Any other Honda / Acura TSBs you currently damn...or have damned in the past? Just curious.

 

You are not curious, you are just stirring sh!t, at this point.

 

Actually I am. I'm curious as to how you apply your damning rationale...

 

I'm only a certified hoopdee mechanic aka an asshole with a bunch of tools and non-headed garage, but I'll share my totally uneducated opinion:

The TSBs (and shop manual) are not meant to be taken literally 100% of the time. Sometimes there are super specific steps on things, like the order you tighten the bolts on a K-series valve cover, or the torque specs for those bolts. And then other times the installation procedure is "reinstall parts in the opposite order that they came out."

You're not going to get very far working on cars if you just blindly follow shop manual instructions. There are always curveballs and you need to be comfortable improvising. The instructions may be specific about which bolts to remove and which order, but doesn't say anything about what to do when they're rust-welded to the frame for example.

Random example - and not to toot my own horn here - but this is how I do spool valve replacements on the first-gen RDX because it's so much easier than how the shop manual & related TSB say to do it:
https://acurazine.com/forums/1g-rdx-...-less-1011870/

Also, ask any Honda tech who has replaced the VTC actuator on a K-series if they remove the camshafts like the shop manual says to...

 

There really some real nutballs on here. The service bulletin says to replace the top half, plate, gaskets and bolts because that is what needs replacing. There is no reason to touch the bottom half unless there is a specific issue with it. You replace all of the top and not just the gasket because the top half may have been out of spec from the factory. It is chicken shit that Honda/Acura does not sell only a repair kit cuz nutballs think they have to use the bottom half they had to pay for. It is important for this to be known because the service bulletin repair is well within many folks tools and capability. Replacing the bottom should only be done by a trained mechanic or very advanced DYIer. Once again, replacing the bottom is not necessary.
Also, VCM3 engines, (2016-2018 RDX) do not have this valve. The front cylinders do not shut down in those engines. Those of us who have VCM muzzling devices don't have any cylinders shutting down. (but the valve can still leak)

 

Claiming that if the front cylinders are not deactivated in a VCM3, then there is no spool valve there, is a mistake.
Because he is there, he's just doing something slightly different.

 

Well not the one that leaks anyway.

 

It doesn't leak because they simplified the design and eliminated the plate with the gaskets.