Whats up im new to working on acura's. Im more of a small block chevy gear head. But i was just given a 96 2.5 tl. The car is decent and im wanting to fix it up. I was told it has a rear main leak, but after my investigation the oil is coming from above the oil pan around the filter area. I read a post about an adapter housing leaking, but i cant seem to find that post again. Does anyone have any suggestions or any kind of schematic of the drivers side of the 2.5 engine.
Thanks

 

Welcome to the forum. You will find this to be very helpful if you decide to replace that gasket https://acurazine.com/forums/1g-tl-problems-fixes-118/2-5tl-oil-filter-mounting-base-gasket-replacement-637891/

 

i replaced this gasket, its $8 at the dealer. where your oil filter extension mounts to the block. the gasket looks like a figure 8.

drain oil
remove oil filter
you will need some of those swiveling heads and you can access all (3) bolts

it is a pain in the ass, but worth it. clean the engine with some Throttle bodt cleaned and let it run for a few with the hood open. the leak will become obvious.

 

^ oh yeah remove the intake also. and those 2 little accessories bolted to the side of the TB you can take off it you want, and just disconnect that little connector in the way. you'll see what i mean, just make sure you have alot of light, a few beers wouldn't hurt either.

 

I managed to replaced this gasket without removing the intake manifold or draining the engine oil. It is possible but will take longer due to limited working area. I changed my oil and filter right after I confirmed that the leak was fixed.

 

it will just keep it cleaner, in my opinion easier. either way wont hurt. and you dont have to remove the intake manifold, i meant air box for more room to work.

 

I was given this 96 2.5tl and the guy who gave it to me said a mechanic told him the rear main seal was out causing the oil leak. But like i previously siad the oil leak is coming from above the oil pan. I was pondering taking intake manifold off so i can get a better look it the situation. Like i said before im not very familiar with import engines. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

 

If you look carefully between the intake manifold at the area below the oil filter, you should see oil leaking on cold start ups. For me this only happens when it is cold outside and when I just start up the engine for the first time of the day. It was leaking so much that I can see the oil rushing out within 5 minutes of starting up. Take a look to see if you find any leaks there. Also, on the 2.5TL the distributor o-ring seal is prone to leak. Check those areas to see if any is leaking. It's a nice car once you get it fixed.

 

if you just got the car and you want it to run right just take off the intake manifold to the block..including the TB...
just to let you know the TB wont clear the alternator coming off straight. how to get around this?

what you do is just leave the TB bolted to the other piece. (you'll see what i mean) but you have to unbolt that from your intake runners. there is a support bar bolted around the bottom of the TB as well as i beleive 2 more bolts on the bottom side. one you pop that off clean it with brake cleaner very well. i dismantled mine and re-gasketed it all. clean the secondary butterly valves also! EGR ports, etc..

if you have this done you have also replace the filter base o-ring in about 10 minutes good luck, its a piece of cake. only a little coolant loss, just remember how it all goes back together

i beleive just about every bolt is 12mm

thank god for edit! ha an easy way i keep things from getting lost is to re thread the bolt back in the correct place after i remove whatever piece. might help for you.

 

Thanks for everyones input had intake off and the old gasket off in bout an hour. I had to order gaskets though no one around herer had them

 

Can someone have some links for tail lightts i cant seem to find any for my car. I have a 96 2.5l tl
thanks a bunch

 

^ look on ebay.. you'll find alot

 

Does this applies to 96 tl 3.2 also? I have a leak as describe above.

 

^ that does not apply to the 3.2, this was for the 5 cylinder. search around, if you can't find anything post a thread. i'm not familiar with that engine.

 

Whts up fellow acura owners. I recently posted a thread looking for help on an oil filter housing leak and had great success from the forum on suggestions. I managed to get that fixed no problem. Thanks for the help. But now im having alot of smoke coming from the back of the engine distributor rear head area. Im unsure if its old oil burning off or another leak burning new oil. i was going to replace the head cover gasket, but am unsure to order the parts until i have a better idea if something else isnt causing the problem. Any help please will be greatly appreciated !!

 

How much did the oil filter fix cost you? Or was it a diy.

As fas as the other problem, I'm clueless. Did you leave have any foreign object in the oil filter housing that is burning off?

 

meazz1 i did it myself and toolk bout 3 hrs and 32 dollars in new gaskets

 

ill bet you $$ thats its your valve cover gasket and its dripping oil onto your exhaust manifold causing the smoke. i got one online for $12 shipped, if thats not the case move to the distributor and check that out. when your engine is cool rub your fingers on the seal of the valve cover usually if its bad you will have some oil residue on your finger

 

^ I would do what he said, as those are common areas for oil leaks on 2.5TLs.