simm

There are a bunch of DIY projects here that sound like a good idea to do to my car...but I don't know which ones to start with - or even which ones to do. I was thinking seafoam and IACV.

Maybe someone could point me to the correct (first gen TL or applicable category) DIY jobs to increase my mileage, run better, and overall just clean 'er up! Thanks so much!

vas25tl

How is your MPG? I'm at 247K miles and am consistently getting 24-24mpg. Got as high as 25.7mpg about 3 months ago on a hwy trip.

simm

I don't know. I'll have to fill it up again and check at half full.

tmnhs81

Put a quart of ATF in engine when doing next oil change. It will clean up inside nicely..

seafoam?

TLin401

Water pump and timing belt.

vas25tl

+1 If the 3rd timing belt has not been done yet, you need to get on that.


I'm going to need my 4th soon

Mandy

Now, this is the 1st time I have heard of an ATF being used as an engine cleaner...

How good is this?

volkov_ss

It seems to be not good idea for me, since ATF provides some friction characteristics which could damage the engine..

Btw, hi to all I'm newbie on Acurazine and I'm from Russia. Our russian auto forums are too slow, so I hope to find something interesting there.

Also, sorry for my bad English..

tmnhs81

It is safe to do so. Its great degreaser and lubricant. Ever seen an automatic transmission taken apart?

I put it in mine, no problems at all.

volkov_ss

Is it possible if a motor oil changes it's characteristics due to some sort of chemical reaction with ATF?

tmnhs81

Never heard about it.

vas25tl

Privet

volkov_ss

Privet


I have Honda Inspire 2,5 '95, and last week it was 300000km..

desired_speeds

If you've kept up with regular scheduled and preventative maintenance, there is nothing to worry about. 198k is no different than 15k.

cyberbro

I wonder what mileage the highest mileage Acura has on it?

Acura should have a high Mileage club.

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

i would also be reluctant to do this... most likely you prob don't have in there long enough to do any damage anyway if it does change the characteristics of the motor oil...

if you would like to clean the internals of your engine, seafoam works just fine... and if something does go wrong... you have a better chance of going after a company that claims their product can be put into your crankcase and screwing something up... try arguing with Honda that their ATF screwed up your engine because you used it as a cleaner...

vas25tl

I know there was an Integra floating around with 6xx,xxx somewhere. There was also a 1995 civic coupe with a 5 speed on Atlanta's craigslist a while back for sale with 939K miles on it. It had 9 timing belt services and still had the original floor mats in it.

YeuEmMaiMai

newer replacement belts are good for 105K versus the original 90K lol he's due for it anyways lol

Bluish

I'm at $221K right now.

1) As with most 3.2TL owners, I replaced the starter at 105K miles.

2) I went 141K on my first timing belt and water pump. I plan to go to at least 260K on the second one.

3) I had to replace my front suspension (struts) at 165K miles because I was "eating" front tires every 10,000 miles.

4) If you haven't replaced all of the coolant hoses - replace them now. I had two separate leaks before I replaced them all at 170K miles.

5) The CD player failed at about 180K miles, but I live without it (listening mostly to news and talk radio - I'm not as young as many of you)

6) I replaced the front and back brake calipers at 190K. The costs are reasonable if you order parts on line and do the work yourself.

7) I'd replace the radiator before it fails if you haven't already. I noticed some weep-holes and elected to replace it at 215K miles before they ruptured.

8) I'd replace the gaskets on the tail lights - water was leaking into my trunk and replacing the gaskets at 218K miles fixed it (Part number 33503-SW5-A01)

9) This week, at 221K miles, I replaced my drive axles to address a high speed vibration problem.

I am still running with lots of original equipment: Alternator, rear suspension, catalytic converter, engine, transmission. My mileage is very consistent at 25 MPG.

simm

Whoa, I think yours is the highest-valued TL on these forums!! LOL Just kidding.

Bluish, thank you so much for your input!! I will definitely look back at this thread in the spring when I plan on tuning up/seafoaming/new tires/wheel painting/Leatherique'ing/paint fixes/RE-badging and possibly LED conversions for all lights except head- and fog- lights.

This forum is full of very helpful people

blueninja

Bluish, How much it cost you to do your timing belt and water pump? Thinking about doing this myself to keep cost down.

TLin401

If you do not know how to do this or have never done this before, you can throw off the engine and out of time.

NewAcuraFan

Bluish,
It's amazing that u changed ur first t-belt & w-pump at 141k! In what yr did u change them (it seems that u have 96 3.2TL)? I am just curious as my '98 3.2TL got low mileage and it will take another 3-4 yrs to reach that kind of mileage and I don't know if it is safe to wait that long...

nywilliezx

I agree on all of these bot the timing belt and water pump should be done at every 90k miles

blueninja

These cars should have timming marks to align kind like the chevy 350's?

Bluish

I changed the timing belt and water pump in Feb 2005 at 141K miles. It cost $860 for the belt/pump, $200 for sensors that were reportedly failed.

I live in Indianapolis - the car is garaged, the climate is very mild (not hot or cold), the terrain is flat, and I do not demand much power (acceleration) from the car. Also, I wanted to drive the car for 250,000 miles and didn't want to change it twice because it's very expensive. For these reasons, I took a chance and waited until 141K.

owen8863

Wow, it is cool!!!