Civic EG

Hi guys,
The automatic transmission of my 1995 sedan d15b7 (80k miles) stops working when the engine reaches its operating temperature.

When I first start it in the morning, the gears do engage when going to P-R-N-D4-D3-2, but there is a ~2 second delay before it does engage. When the engine reaches its operating temperature, the gears won't engage at all. If i shut the engine off and wait for the engine to cool down, it would work again after restarting.

Also, there is a whining (electric motor-sounding) noise coming from the transmission body when it is in Park or Neutral - but only when the engine reaches operating temperature. The noise disappears after a while.

The ATF is black with a green tint but not burnt-smelling (it is sweet smelling) and the fluid level is slightly above the maximum mark.

I haven't taken it out of my garage for fear of getting stuck on the road.

I think it is ATF thickness/viscosity related and i'm wondering if I should drain and refill it or what?

[Edit]

Forgot to mention that prior to this, the car would jump/jerk when the transmission would shift gears during driving. The jumping/jerking lessens, but not disappears, as the car warms up.

cant hurt to change the fluid thats going to be where i would say start other then that could possibly be your torque converter but unsure really as i myself hate with a passion automatics lol so i try not to learn much about them but yea id replace the fluid that fluid seems to be a tad over due for a change and id run it at idle till it hits your optimum running temp and see if she moves or any of what you said go away drive ti around the block a couple times and see what happens.....as you can always push your car back to your place if its right around the corner or just let it sit there while it cools down walk back watch some tv and search the internet for another idea....then go back grab it and throw it back into the garage

Thanks for the reply!
Alright i'll try to drain and refill the ATF myself.

I'd also prefer a manual but my car is a hand-me-down from my sister, hence an automatic.

I'm just concerned about the thickness of the ATF. Brand new ATF is supposed to be thinner than what I have in my car right now.

And since the transmission only works when the engine is cold (cold ATF, thicker ATF) and the transmission is unresponsive when the engine is warm (warm ATF, thinner ATF).

^Not sure about those tho

Wouldn't replacing my old, thick ATF with a new, thin one make my tansmission unresponsive even when the engine is cold?

Or am I wrong?

I'll try the drain and refill anyway.

well im not sure about thickness or anything ive used the newer ones with great success and everythings turned otu fine if your torque converter is going and you have to take out the trans anyways to get to it you may wish to look into a manual swap its easy to do the only semi hard part is figureing out if you want to weld in a manual trans mount or just get an adapter....

but yea id say change the fluid see what happens the auto trans like any auto trans is tempermental too much fluid and you risk damageing the paper gears so watch that as well....

Thanks for the help.

Update:

I've changed the fluid and all gears are now engaging regardless of the engine temperature- but there is still a delay before the gear engages.

Also, there is still a whining noise when the shifter is set to Park or Neutral and the pitch increases when I rev the engine (rpm related noise).

I've downloaded a service manual and it says that the probable causes of the whining noise are due to a defective clutch or an oil pump seizure.

I'll try to test drive the car tomorrow.

Edit:

I'd really love to do a manual swap but I don't have the cash to spare right now so..