acurapimp504

I called them and they confirmed everything ThinJim said that the cl heads wont bolt up to the 03 block.Then I called the local Acura dealer in LA where the swap will happen and they were 400$ +tax more xpensive. So as soon as figure out when I can take leave again I'll buy it from the online dealer.

CleanCL

iTrader: (4)

buy from oemacuraparts.com and ask for lance. he's awesome. and he has done at least 2 of these swaps. just buy the crank and rods. reuse your pistons. this will keep cost down.

2 reasons not to buy the whole 3.5 shortblock:
1) you still need to press off the 3.5 pistons because you can't use those.
2) the block is thicker and does not disipate heat as well as our j32a2.

ThinJim

iTrader: (3)

I have to disagree with you.

1. the pistons don't press off, the pins are held by "c" clips.

2 the blocks for the mdx and cl are the same blocks without the internals.

typeR

there s been discussion on this before and it seems like they do carry the same part number ,but are not the same my J35 from the '02 oddessey had some minor differences including the thick ness of the cylinder liners and if you look at hondanews they refer to the spun cast fiber reinforced liners of the Type S ..in addition you will have the j35 or J32 monicer which would require some kind of part number variation

CleanCL

iTrader: (4)

your right, the pistons come right off, but dont you have to pull them from the bottom? essentially dismembering the motor regardless.

read above for why i believe the 3.5 blocks are different. maybe its the odyssey i was thinking of, but i thought the 3.5 sleeves are thicker.

typeR

.

ENGINE BLOCK
Die-cast and heat-treated, the compact aluminum block is extremely rigid, with a high natural frequency and minimal resonant vibration. The V-6's iron cylinder liners have their bore pitch set at a close 98-mm spacing to reduce overall engine size. The free-revving CL engine is oversquare with a bore of 89 mm and a stroke of 86 mm to give the engine a total displacement of 3210 cc. The CL employs an engine cylinder bank V-angle of 60-degrees, allowing for a narrower angle with improvements in engine smoothness and reduction in overall bulk and weight. The block has an unusually short deck height, resulting in an overall reduction in the height and width of the assembled engine. The Type S engine also incorporates separate, spin-cast cylinder wall liners that are cast into the engine block during the initial manufacturing stage. These spin-cast liners allow for additional weight reduction over traditional engine block cylinder walls and provide added heat rejection to avoid engine knocking. Additionally, by reducing the number of machined surfaces, spin-cast cylinder liners ease the manufacturing process.

BigLizard

^^^That quote came from either Motor Trend or Edmunds.com....they almost sound the same. Then again, Acura releases this type of info on all of their cars. TypeR is the MAN! lol

CleanCL

iTrader: (4)

typeR - it's hard to argue with thinjim. he has a point, both an 01 cl-s and 01 mdx have the same part number for just the block.

11000-PGE-810

mclarenf3387

You have to remove the pistons and rods to switch out the pistons. The pistons can be removed either way, but they go back in through the top. You probably could get away without removing the crank, but you might as well to make it easier.

CleanCL

iTrader: (4)

right, so why spend all the money on a shortblock that you have to take apart anyway? just my opinion i guess.

ThinJim

iTrader: (3)

I can't deny what is in print in reference to the cylnder liners, however, they could be just beating their own drum to dress up the issue for a sales pitch. I haven't compared the two blocks, but can't imagine having two machining processes, one with the better cylnder walls and the other engine having a weaker one, however, they do some wacky shite.

From an economical point view, i think it's cheaper to buy the complete shortblock. At 1450.oo for the shortblock plus new pistons be it the RL ones or forged ones, RL's about 50 each, forged about 150 each, versus 400 for the crank and 500 for the rods, and about 150 for the crank and rod bearings..soo..

1450+300=1750 shortblock, bearings included
400+500+300+150=1350.00 crank, rods, pistons, bearings

the other thing to consider is if you buy just the crank and rods seperatly, you then have to get bearings, make sure they're fitted properly and spend some coin doing so on a machinist, unless your equipped with a micrometer set and know what your doing, or you can take acura's word that the clearances are correct in the complete shortblock.

yes there's a slight savings, but the benifit is you have another motor to either fall back on or sell for a grand. thinjims economics 1 oh 1.

regardless, it's expensive, pick your poison.

CleanCL

iTrader: (4)

i guess i lucked out. i paid less than $500 for both crank and rods shipped to my door. granted not new. but in very good condition, and once the crank was polished and checked, everything was perfect.

typeR

and though they share the same part munber one will be stamped J35A and the other J32A there must be something to determine the difference...

ThinJim

iTrader: (3)

You would think they would, but they don't. A basic block is a basic block, when the internals are in the block, then the stamp goes on to identify the displacement. here is a picture of my block, it was a basic block and does not have anything stamped onto the pad to show which displacement block it was to go for, it's all the same part number. it's a little fuzzy, but I think you all can get my meaning. Look to the bottom right of the pic.

acurapimp504

Whats the new block for?

typeR

interesting? whats the part number for the '02 oddessey basic block ? and CL-P