Hello to all CL lovers

I am looking at a 97 Cl with 2.3 vtec and auto tranny. Car has only 23k miles yes 23k but after doing some research I have read some horror storries about the trannies in these cars. My questions is what should I be looking for if anything other than burnt fluid and poor shifting on the test drive that would lead me to worry about this. The owner stated that the car was purchased from an estate sale and has been garaged for most of it's life.

Should I run and hide or take a chance?

car is being sold for 6k

Thanks in advance

 

Burnt fluid, metal shavings in the fluid, rough shifting when cold, rough shift from 1-2, those are the main signs of problems with the tranny

 

Be sure to read the n00b's guide . That should have all the info about the tranny and what not.

 

just use the search function and u will find a ton of threads bout our trannies. welcome to the site post pics of the ack if possible

 

6k for for 23k miles you cant go wrong lots of people on here would kill for something like that

 

i would carfax the car to see if its really 23k. FYI 97's are only 2.2, 98-99 are 2.3

 

asianspec..........is correct carfax it before you buy.....it is good deal...I have a 98 2.3cl with 200kmiles and touch wood no tranny issues..... then again it was driven by my wife for about 145kmiles and she drives carefulll....;-) u know what i mena juts to be politically correct........hheheeh...

if everything is in order then juts buy it...it is a good price....also look out for smoke and shit like that ...i mean is the car has been sitting for that long I hope every thing is golden in the engine....good luck and post some pics...

JFK

 

Hmm. I've always wanted to know, what adds the extra .1 liter in the 98s?

 

Are the 2.x auto trannies really that bad? I thought it was only the 3.0's...

 

Only two things, either slightly bigger bore, or longer stroke.

 

It's all auto trannies in the CL's the 3.0's are more prominent because there is more torque applied and the trannies burn out faster

 

U guys are now making me worry and rethink my strategy.....I have clocked 200,000 miles on my 2.3cl automatic......so what u guys are suggesting that I should look out for a major overhaul on my transmission pretty soon??????

Is there any one out here who is still on their original auto tranny and with how many miles???

thankx
JFK

 

200,000 miles is a lot of miles so you would have to watch out for issues on any car, IMO. There's tons of threads about the auto trannys whether its 2.x or 3.0.

 

make sure you carfax that sucker before you drop 6gs, older cars with low milage aren't necessarily the best deal. who knows what else is wrong.look for a manual 2.x anyways, those will last forever, drivetrain wise.

 

 

Well knock on wood I got a 98 3.0CL just made 101,000 miles running on original tranny. Shifts pretty good except for the 1-2 a little rough but not that bad. Thinking of doing a swap of Tranny Fluid to the Royal Purple ATF if that helps. Not sure if it's compatible with the Dexron 2 though.

 

Well i went and looked at a 98 cl 2.3 5speed black on black. car has 140k but in last year owner har replaced tires, brakes, exhaust, timing belt/tune up, clutch. car is in good condition wants 4k obo. i am a big fan of this color combo and i would much rather have the 5 speed than the auto... only thing i noticed was a clunking sound from right front over bumps (i'm thinking maybe balljoint) just waiting to see again on sat after owner washes car and in the light of day.... (car looks white from road salt) car ran fine slight stumble at idle but fan came on could feel difference when it went off...

I do like the look of these cars and i am kinda liking the 30mpg

i am am a ford v8 kinda guy but can't stand the 15mpg if lucky (going to retire a 90 p72 vic for the acura)

thanks for the input and i'm looking forward to joining the group

 

i also have just renewed carfax so if i could be of any assistance for the group just send me an email at daoriginaljoka@yahoo.com

so what would be the best bang for the buck on upgrades to the acura?????

 

definitely go for the 98 5speed, if your suspension suspiscions dont amount to anything serious. its nice to have all that shit replaced, thats at least 2 grand of work right there.
get yourself some window regulators, those like to go everynow and then. best upgrades? intake,header,exhaust,drop, tint. not necessarily in that order.

 

A new Acura!

lol, had to steel that joke.

 

not sure what gettonija is talking about?

well i bought the cl blk on blk nice car went for a nice long test drive and i am quite impressed. i was doing a little research and i noticed on ebay these cars have a cabin air filter? where is it?

looking forward to being a prud cl owner and member of group

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In other cars the cabin filter is located behind the glove box. Never replaced one in the CL, but I'm pretty sure it'd be around the same area.

 

Great pick up, I like how it's already debadged

 

ty ty ty

i am thinking about taking that A off the trunk also

in last year car has new clutch, new timing belt, new exhaust, rad, tires, brakes

and the guy was a junkie for changing the oil..... runs like a champ

very happy

 

nice car man, looks mint
now get to modding

 

Great pickup man. Looks great so far.

Any immediate plans for the black beast?

