convenient trapdoor to access the radiator petcock - which is odd. It only meant I had to remove a few more screws to pull the plastic out of the way to access the petcock. Well it also made the draining a bit messier....
Extremely helpful! Thanks for keeping it brief, to the point without missing out on any critical information. Two thumbs up! If you are taking requests for future videos, it will be a huge help to get a transmission fluid change video on these 9 speed transmissions.
I am always looking for ideas. I posted this video on transmission flushing already. czcams.com/video/0nsl1KgJdmI/video.html and this one czcams.com/video/yFS35nlZ0Gc/video.html for a zf 8 speed. I am debating on how I will do it on the Acura. Drain and fill or a real flush. My issue with using a flush machine is, I need to open in up and remove all red fluid cuz the acura has a clearish green fluid. In time I will post something.
@@fer8888888Very nice videos! I watched your MDX trans vid as well. Would it be possible to run a high quality robust full synthetic ATF like Mobil 1 Full Synthetic multivehicle (grey bottle/black label) in both the trans and the diff?? Reason I ask is because the older MDXs call for Z1 ATF for both. It was a thicker ATF. When they switched to the thinner longer lasting DW-1 and 3.1 ATF, the rear diff spec was switched to the Dual Pump Fluid System 2. Hmmmmmm. Thanks
@@vqdriver There are a lot of people with the same question as you. The transmission in the MDX is a ZF trans. There is no data out there yet showing what's in the magic ZF potion of a transmission fluid if it is even unique, while you pay an arm and leg for a quart. So I am sticking to the oem fluid for the clutch disc life and smoothness of clutches grabbing. Same concept for the rear end too. The unknowns about the friction modifier are why people don't use other fluids. In theory other fluids should work but if ZF put a special friction modifier in their fluid, clutches will grab differently and could grab outside the programed shift algorithms causing too much or too little slip. I put Amsoil in the transfer case/power transfer unit because that is just 2 gears meshing and no clutches. So outside of viscosity, there should be no reason Amsoil gear oil can't handle 2 gears.
@@fer8888888 I have used Valvoline Maxlife Multi Vehicle ATF (Red Bottle) in everything from my Lexus LX470 for 20,000mi now, my sis’ 1st gen Sequoia, ES330, 02 Corolla with 210,000mi on original ATF lol, 05ish Subaru Legacy, E60 550i with ZF 6HP before mom crashed it, the Maserati ZF6HP that replaced it, and now soon a ‘19 MDX. The reason I will switch to Mobil1 was there’s this engine builder mechanical engineer blogger called “RAT540” who’s torture tested 298 oils as of today. Recently he started testing gear oil and ATF. A couple notable ATFs seized immediately under his testing! They were: Valvoline Maxlife multi vehicle, Castrol Transmax, Mobil multi vehicle ATF (blue bottle), and Ford Mercon LV. I WAS SHOCKED. His best testing ATF to date IS that Mobil1 full synthetic multi vehicle (grey bottle/black label) that I mentioned. Somewhat close behind was Amsoil’s least expensive OE Fuel Efficient ATF and just behind that is the Amsoil Signature Series Fuel Efficient ATF. Since that #1 Mobil1 had a very narrow compatibility list on the bottle and the website I personally messaged RAT540 himself on his blog Q&A! He said not to worry and that auto”magic”transmissions are not so sensitive mechanisms that not using the name brand manufacturer’s ATF won’t cause any harm. He actually said that choosing his best tested oil is in OUR best interest to help those poorly designed Honda transmissions lol. He said that in his testing any OEM brand is NEVER among his top. I concur in one example Toyota engine oil tested no better than Walmart Supertech FS, or even Peak (we’re talking in the bottom half of his wear protection ranking list!). Sorry for the wordy reply. I wanna think that OE brands aren’t that great and this “fear” drives their profit margins. Oil companies make the stuff cheap for the OEM so they can upcharge us! RAT540 found a way to independently test them at their own game! Go check it out. PS he had no answer for the rear diff except to use OEM those secret bastards are getting us LOL. Can you cross reference the earlier diffs? THANK YOU
For those who have heater issues, Honda now has a procedure for flushing the radiator core with CLR (from the dollar store.) Worth a try before spending 8 hours changing the heater core.
