MDX Transmission & Rear Main Seal DIY Tutorial

[HTL Motorsports]

2001-2006 Acura MDX Transmission & Rear Main Seal DIY Pictures tutorial.

Difficulty level: Moderate (time consuming) lol.

Tools: Tran jack, engine hoist or holder and common hand tools.

12 hrs flat rate book pay...experienced tech...3-4hrs max..DIY'er Probably take a day or two doing at home.



This Job is doable at home, of course with proper Transmission Jack and Engine holder.

From inside, Disconnect the steering shaft. (because, steering rack is coming down along with subframe)

On passenger side engine, Remove Power steering Pressure line 2x 10mm bolts and the P/s Pressure sensor connector..Leave it hanging, because it will come down with the sub-frame.

Remove Air intake and battery tray, you see a lot of electrical connectors, do not hesitates, once all the electrical harness hang up and out of the way, it will expose the transmission; so it won't be as discouraging.

CAREFULLY REMOVE ALL THE CONNECTORS AND Get it ready to hang HARNESS out of the way.






Now come most important part of the whole process..WARNING: If you do this wrong, WHOLE engine can collapse..
Use a engine hoist or Transmission Holder...It can be purchase online for $60-100..a chain secure it, once the sub-frame goes down, only thing that hold the engine up is passenger side mount and the engine support. PROCEED with Caution !

As you can see, the electrical wiring are secured and now expose the transmission...



Remove starter and Remove the x2 17mm bolts top of transmission
Remove Front motor mount top nut 17mm.




From underneath, Remove propeller shaft end joint. 4x 14mm bolts.. Remove the Transfer case 14mm bolts and drain the Fluid. Remove torque converter bolts 10mm ...also remove all the bolts that hold transmission in the bottom area. see Pics




While the fluid are draining, Remove exhaust J-pipe and catalytic converter and remove Both front Axles, sway bar link and Power steering end link from the strut housing. Remove Shifter cable, remove P/s hose on passenger side front of subframe..



Now the Sub-frame is ready to go down.. Your MDX should look like this image below, also double check everything, so nothing get caught while sub-frame drop.

Remove subframe bolts and before lower the sub-frame make sure you no bolts holding the rear motor mount and transmission lower side mounts and front mounts and Secure the transmission and Carefully pry out the transmission and lower it..( i also support lower of engine, even though upper support is more than enough...Just to play it safe..




If working at home, sub-frame can come off the car and place it on the ground ( need a second hand) ...In my case, I work SOLO, Subframe weight about 70-100 lbs...I place a 19mm nut on the right (passenger side ball joint) and let it hanging...so it's easier for me to put back the sub-frame by myself. Note: I've done this many times, ball joint is not damage or pull out...





Remove Rear main seal housing..Replace the o-ring ( common leak) and replace rear main seal.. add liquid gasket and reseal it.

Reverse Instruction for Installation.

[phins2rt]

Awesome! Thanks HTL! This needs to be a sticky in FAQ!

[HTL Motorsports]

no problem guys glad to help...

[Tyler]

Very nice write up..similar process to changing the seal in a volvo 850 or s70..

[SuperTech]

Originally Posted by HTL Motorsports

12 hrs flat rate book pay...experienced tech...3-4hrs max..DIY'er Probably take a day or two doing at home.[/IMG]

Actually, labor "book time" is about 7 hours.

If you can do it in 3-4 hours, I need to hire you. I've done hundreds of these R&Rs and the fastest I've round tripped this job is a little under 6 hours. Even my best heavy line tech could never get much faster than 5.5 hours.

[HTL Motorsports]

Originally Posted by SuperTech

Actually, labor "book time" is about 7 hours.

If you can do it in 3-4 hours, I need to hire you. I've done hundreds of these R&Rs and the fastest I've round tripped this job is a little under 6 hours. Even my best heavy line tech could never get much faster than 5.5 hours.

