Update and work on my 335k miles acura TL

[drbrock]

Glad to hear this thing is lasting that long. I have the same car but in black with an auto. I have 160k on it and it is still going strong. It has cosmetic issues (cracked dashboard, lock covers missing) but mechanically it is sound. If I can get another 150k out of this car I will be in heaven.
Cosmetic issues are known acura problems, the car is well taken care of.

 

[disappoint]

All dudes that get hardons about car washes are weird; just take it through the nearest diy carwash and be done with it.

Yeah women just don't turn me on anymore. I only get aroused by machines like DIY car wash facilities.

On a more serious note, there are no DIY, or self service car washes with 100 miles of here. There are no touchless or brushless ones either.

 

[spidey07]

Glad to hear this thing is lasting that long. I have the same car but in black with an auto. I have 160k on it and it is still going strong. It has cosmetic issues (cracked dashboard, lock covers missing) but mechanically it is sound. If I can get another 150k out of this car I will be in heaven.
Cosmetic issues are known acura problems, the car is well taken care of.

The only cosmetic I have is cracked wide open leather and a door latch cover on the passenger side door.

 

[hanoverphist]

OP, if you haven't already, that car badly needs a valve lash adjustment.

yup, i do it about every 50k on hondas. id change out those plugs too, i cant believe any vehicle could run on the same plugs for over 300k miles.

 

[halik]

Yeah women just don't turn me on anymore. I only get aroused by machines like DIY car wash facilities.

On a more serious note, there are no DIY, or self service car washes with 100 miles of here. There are no touchless or brushless ones either.

Oh that is a different story then; I found a DIY one 2 miles from downtown Chicago... major win.

 

[drbrock]

The only cosmetic I have is cracked wide open leather and a door latch cover on the passenger side door.

haven't had the leather crack thank god. The dash infuriates me just because it costs 1500-2000 to fix at Acura. No way am I dropping that kind of cash on a ten year old vehicle that does relate to a mechanical function.

Still love the car though. For being that old I still get compliments on it. Glad Acura screwed up the current design enough for people to still like these versions.

 

[vi edit]

Yep, 10 years old and those generation TL's still look great. Probably my favorite looking midsize sedan. Just a great blend of athletic yet subtle styling.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Nice wheels. Good to hear she' treating you well. Here's to another 10 years!

 

[Midwayman]

No there are some auto Type-S ( all the ones i've seen have been auto oddly) and there are non Type S's that are manual. The manual base have brembo's that might make for a more costly brake job.

Its marginally more expensive in parts. If you go to the dealer they really rape you for a brake job on the brembos. I think like $400 last I heard someone take it there. Do your own changes. Its cheap. FWIW even most TL-S are auto.

 

[spidey07]

haven't had the leather crack thank god. The dash infuriates me just because it costs 1500-2000 to fix at Acura. No way am I dropping that kind of cash on a ten year old vehicle that does relate to a mechanical function.

Still love the car though. For being that old I still get compliments on it. Glad Acura screwed up the current design enough for people to still like these versions.

I took a look at the newer ones even the SH manual.

Not NEARLY as torquey or fast IMHO. I'd rather have this generation.

 

[onza]

06 TL owner!

Can you comment on what your average MPG is now?

 

[spidey07]

06 TL owner!

Can you comment on what your average MPG is now?

I used to get 30-32. Now it's more like 26-28.

 

[onza]

I used to get 30-32. Now it's more like 26-28.

That is about where I stand.
I did the plug replacement and got 1-2 back.. but still not great.

Search on google or YT for a DIY.
onza04 +tl spark plugs

 

[halik]

I used to get 30-32. Now it's more like 26-28.

I'm betting o2 sensors are bad

 

[spidey07]

I'm betting o2 sensors are bad

Thanks. I was just thinking lose rings, compression not as good.

 

[tortillasoup]

Are you bullshitting me or serious? She's quiet and no valve noise. Sounds quite good actually now.

