SilverBullet_RENAMED

I did not know that my friend I have talked to is a tech at Acura. I just buzzed him to chat. The exact conversation is posted below now. I changed his real name to acura tech friend to keep him unknown. But everything he is saying is scaring me.

ACURA TECH FRIEND: whos this ?
SpeedyCLS: russmaxmaniac
ACURA TECH FRIEND: U got a CL now ?
SpeedyCLS: duh
SpeedyCLS: lol
SpeedyCLS: have had it for 1 year almost
ACURA TECH FRIEND: oooh man I hope a 6spd !
SpeedyCLS: where u been
SpeedyCLS: nope
ACURA TECH FRIEND: cause I work for Acura !
ACURA TECH FRIEND: and man trannies blow up on them like a
MOFO
ACURA TECH FRIEND: nice car
ACURA TECH FRIEND: but man....
ACURA TECH FRIEND: trannies !!!!
SpeedyCLS: didn't want a manual due to me driving in
sucky traffic every day
SpeedyCLS: yea
ACURA TECH FRIEND: shieet...... 100% fail ratio on the trannies.
SpeedyCLS: so i saw
SpeedyCLS: mine has 8500 now
ACURA TECH FRIEND: have U blown urs up yet ?
SpeedyCLS: tranny has its moments
ACURA TECH FRIEND: give it till 22K miles or so
SpeedyCLS: tranny cooler i put on it, hoping it helps
ACURA TECH FRIEND: what kinda cooler?
SpeedyCLS: if the tranny goes it goes, i got a
warranty. I love the car though
ACURA TECH FRIEND: I mean they got coolant for cooling.
SpeedyCLS: b&m
SpeedyCLS: that coolant isn't cool enough
SpeedyCLS: trust me
SpeedyCLS: hehe
ACURA TECH FRIEND: I know.
ACURA TECH FRIEND: I am a trans expert at acura
ACURA TECH FRIEND: I do 90% of the trannies
ACURA TECH FRIEND: shit I do 2-3 trannies a day
SpeedyCLS: i didn't know u worked at acura
ACURA TECH FRIEND: yeah I worked there for a long time
ACURA TECH FRIEND: don't wanna scare U
ACURA TECH FRIEND: I love the cars too
ACURA TECH FRIEND: but fucking trannies SUCK ASS
SpeedyCLS: i knew about them before i bought the
car
ACURA TECH FRIEND: since 99 they had this problem
ACURA TECH FRIEND: and BRAND new cars have bad trannies
SpeedyCLS: i always thought till recently it was due to
abuse
ACURA TECH FRIEND: I did one with 400 miles !
SpeedyCLS: i know a few who have over 50k on
theres, a guy has 75k on his 99 tl
ACURA TECH FRIEND: I had one on a PDI
ACURA TECH FRIEND: pdi- pre-delivery-inspection.
ACURA TECH FRIEND: car had 12 miles on the odo
ACURA TECH FRIEND: no reverse and slips in 2nd.
ACURA TECH FRIEND: I put 5 trannies into one CL 3.0- 99
model
ACURA TECH FRIEND: tomorrow its getting its 5th one :P
SpeedyCLS: mine has done this since new, 1-2 it
shifts, but it feels like it has a studder or another shift,
the acura guys on the forum said thats just normal
ACURA TECH FRIEND: its not supposed to shutter
ACURA TECH FRIEND: U are not supposed to even feel it shift
SpeedyCLS: today it has just felt completely bad
ACURA TECH FRIEND: U know about the timing belt recal on the
03s ?
ACURA TECH FRIEND: recall*
SpeedyCLS: shifting hard, and shifting down when i
didn't want it
SpeedyCLS: so it might be getting ready to go
ACURA TECH FRIEND: yeah man U need a trans
SpeedyCLS: i heard about the water pump on the 03s
ACURA TECH FRIEND: I have had one that would chirp 2nd
when U floored it at 40MPH :P
SpeedyCLS: of course the dealer won't do anything till
it breaks
SpeedyCLS: lol
SpeedyCLS: oh yea
ACURA TECH FRIEND: no no no... the tranny or pump ?
SpeedyCLS: mine does that all the time
SpeedyCLS: chrips 2nd ifi floor it
SpeedyCLS: forum guys aid its normal too
ACURA TECH FRIEND: U need a tranny man :P
ACURA TECH FRIEND: don't listen to those fuckers dude
ACURA TECH FRIEND: I work on them alllll day long
ACURA TECH FRIEND: there are 700 !!!! law suites against acura
SpeedyCLS: !??!
ACURA TECH FRIEND: for trannies
SpeedyCLS: how?
ACURA TECH FRIEND: cause peoples trannies keep on blowing
ACURA TECH FRIEND: and we get new ones
SpeedyCLS: so peopel are sueing acura?
ACURA TECH FRIEND: and they blow up too
ACURA TECH FRIEND: yeah
ACURA TECH FRIEND: I had 2 trannies in last week that after I
put em in... on the TEST DRIVE they blew up !
ACURA TECH FRIEND: yesterday I got a tranny for one of those
that blew up on my test drive
ACURA TECH FRIEND: and guess what... it was fucked up too !
SpeedyCLS: lol
ACURA TECH FRIEND: one of the sensors was bad so I just
swapped it.
SpeedyCLS: u see that latimes artcile on it?
ACURA TECH FRIEND: no I didnt
SpeedyCLS: hehe
SpeedyCLS: let me find it
ACURA TECH FRIEND: but I am almost sure there will be some
sort of a recall soon on them things
ACURA TECH FRIEND: don't get me wrong I love putting em in :P
ACURA TECH FRIEND: fucking takes me 2 hours to R&R one.
SpeedyCLS:
http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1
/la-hy-acura11sep11.story?coll=la%2Dclass%2Dautos
%2Dhighway1
SpeedyCLS: yeah when is honda ever gonna do a
recall?!
SpeedyCLS: never