Sorry I'm not for "Hire"

Actually I was referring to Stealership rates and how much labor time expects to pay, standard warranty time x 2 = Customer's pay hours.

If you are shop foreman @ acura You should know this !

7hrs is what most independent shop charge; not including Rebuilt..which add about another 10 hrs plus parts...$2,000-$2,500 Job..

Warranty time pays roughly 5.8hrs ....Your Heavy line tech is Slow !

1.5hr to remove 2.0hr to install..that's my personal record when i was working for Honda Dealership ...Going against with Co-worker

On average 8 hours day work, to make your Flat rate hours, one have to do 2 transmission R&R....

Remember Flat rate = no work no pay

[SuperTech]

Originally Posted by HTL Motorsports

Sorry I'm not for "Hire"

Actually I was referring to Stealership rates and how much labor time expects to pay, standard warranty time x 2 = Customer's pay hours.

If you are shop foreman @ acura You should know this !

7hrs is what most independent shop charge; not including Rebuilt..which add about another 10 hrs plus parts...$2,000-$2,500 Job..

Warranty time pays roughly 5.8hrs ....Your Heavy line tech is Slow !

1.5hr to remove 2.0hr to install..that's my personal record when i was working for Honda Dealership ...Going against with Co-worker

On average 8 hours day work, to make your Flat rate hours, one have to do 2 transmission R&R....

Remember Flat rate = no work no pay

I see that you're trying to make yourself look like the white knight here and I'm some kind of schmuck. Well, if you truly worked for Honda then you know damn well I can look up warranty book time quite easily. So you damn sure better be accurate when you throw out numbers to discredit me.

And oh look at what I attached. Took straight from ISIS is the warranty labor time to do a transmission, which is what I said about 7 hours. Also the rear main seal, which is 8 hours. So I don't know where you came up with "5.8hours" to make it seem like myself and my guys are just that slow. I assure you, I've never known anyone who can beat 5 hours to R&R a MDX or Pilot transmission.

As a shop foreman, here's what I know...we do not just double warranty flat rate time to come up with customer pay labor time. There's no way in hell anyone's getting away with charging 16 hours to do a rear main seal.

A former dealer tech, and you still want to call it "stealership" do you? Sounds like someone didn't leave on good terms if they were ever even there in the first place. I think this DIY thread is a nice idea, albiet ridiculous because most driveway mechanics can't get the vehicle high enough safely to deal with removing the subframe.

[HTL Motorsports]

Why you mad ? How The F*** I discredit you?.. who are you again? didn't mean to step on your foot.. remember you the one who reply to this thread 1st, guessing your feeling got hurt because "it's not your way"? or maybe somehow I stole your spotlight on this forum? Jealous?.. Foreman attitude kicking in?




TSB: http://www.driveaccord.net/PDF/autom...ansmission.pdf

The number i was refering to is TSB 02-062...Warranty transmission exchange..When I was doing it..Warranty pays what bulletin state..You can try to claim via what isis time but will most likely decline..so if things change...whatever. not with Honda no more..so I can careless..

I assure you, just because you're a turtle, does not mean everyone is slow as you or your tech...There's many ways to remove the transmission, get it done right and fast..Since you so narrow minded...talking down to everyone, saying "can't do this, can't do that" because your nick is "SUPERTECH" with 1,557 post uuuuuuuuu big boss on here.. should i show you some tricks Old-timer?

Oh wait, here's one....I bet you never thought it's possible letting sub-frame hanging instead dropping it using sub-frame adapter jack. before you seen this post..

As a shop foreman, you should know each dealership "Customer pay system are different" Like what i said before, flat book rate x2 plus or minus equal 12hrs = $1200 labor is what expect to get charge...That's how "stealership' make money, I say stealership because everyone go into dealership expect to pay premium price vs outside shop..

How is not possible for driveway mechanic to R/R Transmission? Have you tried it and fail ? IF not Don't say its impossible, anything and everything is possible..........