 

omg buy it or give me the info and i will

 

well my first diy is going to be the clutch..... i am so pissed... the guy i bought it from stated that he had recently had a new clutch installed but today i drove about 100 miles to work and on the ride home the damn thing was slipping like crazy... when i test drove the car the clutch pedal grabbed within the first 25% of the pedal and i tried starting the car in 3rd gear from a dead stop and the thing stalled so i was under the impression that it was a new clutch but now the thing revs to like 2-4k and the car is not going anywhere......

i have called the guy i bought it from and asked him for the name of the shop that installed the clutch to see if there is a warranty or something that might help...

i will wait and see if i get a call back from him.......

i also talked to a buddy that has worked in garages his whole life and he stated that many shady shops willl just change the friction plate and be down with it...

well autozone has the clutch, pressure plate, throw out bearing, slave cyl, and new/refurb flywheel for about $250 with lifetime warranty on the clutch (lifetime warranty on a clutch)

i wish there was lifetime warranty on a tank of gas......

i guess i know where and what i will be doing saturday...

glad i didn't retire the crown vic yet

i still luv the blue oval

 

Haha, same thing happened to us. My friend bought a Hatchie with the owner stating he replaced the clutch. He said, it was "tricky". Thing was toasted and gone when we looked at it the next day to replace it! The way I see it, any manual car you buy, just count on replacing the clutch.

 

Bummer about that man. Don't let it discourage you though.

 

sucks about your clutch but oh well. there are no guarantees buying a used car. my cl needed new tires, window regulator and door handle replacement within a year of purchase. the lude i got 3 months ago, had the radiator explode the next day while going for an emissions test. you want piece of mind, buy new and have a car payments burden. want older and unique...better have some money saved up for repairs.

 

Sucks to hear about the fried clutch

If you do need to do up the clutch, why not just drop a bit more and go with lighter flywheel, and upgraded clutch etc?

I'm still on the original clutch (2nd owner), with 166,000KM (100,000Miles) and it runs like a champ. Fortunately I bought my car from a Mazda dealer who got the car as a trade-in and it came with all the scheduled maintenance records in the glove box from the Acura dealer where it was all serviced!

I've had my ride nearing 2 years and its been rock solid. Once you replace your clutch, it will be the same I hope.

Now start planning your mods!

BTW: I have the same colour combo as your whip! Its nice

 

well i spoke the the old car owner and go figure he can't find the reciept for the clutch and i couldn't get the name of the shop either

well i was wondering if the slave cyl would cause this problem

the clutch seems to work fine but occasionaly it will slip really bad then it will be ok for awhile

the wheels of the bus go round and round

i tried the 4th gear start test again and the car stalled like on the test drive but today going to work i was on the bragger bridge in fall river and i was in 5th going nowhere

then by the time i got to work the clutch was working ok not great but ok

i will definetly be changing out the clutch on sat but what about the slave does that symptom sound like a slave problem

 

Most of the time on our cars it's the slave cyl

 

after searching $bay I think I will get this clutch kit any comments?

This complete clutch kit includes:
F1 Racing Stage 1 Heavy-Duty Pressure Plate
F1 Racing Stage 1 Full Organic Street Disc (220mm, 24 spline)
Release Bearing
Alignment Tool
Installation Guide
Ultra heavy-duty and weighs only 11.5 lbs (stock flywheel weighs 24 lbs)
Meets or exceeds SFI 1.1 certification
Made from 100% 4140 forged chromoly steel
F1 Racing Lightweight Chromoly flywheels incorporate special design features to enhance the airflow for improved clutch cooling
F1 Racing Lightweight Chromoly flywheels work with every clutch including Exedy, ACT, Fidanza, , and other OEM clutch kits
CAD designed, CNC machined and computer balanced


about $270 with 3 day shipping @225 for autozone stuff

 

well i ordered the clutch and i have to say working with the team at gripforce so far they are very professional and responded to my questions very quickly

now the question will be will they ship as fast as they stated

payed alot o $$ to get for friday

 

nice car! i agree w/cocoa in saying u gotta count on replacing the clutch. Both 1st gen CL's i bought had to have the clutch replaced soon after buying it (1st one was cuz i was a noob manual driver). A nice aftermarket stage 1 clutch is always good as long as its the right brand

 

Nice ride, I've got the same exact car, year and color combo, not to mention i'm right in Dedham, MA...not to far from you..Let me know how the clutch job goes, i'm gonna need to change mine soon, as it looks like we're having similar symptoms..I'd like to see how yours feels after the change.


- Liam

 

i was looking for feedback on the clutch and doing some research i have found a lot of people asking but no real complaints

so i guess i will be the guinea pig

plus the seller gripforce-clutches on $bay has like 30k feedback with only 12 negatives (can't make everyone happy) and alot of people are buying this brand

plus i emailed and called them and the were very nice and quick to respond so i hope that they get this to me by friday as per our conversation

have plans to tear down on saturday