SpeedyCLS: lol
ACURA TECH FRIEND: I must have done like 50 trannies in the
last 2 months.
ACURA TECH FRIEND: well... the Accord never had this problem
ACURA TECH FRIEND: cause they use a 4spd tranny
ACURA TECH FRIEND: but they still fail
ACURA TECH FRIEND: not as much
ACURA TECH FRIEND: but they do
ACURA TECH FRIEND: probably 50% fail ratio on those
ACURA TECH FRIEND: compared to 100+% on the TL/CL
SpeedyCLS: i heard the mdx and ody are having
problems too
ACURA TECH FRIEND: well no
ACURA TECH FRIEND: MDX is ok
ACURA TECH FRIEND: we only had one so far
ACURA TECH FRIEND: and I seen some with 50K miles on them
still fine
ACURA TECH FRIEND: the tranny is little diff.
ACURA TECH FRIEND: RSX has problems too
ACURA TECH FRIEND: I did one trans so far.
ACURA TECH FRIEND: car had like 18K miles
ACURA TECH FRIEND: its new so it will not have the problems
yet
SpeedyCLS: what is the problem with the trannys?
SpeedyCLS: i mean what is causing them to go out?!
ACURA TECH FRIEND: 3rd clutch pack goes out
SpeedyCLS: why the 3rd?!
SpeedyCLS: people are having the tranny actually lock
up on them like that article which does scare me, and
might loose control
SpeedyCLS: ?
ACURA TECH FRIEND: I never seen one
ACURA TECH FRIEND: just read the thing
ACURA TECH FRIEND: yeah 3rd clutch pack is responsible for
forward movement
SpeedyCLS: have u actually opened it up to verifyt
this?
ACURA TECH FRIEND: no Acura won't let US rebuild trannies
ACURA TECH FRIEND: sometimes the trannies we get from them
are in worst condition than the old one in the car
ACURA TECH FRIEND: sometimes they look like new
ACURA TECH FRIEND: just look wise
ACURA TECH FRIEND: most of the time they shift jerky or slip
like a mofo
ACURA TECH FRIEND: some don't have reverse eighter
SpeedyCLS: either
SpeedyCLS: doh
ACURA TECH FRIEND: dude when I come to parts... they
know...tranns :P
ACURA TECH FRIEND: well Ive had like 10 of em where there
was no reverse
ACURA TECH FRIEND: just not there at all
ACURA TECH FRIEND: feels like its in neutral
SpeedyCLS: put my name on your buddy list dude,
and keep me updated on this shit.
ACURA TECH FRIEND: coo man
SpeedyCLS: this is nuts
ACURA TECH FRIEND: but like I'm telling U the trannies suck
SpeedyCLS: yea
SpeedyCLS: the car is nice
SpeedyCLS: the tranny sucks
ACURA TECH FRIEND: my back hurts from doing em all day long
SpeedyCLS: and i am stuck in this car too
ACURA TECH FRIEND: radios suck too
SpeedyCLS: nah, i think they are good
ACURA TECH FRIEND: they jam up CDs...alot !
SpeedyCLS: oh?
SpeedyCLS: i use the cd alot
SpeedyCLS: no prob
ACURA TECH FRIEND: OPDS sensor goes bad ALOT on them
too
ACURA TECH FRIEND: its for Ocupant Pasenger Detection
Sensor
SpeedyCLS: never heard of it
ACURA TECH FRIEND: yeah I do... there are things that Honda
has and no one knows about it
ACURA TECH FRIEND: MDX - steering racks
ACURA TECH FRIEND: RSX- rods through the block
ACURA TECH FRIEND: TL/CL engines and trannies
SpeedyCLS: engine problems too?
ACURA TECH FRIEND: ooo yeah
ACURA TECH FRIEND: timing belts snapping on the new models
ACURA TECH FRIEND: the 03 model
ACURA TECH FRIEND: or head gaskets !!!!
SpeedyCLS: but no bulletin or recall i seen yet on it
ACURA TECH FRIEND: the water pump replacement...
ACURA TECH FRIEND: why do U think they got it ?
ACURA TECH FRIEND: water pump is no the cause
SpeedyCLS: thats for the water pump
ACURA TECH FRIEND: the tensioner bolts up to the water pump
housing
ACURA TECH FRIEND: and the bolt breaks off on the housing
ACURA TECH FRIEND: causing the belt to break off !!!
ACURA TECH FRIEND: thats why they got a recall
SpeedyCLS: water pump isn't attached to the timing
belt though
ACURA TECH FRIEND: yeah but its spun by it !
ACURA TECH FRIEND: just like the old VG30 in the Maximas
ACURA TECH FRIEND: what I'm saying.. is
ACURA TECH FRIEND: the pump bolts up to the block
ACURA TECH FRIEND: but the TENSIONER for the belt
ACURA TECH FRIEND: its on the water pump
ACURA TECH FRIEND: and the bolt sheers off
ACURA TECH FRIEND: and belt goes...
SpeedyCLS: ah
ACURA TECH FRIEND: engine- STALLS- as Acura likes to put it
SpeedyCLS: so i guess they changed the water pump
on the 03
SpeedyCLS: lol
ACURA TECH FRIEND: no engine is repleaced.
ACURA TECH FRIEND: no they had a bad batch of water pumps
thats all
ACURA TECH FRIEND: will have a #9 on the water pump
ACURA TECH FRIEND: people bring it in for inspection
ACURA TECH FRIEND: takes like half hour to do
SpeedyCLS: well at least my engine will be fine
SpeedyCLS: hehe
ACURA TECH FRIEND: take the covers off the timing belt..and
then check the casting # on theWater pump is 9- u
repleace the belt, and pump.
SpeedyCLS: hey man, its late here, so i am gonna jet,
thanks for the info and keep me updated

