Gibbelstein

I have a pretty significant leak where the water passage meets the rear block (head, maybe? It's tough to see). It looks like what is leaking is # 10 in this diagram (goes behind the manifold in the picture):

Acura Parts @ AcuraAutomotiveParts.org - Genuine Acura OEM Parts from Acura Carland

Has anyone had to change this gasket? In the youtube video that has been shared here about cleaning EGR passages, he mentions that they occasionally leak and I was hoping someone might have some pointers for handling this. The only directions I could find were in the manual under the "removing the heads" section, which I am hoping includes a few steps that won't be necessary if I am leaving the heads in place...

It looks like it could be pretty straightforward after removing the intake, but I would prefer to go into it with as much info as possible.

Thanks,
Chris

zeta

iTrader: (1)

Although I have not performed this specific repair, I have had the intake manifold off many times. So, step #24; pg 6-43 should yield you enough room to get at the water passage and its 3 nuts & two bolts (16lbf-ft). You don't have to remove the fuel rails. Make sure to drain as much coolant as possible, remove all relevant vacuum/coolant hoses.

Install step #15 on pg 6-63 states to use all new gaskets and an O ring, they are inexpensive as well. If you are doing the EGR cleaning procedure at the same time, it might be wise to purchase a new gasket for the EGR. I have had them sometimes fall apart after removing the unit for passage cleaning.

When placing the upper intake manifold gasket during install (#11 on link below), make sure to place the offset tab toward the firewall; this is on the round right side of the gasket; otherwise, problems could arise when you start the car. It has been known be flipped on reinstallation which causes the problems.

Acura Parts @ AcuraOEMparts.com - Genuine Acura OEM Parts from Delray Acura

I use a torque wrench to tighten fasteners if I can access the bolt/nut when reassembling, so one of those would be handy to have around.

Gibbelstein

Thanks for the info, Zeta. That makes sense with what I could see.

I just realized that my manual is slightly different because all I could find in PDF was for the TL, but what you said makes sense. Thanks for the suggestion of replacing all of those gaskets. I wouldn't have thought to buy the one for the water pump tube before tearing it all apart. And I probably would have tried to convince myself that it was ok to leave the old one.

Because I am in an apartment with limited working space, I was just hoping that there would be a way to swap them without removing the intake, but I don't think those studs would allow for it with the small amount of space in the engine compartment.

zeta

iTrader: (1)

LOL, well if you are adventurous it probably could be done without removing the intake. Although, at a minimum you would have to remove the throttle body and air flow tube leading to the air box. Maybe the battery as well to give you room to maneuver/work.

Early on, when I had just purchased the car I removed the thermostat and the water temp sensor from the water passage without removing the IM; however, it was awkward and did a number on my back, but doable. Depending on your mechanical skillset and access to decent tools you could probably do it.

Gibbelstein

Ha, yeah, I figured it was not realistic, but a guy can hope...

I am going to tear into it this weekend if I can get the pieces I need. While I am picking stuff up, I just wanted to be sure that I won't need anything besides the gaskets and oring (9, 10, and 18 from my link). I cleaned the little 'antfarm' EGR passages a few weeks ago, so I know that upper intake gasket you mentioned before is fine, but I haven't pulled the intake off before. I don't need to pick up the lower intake gasket (#5 from your link), right? I just want to make sure I am not skipping something that is commonly replaced "while you're in there".

Currently, I'm looking at replacing the following:
19411-P8A-A02 GASKET, FR. WATER PASSAGE (NIPPON LEAKLESS)
19412-P8A-A02 GASKET, RR. WATER PASSAGE (NIPPON LEAKLESS)
91314-PH7-003 O-RING (31.2X4.1) (NOK)
16176-PGE-A01 GASKET, THROTTLE BODY
18715-PB2-000 GASKET, EGR VALVE (ISHINO GASKET)

And I'm considering replacing the thermostat while I have it drained (even though I have never had a problem with it).
19301-P8E-A10 THERMOSTAT ASSY. (NIPPON THERMOSTAT)

Thanks again for the advice. Any additional input or suggestions of additional replacements I would be better off stacking onto this job for a 140k car are welcome as well.

Chris

zeta

iTrader: (1)

Correct. Like #11, #5 is made of thin metal and can be reused. I just clean it up with brake cleaner, if needed, and reuse.

If you plan on keeping the car awhile, this is not a bad maintenance idea at 140K, although if you choose to replace, take note of the pin position when you remove the T-stat cover and rubber seal. T-stat should be replaced with the pin up.

I don't want to spend any more of your money ; however, if you have not already considered it, check the upper and lower radiator hoses for cracking/splits along their lengths and at the ends. They could be pretty baked at 140K.

When you remove the IM, don't be alarmed if you find oil in #3&4; the R&L IM chamber's in the link below, it's common.

Make sure not to over tighten the lower IM fasteners 16lbf-ft. Move from the center sequentially(front/rear), toward the left/right outside.

Also, the upper IM bolts are tightened to something like 8-9 lbf-ft, I believe.
Same drill with the tightening sequence. I've had these strip easily if one gets to ardent in clamping down.

Acura Parts @ AcuraOEMparts.com - Genuine Acura OEM Parts from Delray Acura

Good Luck

Gibbelstein

Thanks again for the pointers, Zeta. Pulling the intake wasn't as much of a pain as I expected.

I took care of this over the weekend. It went pretty well, except for not being able to dislodge the tube with the o-ring from the water passage and deciding to leave the old o-ring in place. Unfortunately, it dislodged from the water pump side, and it was a bit difficult to get it lined back up on that end, so I decided that if the oring in the passage was good enough to fight me that much, it might be good enough to stay put. (I fiddled with it for a while and then worried that if I dislodged it from both ends at the same time, it would be too difficult to line both sides back up.) Also, I only had one o-ring, so if I have trouble, I will go back in with 2 new ones and replace them both, I guess.

I filled, ran, filled, ran, etc the system to get it refilled and monitored the temperature all weekend. All of this did lead me to a new question. Does anyone know the acceptable "maximum temp" for these things?

All of the discussions on the board I could find suggested that going over 1/2 on the gauge was too high, and it always stayed a couple of ticks below that. However, I have been using the Torque app to read actual temperatures and it did spike over 200 degrees (for less than a minute, in slow traffic with the AC on max) and it made me wonder about the acceptable range. From the manual, it looks like the thermostat is about 180, and the fan is supposed to start at 200, so I'm guessing 205-ish is still within acceptable range for a few seconds, as long as it comes back down quickly?

It never occurred to me to do a test run looking at temperatures *before* the process for a baseline. Also, would it have killed them to put actual numbers on the readout? They went to the trouble of adding the gauge.

Thanks again!
Chris