xviper

My initial fluid change looked like it does after about 10K miles. The magnetic plug holds about the same layer of "metal fuzz". I believe this buildup happens almost immediately (within the first thousand miles or so). This is when the most amount of metal gets sloughed off, when the gear contact points break in and develop a wear pattern that should remain for the duration of service, assuming that the calibration was done correctly. This is also why it is useful to change the fluid regularly (annually) after the first change, so you can verify the health and efficacy of the installation and any signs of abuse.

When the car was new, Honda gave us recommendations for break-in. This was not only for the engine. It was also for the rest of the drivetrain. If you have forgotten what that was, take a look at your owner's manual. 600 miles below xxxx rpm, vary the rpm. After this, your choice. If you want to ramp up the heat load on a set of brand new gears by blasting WOT to redline on your way home from the installer, not wise, but that too, is your choice.

There may be no right way or wrong way to do this, but can you be sure that there isn't a "better" or "worse" way? Something to think about.

raymo19

That's what I was thinking - that the first 500 to 1000 miles would take care of most of the slough off from the break in.

I've read the manual concerning break in but in my case I bought the car about 3200 miles too late for me to worry about it. But knowing the previous owner as I do, I doubt the car ever hit VTEC before I got in it.

I think I'll just do the heat cycle and break in as recommended. I was mainly just curious about the fluid after 1000 miles.

I'm not sure what you meant about the better or worse way, but I'd be delighted if you explained it.

xviper

Since I indicated that it's my belief that there is no true right or wrong way to break in this car or to break in new gears, I'm merely implying there are ways that may not be a good idea and ways that may be more "judicious".
Some people don't give due regard to how mechanical parts work themselves in (break in, if you will) and simply go out and drive the car in whatever fashion they feel like right from the start. They may "get away with it", however, the chances are greater for breakage or failure later on than if they had brought the part into "full service" in stages (both in terms of mechanical load and heat load). Again, this doesn't guarantee against later failure but the chances are in favour of longer, reliable service.
Heat cycling and increasing mechanical load over time is never a bad idea. By going through the motions like you would when you follow the recommendations for breaking in a new car, you give a set of new gears a chance to break in and provide you with more reliable service down the road. Of course, if you like instant gratification and don't plan to keep the car for long, I guess the problem (if it arises) will be for the next poor schmuck who owns it.

raymo19

I'm getting too old for instant gratification of any kind. Most everything takes longer than it used to.

I've pretty much babied the car (for the most part ) since I bought it and don't see any reason to change now. Odds are there won't be a next schmuck since I don't think I could part with it.

gfacter

I picked up some Valvoline GL-5 80W-90 gear oil will that be ok?


Well I should have my diff complete and ready to drive on by Sat Evening


Just in time for

"Saturday Night: Periods of snow, mainly before 3am. Low around 25. North wind between 14 and 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible."

raymo19

I haven't seen any feedback here on Valvoline gear oil in an S but if it's GL5 it's in spec. 80W-90 should be fine in the DC area I would think. I took Mobil 1 to the guys putting in my gears because I've had great results with it so far.

speed_bump

Works fine George. I've used it in mine.

Billman250

As far as synthetic....rear gears are not like engines in the way they break in. There's no reason to use reg gear oil, then switch to better stuff. Pick something you like and run it from the get-go.

gfacter

Good to know, since the Valvoline stuff was $ 3.00 I will use that for the 1000 mile break in.