I would be cautious with that. Unsure how if any residue left circulating around in the cooling system would effect things like head gasket coatings and other materials.
Simply providing the data to support why it should be ok. I have both fluids here. The smell and color is the same. I asked my kid to smell each and he said the same too. Dealer says either one too. My kid says both smell the same. The clutch kits are the same. So what gives? A lot of talk on the internet but little data to support it.
Eddie, Thanks for the video. It was very helpful. Just finished the fluids today. Sure seemed like dollars going down the drain based on the look of the fluids at 60K miles. Went with the AMSOIL as well. Happy New Year.
that’s what worried me on my Subaru I have the flat six so all I did Subaru by the way says I can go 12 years well I did it in six and all I did is I drained the radiator with the engine cold so the thermostat was closed and then I got that big funnel off of Amazon that you connect to the top of the radiator and then I warmed up the car and let all the bubbles come out that way when I drove the car a couple months and did the radiator again because I know the radiator only has 1/2 of the supply versus the block. Yeah I was worried about the little air bubbles especially on Subaru and their head gaskets!
Thanks, it is very good instructional video for diy. Is there a change in 2018 and newer model? I am not able to locate the transfer case shown in the video
Hey Eddie, I’m not a mechanic and I don’t know anything about cars but I like your way of maintaining a car! Are you available for updating the fluids in my car? I have the same 2017 MDX
I noticed the same thing the first day my parents got their MDX the 2020 has the same heat exchanger and I’m just car crazy so the first thing I did is look for shit like that it cracked me up what they did with the heat exchanger, however the oil filter is a shitty set up near the frame I noticed..
Did you have to remove the brass bolt from the engine block entirely so it can drain the coolant? Or loosen the bolt is enough to start the draining process? Thank you!
Just for verification,you said both 20mm washers for front transfer case (hgo1fluid) one 20 and one 18mm washer for rear differential case? (Dspf fluid)….Thanks
I don't have an air compressor or tool to refill the coolant. Do you think I can use one of those funnel kits to burp the system after I replace the coolant? Will this be fine?
There probably is a lot of people still doing it that way. Usually air will work its way out overtime and the coolant level will drop in the reservoir. Typically it can get trapped in new heater cores and you get less heat in the winter.
How can you tell if your awd is empty or need to be charged and thanks for the break tip but do you have to change it if it’s dark or change it a round every 2 year
You take the fill plug out to check if the fluid level is at the bottom level of the plug. Usually transfer cases are recommended no more than 30k miles. I think Acura recommends every 15k miles with the rear differential but I am going to do it every 30k. You don't have to change brake fluid every 2 years but I do. Some people never do. Some do it every 3-5 years.
Yes. I backed it up slightly from the the 2 bolts on the rear of the front sub frame to fit under. But did final oil height with it only a few inches higher than stock ride height to get a little extra in. Meaning jacked up front to tilt it back
I didn't look for the PCV. As far as catch cans. Most do a poor job capturing the oil vapor but do catch some just prolonging when a cleaning is needed a little bit longer. The ones that are expensive with many baffles and metal balled crunched to together strainers work best and delay needing the cleaning a lot longer. In the end you can't fight fate if this engine gets build up on the valves. Just buy a cleaning kit. Walnut blaster or chemical cleaners with brush and pull the intake off.