About your last comment...As a former tech, I left because I'm better, smarter, faster; So i rather work for myself.. If you want to get personal, let me ask you something, what your highest level pay for shop foreman like you? since you are foreman, my guess most you get pay is $35-38 /hr + commission .. Your weekly salary is probably equal to a day work for me lol...

Last note: "SuperTech" Maybe if you stop being a Douchebag and start wrenching more, you might be as fast as me.

[SuperTech]

Sigh. Well damn. As the kids say...oh snap sh1t just got real.

I reallllly shouldn't dignify this crap any further with a response, but since it'll be my last post here ever, well why not.

Originally Posted by HTL Motorsports

who are you again? guessing your feeling got hurt because "it's not your way"? or maybe somehow I stole your fame light on this forum? Jealous?.. Foreman attitude kicking in?

It's the internet. Where everyone is an expert. You post like you sound like you know what you're doing, so maybe these folks take you a bit more serious than someone else. I see you talking out of your ass a bit which might burn someone pretty badly if they follow your advice...so I step in. If it sounds like I am being all superior, then too bad. Who am I again? I'm a guy who got out in charge of a shop a helluva lot bigger than yours. I'm by no means an "old-timer" and in fact am one of the youngest high line dealership foremen ever. I've worked side by side with AHM engineers and have helped write a few service bulletins over the years. So maybe you don't, but some people out there think that I'm kind of a big deal. I'm not here to be in the limelight or whatever the hell "fame light" is. If I have an ego that needs to be stroked, I can just wait around long enough at the shop for my apprentices to come beg me to help them.

Originally Posted by HTL Motorsports

Warranty pays what bulletin state..You can try to claim via what isis time but will most likely decline..so if things change...whatever. not with Honda no more..so I can careless..


As a shop foreman, you should know each dealership "Customer pay system are different" Like what i said before, flat book rate x2 plus or minus equal 12hrs = $1200 labor is what expect to get charge...That's how "stealership' make money, I say stealership because everyone go into dealership expect to pay premium price vs outside shop..

You "couldn't" care less, yet you still want to talk like you're an expert on warranty flat rate time. AHM pays what is says based on the labor op code like those in the pictures i posted. We don't submit TSB #s in warranty claims, we submit labor op codes. Sometimes you get the op code from the TSB if it's a specialized procedure, but it's always an op code. And the op code to R&R a MDX transmission assembly is 7 hours. Not 5.8, or even 6.0 for the Odyssey like in the TSB you linked.

I don't know in what world you think 12 hours = $1200 at a dealership in your area (more on that in a minute) but I know for sure that if someone is charging 12 hours, that's way too high. My dealer charges 8.0 hours on a customer pay transmission. A whole whopping one whole hour more than warranty book. Wow we're such thieves aren't we.

Originally Posted by HTL Motorsports

Oh wait, here's one....I bet you never thought it's possible letting sub-frame hanging instead dropping it using sub-frame adapter jack. before you seen this post..


How is not possible for driveway mechanic to R/R Transmission? Have you tried it and fail ? IF not Don't say its impossible, anything and everything is possible..........

If hanging a subframe off a ball joint works for you, then great. For me, there's times to use "flat rate" shortcuts...and there's times you don't. At a dealership, we're expected to do things by the book...that's why we're the dealer and not some gas station shop that may not even have a repair procedure to even follow. So if a customer were to be checking on their vehicle and saw this huge assembly more or less hanging by a thread, that may not look right to them. And I don't ever want to take the chance of having a customer challenge us to show them in the service manual that it's part of the procedure to hang the subframe in what looks like a dangerous manner.