I'm serious... The fact that you think that a valve lash adjustment is based upon noise is comical to say the least... If the valves have never been adjusted, then they definitely need to be adjusted. Valve lash adjustment is to be done every 100K miles, AT MOST.

 

[sontakke]

He is right that the quiet engine is deadly engine as far as valves are concerned But on that specific Honda engine even at 200K only one or two valves actually gets adjusted by a hair or two. This assumes the car had regular oil changes.

But at 335K he definitely should get it adjusted if he wants to keep it for another 100K. EricTheCarGuy has a long video showing it how to do this job on that specific car.

 

[Midwayman]

I'm serious... The fact that you think that a valve lash adjustment is based upon noise is comical to say the least... If the valves have never been adjusted, then they definitely need to be adjusted. Valve lash adjustment is to be done every 100K miles, AT MOST.

FWIW on Acurazine people who go in for lash adjustments generally find very little out of adjustment. Its not an engine that particularly prone to needing lash adjusted.

 

[spidey07]

I spoke too soon. Check engine light back on. Hopefully it's just a cat. Need to pick up a code reader. Hopefully not the misfires again.

Thanks for the info on valve adjustment. I checked out the video, looks like a bitch to get to the valves.

 

[tortillasoup]

FWIW on Acurazine people who go in for lash adjustments generally find very little out of adjustment. Its not an engine that particularly prone to needing lash adjusted.

Well I just did a valve lash adjustment on a friend's girlfriend's son's car with 160K miles and it was BADLY needed. His dad's car has the same issue but I didn't have the time nor access to the vehicle to do the lash adjustment.


Also one tip about the lash adjustment that eric the car guy doesn't mention is that when you put in the feeler gauge and are measuring the gap, pull on the rocker arm with your fingers while measuring the gap. What I found was a huge difference in measured gap before and after pulling up on the rocker arm. I can almost guarantee that had he done this while doing the valve lash adjustment on that car he did in that video, it would have idled perfectly instead of "Good enough" in his words... I've been meaning to contact ETCG about that tip.

 

[sontakke]

which car did you the adjustment? Honda J35 V6 engine?

 

[Vdubchaos]

Unless you are getting the parts for few hundred bucks and doing it yourself, chances are, you are about to blow more on fixing the car than it's worth.

This is the big difference in this case. DIY and I say "worth keeping". Paying someone to fix it = time to think about another car. Labor is where you will pay up and chances are your total bill will be 1/2 or more of what this car is worth.

Start thinking about putting that money towards a newer car IMO.

 

[tortillasoup]

which car did you the adjustment? Honda J35 V6 engine?

Basically the same engine. It was a '99 Acura TL which has the J32 engine which is in most respects the same as the J35 engine. They're solid engines but the transmissions in the '99-'03 were complete shit, especially 3rd gear.

 

[sontakke]

was that with 5K oil changes? I am familiar with the 3.5 since I hang out with the 2nd Gen Odyssey (99-03) crowd. Most of them have now crossed 200K or coming close to it and very few people have done the valve adjustment on them. On the contrary, they are on their Nth transmission where N > 2

by the way, after the valve adjustment, did you find perceptible performance improvement?

 

[tortillasoup]

was that with 5K oil changes? I am familiar with the 3.5 since I hang out with the 2nd Gen Odyssey (99-03) crowd. Most of them have now crossed 200K or coming close to it and very few people have done the valve adjustment on them. On the contrary, they are on their Nth transmission where N > 2

by the way, after the valve adjustment, did you find perceptible performance improvement?

I believe the vehicle had frequent oil changes as it not only didn't consume any oil but when I did a compression test, they were all like 220PSI +/- 5psi. After the valve adjustment there definitely was a performance increase, far more than I had expected. The car idled butter smooth after the valve lash adjustment. It's definitely important to do a valve lash adjustment lest you want to risk burning a valve.