@@fer8888888 I was thinking of plugging the vacuum port and let it vent out, I know it's illegal, but who's going to find out. I'll just put it back to factory when it's due for emission test. And I believe those engines have a runner in between the manifold and head. And in order to remove the runner, you have to pull the head because there is no access to remove the inner bolts for the runner. Which will make it difficult to walnut blast. And do they have a special kit for those engines. I know for bmw/cooper, they have a special tool kit that bolts on to the intake side to walnut blast
A lot of people plug the vacuum port and let it vent with a wiremesh filter. Do you know if these engines have carbon issues? Some brands are much worse than others.
@@darylRvillaescusa I took a look at the engine. Looks pretty standard, pull the intake manifold and the valves are right there. I can't find anything indicating this engine suffers heavily from gdi carbon build up.
@@fer8888888 I watch older style j35 engine teardown and you will see it. I don't think much has changed but I can be wrong. Watch this from another youtube czcams.com/video/BTUU7Gbxn_k/video.html I took a quick look at my car and I think the pcv is front left valve cover and you see a hose route the left side middle of the manifold.
Thank you for making this video. It is by far one of the best I have seen. As a retired Mechanical Engineer, I really appreciate the attention to detail as well as your excellent communication and presentation skills.
I appreciate your videos on these Acura’s man. Just the transmission fluid and front diff would have costed me almost a grand at the dealer. Just bought a house and these videos saved me !
Thanks for the great video! I did the coolant today, the 2019 seems to have eliminated the convenient trapdoor to access the radiator petcock - which is odd. It only meant I had to remove a few more screws to pull the plastic out of the way to access the petcock. Well it also made the draining a bit messier....
I have an MDX and and RDX, both front wheel drive. Fewer problems than all-wheel and I live in Seattle and head to the mountains, often
Extremely helpful! Thanks for keeping it brief, to the point without missing out on any critical information. Two thumbs up!
If you are taking requests for future videos, it will be a huge help to get a transmission fluid change video on these 9 speed transmissions.
I am always looking for ideas. I posted this video on transmission flushing already. czcams.com/video/0nsl1KgJdmI/video.html and this one czcams.com/video/yFS35nlZ0Gc/video.html for a zf 8 speed. I am debating on how I will do it on the Acura. Drain and fill or a real flush. My issue with using a flush machine is, I need to open in up and remove all red fluid cuz the acura has a clearish green fluid. In time I will post something.
trans fluid video czcams.com/video/5HhTtmLRpY4/video.html
@@fer8888888Very nice videos! I watched your MDX trans vid as well. Would it be possible to run a high quality robust full synthetic ATF like Mobil 1 Full Synthetic multivehicle (grey bottle/black label) in both the trans and the diff?? Reason I ask is because the older MDXs call for Z1 ATF for both. It was a thicker ATF. When they switched to the thinner longer lasting DW-1 and 3.1 ATF, the rear diff spec was switched to the Dual Pump Fluid System 2. Hmmmmmm. Thanks
@@vqdriver There are a lot of people with the same question as you. The transmission in the MDX is a ZF trans. There is no data out there yet showing what's in the magic ZF potion of a transmission fluid if it is even unique, while you pay an arm and leg for a quart. So I am sticking to the oem fluid for the clutch disc life and smoothness of clutches grabbing. Same concept for the rear end too. The unknowns about the friction modifier are why people don't use other fluids. In theory other fluids should work but if ZF put a special friction modifier in their fluid, clutches will grab differently and could grab outside the programed shift algorithms causing too much or too little slip. I put Amsoil in the transfer case/power transfer unit because that is just 2 gears meshing and no clutches. So outside of viscosity, there should be no reason Amsoil gear oil can't handle 2 gears.