TakeFlight

If this is even half true it's scary! I'm getting out before the shit hits the fan.

cnatra

interesting

DivinDude

The recall on the '03s for the water pump seems to support this conversation ...

From NHTSA:

Defect Summary:
ON CERTAIN MINIVANS, SEDANS, COUPES, AND SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH V6 ENGINES, A TIMING BELT TENSIONER PULLEY ON THE WATER PUMP IS MISALIGNED AND COULD CAUSE THE TIMING BELT TO CONTACT A BOLT ON THE CYLINDER HEAD. EVENTUALLY THE BELT COULD BE DAMAGED AND FAIL.
Consequence Summary:
IF THE TIMING BELT BREAKS, THE ENGINE WILL STALL, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Corrective Summary:
DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE WATER PUMP AND IF IT IS ONE OF THE DEFECTIVE PUMPS, THE WATER PUMP AND TIMING BELT WILL BE REPLACED. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN AUGUST 30, 2002. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT HONDA AT 1-800-999-1099 OR ACURA AT 1-800-382-2238.

Bfor3

iTrader: (2)

Very nice SilverBullet! Thanks for posting that! I've just ordered the B&M Cooler as well and NEED to install ASAP! I have 18k on and still seems ok but you never know? AGAIN THANKS 4 ALL YOUR HELP!!!