A driveway mechanic should not do this job. Period. It requires too many special tools that the average person won't have. Sure they could rent an engine hanger, but it would be a universal one that wouldn't really be secure in the engine bay of an MDX. And you know that if that hanger lets go it's a massive problem and potentially a serious injury. i don't need to have done this in a driveway to know that you shouldn't. I have however used enough floor jacks to know that you can't get the vehicle lifted high enough to get the subframe out, or your way and let it hang far enough down to be out of the way. And if you get it high enough to clear the subframe, it needs to be even high to clear the transmission. Oh and who's gonna bench press that super heavy transmission assembly in and out? Not exactly an ergonomic place to get a team lift going. Face it, you need a lift and a transmission jack or you're asking for serious problems.

Originally Posted by HTL Motorsports

If you want to get personal, let me ask you something, what your highest level pay for shop foreman like you? since you are foreman, my guess most you get pay is $35-38 /hr + commission .. Your weekly salary is probably equal to a day work for me lol...

Now this part you should have just kept to yourself. You sound like a real asshole saying that to me. Furthermore, you represent your shop which you make no secret of, so perhaps you should've taken the high road just a tiny bit more. Maybe some people agree with you, but maybe you lost a potential customer or two because they don't want to trust their car to someone that acts like this online. I know I sure as hell won't send anyone your way. I honestly get tired of sending people who are looking for a independent Honda/Acura shop in the area over to Foreign Affair.

Oh yeah. I actually live about two miles away from your hole in the wall shop. I know exactly where you are.

Don't get full of yourself. You may think you out earn my weekly in one day, and maybe you do. But you'd trade your day's take for just a single hour of what that Firestone right there does, and nobody in there is a master tech or even close to being one. What I make is nobody's business, but it's probably not as much as it could be. And I don't even care. How's this sound pal...while you're struggling to keep the doors open of your little shop for the rest of your life hoping that you can grow enough that you can hire enough subordinates so you can take a vacation, I can retire comfortably anytime I want. Familiar with the stock market? I own enough shares of AAPL to buy and sell your little one horse saloon many times over. I am a mechanic because its what I actually like doing. I'm not motivated by money, so I have no desire to "flat rate" every job. I believe in quality professional work. I can be fast when I want/need to be, but my customers benefit a lot from my situation. I don't care how good anyone thinks they are. When you rush, quality control takes a hit.

[HTL Motorsports]

I never read about someone talk about them-self so much online. I'm shock to the brain about this whole ordeal.

You brag about yourself so highly, but I'm afraid you know so little about the outside the box, you stuck working with same BRAND vehicle all day, probably make your brain cells decrease; consequently become Arrogant.

According to all your Bragging, this lead me to believe who ever call themselves a "SUPERTECH" are the most successful person in this world.


All of your assumption and trash talking about me is WRONG. I didn't come on here to advertise, I came on here to post and share my personal experienced. This Thread DIY thread was written up due to Repaired works was performed on my own Personal vehicle.

If you read to this point: my advice for you is to Relax; you over shocking your brain damaging your brain cell !

[HTL Motorsports]

SuperTech last manifesto letter....
Bye everyone!

[aucjmo22]

Can We All Just Get Along? For The Kids & Old People? RODNEY KING SPEAKS! - YouTube

Can We All Just Get Along? For The Kids & Old People? RODNEY KING SPEAKS! - YouTube

[MDX Dude]

Originally Posted by HTL Motorsports

SuperTech last manifesto letter....
Bye everyone!

Are you proud of yourself or something?

[HTL Motorsports]

Originally Posted by MDX Dude

Are you proud of yourself or something?

yes, I'm proud of myself, because I keep it real and truthful. Anything is possible I don't need no "supertech" tell me it's not possible.

I don't come to his "Thread" nor his posts to start Sh*t" or reply smart ass comment even though I disagree with some of his reply.

Online forum are for people to equally express themselves, If Y'all also disagree with how I handle it, I'll happy delete my account/posts and leave..Just let me know

[MilesMDX]

Originally Posted by HTL Motorsports

If Y'all also disagree with how I handle it, I'll happy delete my account/posts and leave..Just let me know

Given that you see your behavior as acceptable, yes, please delete whatever you can and never return.