Greetings. This is my first time posting to the forum but I've learned A GREAT DEAL from it over the past few months so a big THANK YOU to all for the great info.

Several months ago I purchased a '97 3.2 TL for my son to take to college. I thought I got a good deal on it even though it had 209K miles. The previous owner said it had a new radiator and hoses and the timing belt and water pump had recently been replaced (although he had no records). The car ran and drove beautifully with good power although last month I had to put a new starter in it (that was fun).

For the last month it has been quickly overheating and after the usual checks I assumed it had a bad head gasket. There was no white smoke and no coolant in the oil although the coolant system was constantly full of air.

So I called a local Acura guy that had been recommended and he said around $1500 to replace both head gaskets and deck the heads. When I got to his shop and we popped the hood he said he wasn't comfortable working on that particular engine but he would pressure test the coolant system and check for coolant in the cylinders.

So he calls me several days later and says he didn't see any coolant in the cylinders but the coolant system wouldn't hold pressure. He said he saw no external leaks so he still agreed with me that it was a head gasket problem. The fact is he never checked the cylinders. He wouldn't do the job and tells me to come get it and there will be no charge.

When I get there to pick it up he tells me that the motor is knocking and recommended I scrap the car. It didn't knock when I brought in! As I first start it up to bring it home I here it knocking. It's skipping and belching white smoke.

It was then that I had the horrible realization that I'm pumping coolant in one or more cylinders. As I gently idle out of the parking lot the knocking quits and maybe a quarter mile down the road the white smoke clears up.

I know that was a long story to get to my questions but here they are:

Since I heard knocking (which I think was piston slap enhanced by high cylinder pressure due to coolant), does that indicate permanent piston damage or excessive piston or cylinder wear - and did the pressure test lead to this?

Should I replace the head gaskets myself, try to find a used motor (I see a few Japanese imports on the Internet) with low miles or scrap the car as the mechanic suggested?

I really like the styling of this car, it drives well and the interior and exterior look great. It has had some kind of front end incident but the repairs and paint are top notch.

I've worked on cars and motorcycles as a hobby for most of my life so I'm really only concerned about any other gotchas I haven't thought of or sending good money after bad.

Any advice?

Again thanks and I have really enjoyed this forum.

 

Hello I am new too the sight as well.One thing I've learned is no matter who you take your car to its always more expensive than what they say. I recently bought a 96 TL 2.5 that smokes after buying and relizing that my wants out stripped my needs I'm stuck with deciding to rebuild engine myself or take it in and have someone do it for me.Still deciding I'll let you know, hang in there

 

Thanks. I'm still waiting for some input but I'm leaning towards buying one of these low mileage motors imported from Japan. I need to determine what differences they have. I've seen a picture of one on eBay and already I noticed some different hoses around the throttle body. Still, to buy it and have it shipped will probably will probably cost around $1400. I don't know what rebuilding one of these motors would cost. I think the 2.5L may be easier to work with.