Only use Honda DW-1 fluid
drain and fill 3 times with a few days of driving in between
3.5-4 quarts Honda DW-1 for drain and fill
fill plug crush washer 24mm 90441-PK4-000
drain plug crush washer 18mm 90471-PX4-000
fill plug (17mm) torque 33 ft/lbs
drain plug (3/8 drive) torque 36 ft/lbs

 

You da man. That's everything I need to know. Thank you.

 

not knowing the history you should also change the rear diff fluid and transfer case. There are very helpful threads on here to walk you through it, use the search feature, If you can't find the answers your looking for feel free to ask here and people will be glad to help.

Rear Differential
Honda VTM-4 fluid (one gallon)
fill plug crush washer 20mm 94109-20000
drain plug crush washer 18mm 90471-PX4-000
fill plug torque 35 ft/lbs
drain plug torque 35 ft/lbs

Transfer case
Hypoid gear oil GL4 or GL5 with viscosity SAE90 or 80W-90 (1/2 quart needed)
follow fill procedure
drain plug crush washer 20mm 94109-20000
fill plug crush washer 20mm 94109-20000
drain plug torque 33 ft/lbs
fill plug torque 33 ft/lbs

 

or if worst comes to worst drive an hour north and I'll do it for you.

 

Ah, so you're having the same fun with this weather as me. I'm getting older and I have a job where I'm out in it a lot. But, I have a job so I aint gonna bitch to much. So, how do you like the 2 inch lift? Is it a frame or body lift? Years ago in my wild days, I took a 1986 Toyota SR5 to Four Wheel Diversified here in Toledo. I said make it big. $4K later I got back the coolest thing ever. 3 inch body lift, 6 inch suspension, twin shocks, tilted axle, cutout fender flares by Bushmaster, 42 inch Super Swamper TSL tires with paint matched wagon wheel rims. OMG, so damn cool. Kept it for 5 years and rust began to kill it. Sold it to a farmer from central Ohio that wanted to use it to spread chemicals in his field. I never changed the gear ratio. I always drove in the city and just put the transfer in low and left the hubs unlocked. Those were the good old days...:act035:

 

I just did this service in the fall on my 2006 Ridgeline. All of what he mentioned wasn't too bad. I'd also change the coolant with Honda Long Life type 2 OL999-0911A. The best place is CurryAcuraParts.com

If I was to grade these jobs on a 1-5 scale the Rear Diff is a 1, the transfer case a 2 & the coolant & ATF are 3's. just because they end up being messy and multiple drain & fills to complete.

Good Luck & enjoy your Ridgeline.

PS, yes the trans on your Pilot is very closely related to our Ridgeline. I'd follow the same procedure with its ATF.

 

I'm in Tiffin. There's no way to do a body lift on this truck. The only thing available are 2" strut spacers and anything more than that would be too hard on the axles. You can gain another inch with tires though.

 

At that age, you may want to change the rad as well as preventative maintenance. One thread of many.....http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48689&highlight=radiator

 

Good advice above.

Thread about the service with pics:
http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20628

I concur with all OEM fluids. Exceptions are engine oil and transfer assembly hypoid gear oil.

My local dealer price matches, with any luck, yours will too. Else mail order is the way to go. One good source:
http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1184113&postcount=13

IMO, changing the tranny fluid (once you break the fill and drain bolts loose) is easier than changing the engine oil. Due to the unique nature of the Honda auto tranny, I like to change my tranny fluid every other oil change... about once a year in my normal driving.

Edit: check your radiator/tranny fitting for corrosion. The is a classic case of an ounce of prevention being better than a pound of cure.
http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53921

A full service (all fluids including brake, coolant, and power steering plus engine air and cabin air filters) will establish your maintenance baseline on a used vehicle with no maintenance history. Then follow the MM prompts. If you are unfamiliar with the MM, ask questions.

 

Just a little extra info.

Some of us avoid dealing with, well the nicest way to say it, profit hungry and/or unscrupulous Honda dealers. If this is the case where you live, you might find the local Acura dealer to be more to your liking for purchasing special fluids (DW-1, coolant, & VTM-4. Just my experience.

 

Man, you guys are really helpful. I ordered all the fluids last week and they came in. I changed the tranny oil, no problems there. I still have to do the transfer and diff yet. Probably do it tomorrow while the wifey ad kids are gone for a while. Them plugs sure are on good. Gave up on the fill plug. With four extenders and pulling hard, I could tell something was gonna break. I used the dipstick tube. I have a rubber funnel that just slides right over the tube and makes a nice little seal. When I just put a longer plastic funnel inside that one. (Wifey used to use the rubber funnel for cooking and cake stuff) As much time as it saved me, I'll get her a dozen new ones. Only drained and refilled about 4 qts, so I'll be doing it again next week and then the week after. I'm doing the Pilot and Ridgeline, so I bought two cases. In all, I ordered 24 qts of DW1, two gallons of VT4 and two bottles of synthetic 80/90 and 12 crushwashers. Fluids and washers came to $189. Shipping was $84 which I thought was kind of high but everybody was charging that much for shipping. Everything was coming from Kalifornia. (Spelled with a K due to their gun laws). Everything going good so far mainly because of all the advise from you guys.

 

Curry Acura (NY) will ship a case of DW-1 for $77 anywhere in the lower 48 and shipping is free. That's where most of us Kalifornians order from.

 

I love some curry Acura! I can get a gallon of vtm fluid for $23 shipped


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I did the opposite as far as 'dealer service'. It was cheaper and closer to take my MDX to Honda for basic oil changes, etc. Same as taking my Infiniti G35 to a Nissan dealer.

Now I do most of my own servicing unless it is a warranty issue, so all bets are off.
Actually, Acura was not too bad, but Infiiniti dealers always charged and arm and a leg.

 

Getting the fill bolt off of there has always been the biggest problem for most DIY'ers on the first fluid change. The joke has been made that Honda employs an 800lb. gorilla to tighten that bolt. I would highly recommend getting a 12" extension, a good 3/8" ratchet and some sort of a breaker bar. I use an 18" piece of piping over the handle of my ratchet to help out. You'll have to hold onto the top of the ratchet with your left hand and really push on the end of the breaker bar to get it free. When it does let go, it will sound like something snapped. The good thing is, once it's broken free, you can torque it to the recommended spec and it's MUCH easier to get it off the next time. How did your magnetic drain plug look on the tranny? Gunked up with greyish slime? That's the stuff you want to clean off and keep out of the tranny for sure. Just as a tip, you don't have to replace the crush washers every time. If you're doing the drain and fill three times, just replace it the last time you do it and torque it to spec. I reuse the washers 2-3 times before replacing. I used to replace the oil crush washer every time until I got a Fumoto valve.

 

I would also recommend some ear plugs. When the bolts popped loose it made my ears ring.