@@fer8888888 I have used Valvoline Maxlife Multi Vehicle ATF (Red Bottle) in everything from my Lexus LX470 for 20,000mi now, my sis’ 1st gen Sequoia, ES330, 02 Corolla with 210,000mi on original ATF lol, 05ish Subaru Legacy, E60 550i with ZF 6HP before mom crashed it, the Maserati ZF6HP that replaced it, and now soon a ‘19 MDX. The reason I will switch to Mobil1 was there’s this engine builder mechanical engineer blogger called “RAT540” who’s torture tested 298 oils as of today. Recently he started testing gear oil and ATF. A couple notable ATFs seized immediately under his testing! They were: Valvoline Maxlife multi vehicle, Castrol Transmax, Mobil multi vehicle ATF (blue bottle), and Ford Mercon LV. I WAS SHOCKED. His best testing ATF to date IS that Mobil1 full synthetic multi vehicle (grey bottle/black label) that I mentioned. Somewhat close behind was Amsoil’s least expensive OE Fuel Efficient ATF and just behind that is the Amsoil Signature Series Fuel Efficient ATF. Since that #1 Mobil1 had a very narrow compatibility list on the bottle and the website I personally messaged RAT540 himself on his blog Q&A! He said not to worry and that auto”magic”transmissions are not so sensitive mechanisms that not using the name brand manufacturer’s ATF won’t cause any harm. He actually said that choosing his best tested oil is in OUR best interest to help those poorly designed Honda transmissions lol. He said that in his testing any OEM brand is NEVER among his top. I concur in one example Toyota engine oil tested no better than Walmart Supertech FS, or even Peak (we’re talking in the bottom half of his wear protection ranking list!). Sorry for the wordy reply. I wanna think that OE brands aren’t that great and this “fear” drives their profit margins. Oil companies make the stuff cheap for the OEM so they can upcharge us! RAT540 found a way to independently test them at their own game! Go check it out. PS he had no answer for the rear diff except to use OEM those secret bastards are getting us LOL. Can you cross reference the earlier diffs? THANK YOU
For those who have heater issues, Honda now has a procedure for flushing the radiator core with CLR (from the dollar store.) Worth a try before spending 8 hours changing the heater core.
I would be cautious with that. Unsure how if any residue left circulating around in the cooling system would effect things like head gasket coatings and other materials.
Excellent video. I watched before changing my fluids.
You make me feel peace of mind because you say that the Honda dual pump fluid II can be used on Acura. My car is Acura RL.
Simply providing the data to support why it should be ok. I have both fluids here. The smell and color is the same. I asked my kid to smell each and he said the same too. Dealer says either one too. My kid says both smell the same. The clutch kits are the same. So what gives? A lot of talk on the internet but little data to support it.
Like everyone said. Awesome video. I’m getting to the time to do the same maintenance.
Very impressive! An EXTREMELY WELL MAINTAINED MDX! Great video!. Please let me know when the MDX is for sale. Thank you!
Funny you said that. There is practically a waiting line for my used cars. People who buy them say they are the best used cars they have bought.
Really good video for DIY explains it really well.
Thanks this will definitely help me service my wife rdx
Eddie, Thanks for the video. It was very helpful. Just finished the fluids today. Sure seemed like dollars going down the drain based on the look of the fluids at 60K miles. Went with the AMSOIL as well. Happy New Year.
Darn good video, thanks.
Well Done on the video. Eddie, you did a great job and are are very good teacher of the craft.
Also I think the fluid is made by a company for Honda and the company is called Idemitsu .
that’s what worried me on my Subaru I have the flat six so all I did Subaru by the way says I can go 12 years well I did it in six and all I did is I drained the radiator with the engine cold so the thermostat was closed and then I got that big funnel off of Amazon that you connect to the top of the radiator and then I warmed up the car and let all the bubbles come out that way when I drove the car a couple months and did the radiator again because I know the radiator only has 1/2 of the supply versus the block. Yeah I was worried about the little air bubbles especially on Subaru and their head gaskets!
