LoneRonin

I find it funny my front drivers side wheel is out 1.5 degrees as well despite an alignment. Any reason what the problem is in yours? My mechanic says its most likely the fact that I have an aftermarket upper control arm.

DeathMetal

iTrader: (2)

No. I'm dropping it back off on Saturday to have the toe brought in - after doing some research I'm thoroughly pissed at myself for not demanding it be fixed on the spot. Toe alignment is brought in w/ adjustments to the tie rods (insofar as I can tell), and being that everything is brand freaking new, this should not have been a problem.

I'll update everyone on Sunday.

thoiboi

OP! Thanks for the well detailed, well documented procedures!! You should come teach my company a few things...

Vlad_Type_S

iTrader: (3)

Fantastic post, man.

I'm about to take care of a bunch of things already on your list. I'll inspect the rest. It's actually great to hear how much this improved the car.

t-rd

I replaced front driver upper control arm with OEM and the toe alignment was off right after. You need to get an alignment.

DeathMetal

iTrader: (2)

That was AFTER the alignment!!!

mikey85

Hey, how are you liking GM Synchromesh?

DeathMetal

iTrader: (2)

I'm not. Even at 75k or so, the AMSOIL fluid, which is no longer recommend for our cars for reasons I've not yet researched, simply 'felt' better.

mikey85

Damn it! And I just bought some. How long have you been on it? Can you tell me more about what you don't like? Does it cause the 3rd gear problem?

nfnsquared

Most of us 6MT owners swear by the GM Synchromesh fluid. You have no reason to worry.

DeathMetal

iTrader: (2)

This is on point. There's NOTHING wrong the the GMSMFM fluid. I'm of the rare breed that went from OEM > AMSOIL > GM. The GM fluid is absolutely great, I simply prefer the AMSOIL fluid.

DMZ

I've been using the GM stuff since the car had 7K miles on it. Till then I had the 3rd gear problem. Now at 226K and still shifts like butta!
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DMZ

I think that's more like ALL 6MT owners who've tried it. If there are any dissenters, they're less than 1%,
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Vlad_Type_S

iTrader: (3)

+1, fixed my lean CEL.

+1, shifter feels like a hot knife through butter after switching to this stuff. been running it for like 3 years or so. still shifts fantastic, no issues whatsoever. (at 105k right now)

erg69

Agreed, my tl loves the stuff. I like it so much I sometimes put a little in my morning coffee! Keeps me regular.

DeathMetal

iTrader: (2)

UPDATE: Recommendation from AMSOIL as follows:

I'll be changing back next summer.

mikey85

Thanks guys, appreciate the feedback!

...I'll give that a try too haha!

Just wondering, what was it that made you prefer AMOSIL more? If you don't mind sharing.

DeathMetal

iTrader: (2)

Higher kinematic viscosities across test method ASTM D445, higher flash point, etc. It just a more robust fluid.

Abe_Froman

iTrader: (5)

Not to take anything away from this amazing list of parts that Deathmetal has put together for us, but I believe there are some errors in the part numbers that were provided. I personally have decided to follow this list pretty religiously and have just about accumulated the majority of the parts. Here are some errors I found:

-In the "Knuckle" section part number 51220-SDA-A0 should be 51220-SDA-305 (I also see it listed under 51220-SDA-A02)
-In the "Knuckle" section part number 90363-SEP-A01 should be 94201-30220
-In the "PS Knuckle" section there is only one part number listed for the outer tie rod. There should two part numbers because the right and left are different. The right is 53540-SEP-A02 and the left is 53560-SEP-A02.

aIRpeACE

iTrader: (2)

wonder how much do all the parts cost?

DeathMetal

iTrader: (2)

Posted earlier in thread.

nist7

Wow great thread/read. Stumbled here as I am replacing the right front upper control arm and was looking at part numbers to ensure its all good.

I may or may not be keeping my TL but if I were to definitely keep it for at least 10 years, what @DeathMetal did seems very reasonable and a great way to refresh the car to semi-new in driving characteristics.

People always talk about how much money it takes to repair/maintain an older car...and then go out and spend tens of thousands more to get a newer/new car when a very capable platform can be refreshed for much much less.

MyGuti

great post man!
I saved the excel sheet and will start to accumulate parts for my refresh. currently sitting at 115k miles and definitely have some vibrations

nist7

115k miles?!!?

Man that's a baby TL. She's got a ton more miles left in her!!!

MyGuti

yeah I plan on keeping her for at least another 10 years

DMZ

Paul Sobstyl is THE MAN, orMr.Scott as I sometimes call him. He's why my ship still runs like new after 16¼ years and 331K miles. I can still do 0-60 in under 6 seconds!

Paul is now in the process of painting and installing '07/8 turn signal mirrors I picked up for under $100 each, the mirrors that should have been on the '04/5/6 TL. The models above and below for '04, the RL, and TSX had them and the first 3,000 3G TL's produced had turn signal mirrors on the window sticker! Obviously, someone at Acura screwed that up.
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Acura TL Builder

That’s a cool fun fact DMZ! First 3k of 3Gs Mistakenly said they had signaling mirrors!