My 97 2.5 TL has 246k on it now and it burns half a qt of oil almost every 1000 miles.
Some time in the highway, it takes some real hard pressing on the gas to get fast acceleration.

My dilemma now, I found a used engine with very low mileage around 45 to 55 k on it. Should I go ahead and swap the engine out?
How much should be a good ball park figure for the engine and labor including timing belt and water pump?

 

Most shops charge a flat 10hrs labor for an engine change. That of course doesnt include any parts or additional time beyond 10hrs they may need. At an average of $90/hr for a reputable shop you are looking at A MINIMUM of $1000 for the swap w/ TB & WP.

If you have the space, tools & know-how, do it yourself for just the cost of the parts needed. Or, if you can afford the downtime, rebuild your motor for about the same $1K and you'll have what is essentially a "brand new" powerplant.

 

you can find JDM G25 motors on ebay.
i almost got one but found someone selling one locally.
The other problem you face with a shop is that if something doesnt match up from one motor to the other you are looking at new parts in addition to the motor.
I bought a motor for $600 and frankensteined a G25A4 with G25A1 and used the best parts from each motor.
after the install i bought a new battery, new axles, and suspension parts and was still way under what any shop would have charged for the work, plus i'm sure i would have gotten charged for fluid disposal fees, haz-mat fees. and after all that they get around $150 just for sending the dead motor to a recycling.

 

you can find JDM G25 motors on ebay.
i almost got one but found someone selling one locally.
The other problem you face with a shop is that if something doesnt match up from one motor to the other you are looking at new parts in addition to the motor.
I bought a motor for $600 and frankensteined a G25A4 with G25A1 and used the best parts from each motor.
after the install i bought a new battery, new axles, and suspension parts and was still way under what any shop would have charged for the work, plus i'm sure i would have gotten charged for fluid disposal fees, haz-mat fees. and after all that they get around $150 just for sending the dead motor to a recycling.

 

I found 96 TL 2.5 engine with very low mileage, is it identical to 97 2.5TL?
My car is a 97.

 

if you are swapping the motor then they are identical.
if you are trying to switch internals there may be some tiny differences but you should definatly pick up that 96 motor if it is available.
Wiring will be the same.
the G25 had a few different piston layouts. If you look on an acura database or the Factory service manual, you will see that there are two different sizes of pistons, (a difference of about 1mm or 2).
My vigor motor had an AABAB layout, my 96 TL had an AAAAA layout. My theory is that this is where it gets its slightly higher compression from.

 

My mechanic also gave me another option of rebuilding the engine and I was looking for master rebuild kit.
Any idea where would be a good place to buy a kit?