Thanks, it is very good instructional video for diy. Is there a change in 2018 and newer model? I am not able to locate the transfer case shown in the video
Good job . I got same car too just hit 30k
I lost one of my clips, it fell into the engine compartment. 2019 Ridgeline.
it can be purchased from auto part store, it is called dust shield clip or sth like that
Hey Eddie, I’m not a mechanic and I don’t know anything about cars but I like your way of maintaining a car! Are you available for updating the fluids in my car? I have the same 2017 MDX
I noticed the same thing the first day my parents got their MDX the 2020 has the same heat exchanger and I’m just car crazy so the first thing I did is look for shit like that it cracked me up what they did with the heat exchanger, however the oil filter is a shitty set up near the frame I noticed..
You should check out the Castrol GTLMA synthetic it comes in a black bottle!
For the home mechanic can you use a 6 gallon pancake compressor to pull a vacuum for the airlift.
I would say most likely not enough volume in 6 gallon tank. The compressor would need some air volume.
Thanks for the video. What about transmission fluid change?
czcams.com/video/5HhTtmLRpY4/video.html
Did you have to remove the brass bolt from the engine block entirely so it can drain the coolant? Or loosen the bolt is enough to start the draining process? Thank you!
I loosened it but it was a slow drain so I removed it to speed things up
Just for verification,you said both 20mm washers for front transfer case (hgo1fluid)
one 20 and one 18mm washer for rear differential case? (Dspf fluid)….Thanks
Where did you do the undercoating looks nice?
Acura 2017- 2020
I don't have an air compressor or tool to refill the coolant. Do you think I can use one of those funnel kits to burp the system after I replace the coolant? Will this be fine?
There probably is a lot of people still doing it that way. Usually air will work its way out overtime and the coolant level will drop in the reservoir. Typically it can get trapped in new heater cores and you get less heat in the winter.
How can you tell if your awd is empty or need to be charged and thanks for the break tip but do you have to change it if it’s dark or change it a round every 2 year
You take the fill plug out to check if the fluid level is at the bottom level of the plug. Usually transfer cases are recommended no more than 30k miles. I think Acura recommends every 15k miles with the rear differential but I am going to do it every 30k. You don't have to change brake fluid every 2 years but I do. Some people never do. Some do it every 3-5 years.
Did you jack up the car when changing transfer fuild ?
Yes. I backed it up slightly from the the 2 bolts on the rear of the front sub frame to fit under. But did final oil height with it only a few inches higher than stock ride height to get a little extra in. Meaning jacked up front to tilt it back
Where is the pcv? What is your thought on installing catch can on this since its direct injection?
I didn't look for the PCV. As far as catch cans. Most do a poor job capturing the oil vapor but do catch some just prolonging when a cleaning is needed a little bit longer. The ones that are expensive with many baffles and metal balled crunched to together strainers work best and delay needing the cleaning a lot longer. In the end you can't fight fate if this engine gets build up on the valves. Just buy a cleaning kit. Walnut blaster or chemical cleaners with brush and pull the intake off.
@@fer8888888 I was thinking of plugging the vacuum port and let it vent out, I know it's illegal, but who's going to find out. I'll just put it back to factory when it's due for emission test. And I believe those engines have a runner in between the manifold and head. And in order to remove the runner, you have to pull the head because there is no access to remove the inner bolts for the runner. Which will make it difficult to walnut blast. And do they have a special kit for those engines. I know for bmw/cooper, they have a special tool kit that bolts on to the intake side to walnut blast
A lot of people plug the vacuum port and let it vent with a wiremesh filter. Do you know if these engines have carbon issues? Some brands are much worse than others.
@@darylRvillaescusa I took a look at the engine. Looks pretty standard, pull the intake manifold and the valves are right there. I can't find anything indicating this engine suffers heavily from gdi carbon build up.
@@fer8888888 I watch older style j35 engine teardown and you will see it. I don't think much has changed but I can be wrong. Watch this from another youtube
czcams.com/video/BTUU7Gbxn_k/video.html
I took a quick look at my car and I think the pcv is front left valve cover and you see a hose route the left side middle of the manifold.