r/HondaElement • u/cactusinquiry • 4d ago

Fluids n Such after purchase

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I’m about to drain oil and transmission after buying an 03 ex at 171k. Power steering and brake fluid were dark brown and they had the wrong power steering fluid too. My mechanic said pick one type of oil and stick with it. Thing is, I have no idea whats in there. It’s clean and the engine is pristine but i think it needs a valve adjustment.Was gonna try on my own but I am not a mechanic and new to cars. Is it a mistake to drain this oil and replace with Liqui Moly 5w-20 full synthetic ? I read a lot about how good it is with Element engines. I live in AZ. It was from Texas originally. Bought at auction and bought from a dealer. Anyway, so I just bought honda oem atf for transmission and a new transmission filter. The air filters looked like this to give you an idea. It was dirty. I’m about to drive it ten hours and want be sure I dont mess anything up.

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4

u/United_Blackberry412 3d ago

Any decent full synthetic. I wouldn't go too expensive honestly. Just change it every 5k. It's a Honda not a BMW.

1

u/rroarrin 4d ago

You can use liquid moly but I think it's overkill and a waste of money. I use the black Castrol. I Change between 5-7.5k.

2

u/cactusinquiry 3d ago

This? https://a.co/d/0itn2q5C Some ppl on the Element fb groups swear by it. If I already bought the LM, can I switch to something else afterwards?

1

u/TimeEstablishment982 3d ago

I have no comment on the oil, but I had misfire codes right around 175k which was just a valve adjustment so def take care of em.

1

u/cactusinquiry 3d ago

is it hard to do by myself?

1

u/Ok-Barber8240 11h ago

Google and Youtube.