The rubber around the pulley is precisely what makes it a harmonic balancer, and not just a pulley.

Here's a good explainer - https://www.k1technologies.com/k1-bl...c-balancer-do/

They're to stop the vibrations from the crank being directly passed into the belt and in turn into the accessories... I've never owned a car without one, I'm surprised you found that the Odyssey didn't use one 🤔

 

Before I comment, I'll note that we are both going to reference sites built by for-profit companies who have a subjective interest in selling their product. With that, here's a good counter explainer:

https://www.nonstoptuning.co/blog/li...od-bad-depends

Now to respond to the actual comment.

None of the other vehicles with the j35 (accords, odysseys, etc) I looked at had one(split plastic/metal)...just the RL... It's the weight distribution that provides harmonic balance, not material composition.

Now when you talk about harmonic dampening, that thin rubber band isn't going to dampen anything that would threaten the j35 crank because with it's balancing, it really doesn't need dampening, as the powerband is well below any danger thresholds for internal damage to the crank. Also, and more importantly, the primary dampening agent between the pulleys and the largest source of rubber(EPDM) is the belt itself, which means that little rubber band they're calling a damper is insignificant in comparison, and is only there for show.

Remember, the belt can always give a little in the case of sudden shocks and/or seized pulleys. My power steering and a/c worked fine, after all, when my alternator pulley had seized.

The j35 is an internally balanced engine and most vehicles after around 2000 were internally balanced anyway. It's the old school carbureted V8 engines that were otherwise, like my old 68 Chevy with its 350, and the reason they needed a harmonic balancer was because they had a long, often cast steel crank that was often poorly balanced.

VTEC's are all internally balanced. A lightweight crank pulley(note I do not say underdrive), like the one I ordered will work just fine and won't distribute any more vibration through the billet aluminum than would be transferred through that hard plastic/steel.

Considering the fact that the crank, and the shafts for the other pulleys are on the same axial plane and directly attached to the same engine block, there is zero transfer of vibration through the pulleys that isn't already transmitted through the block, unless a pulley goes off axis through either tension or bearing failure.

 

I gave the RL some much needed attention. New Toyo Extensa tires, replaced inner and outer tie rods, replaced front lower control arms, 4 wheel alignment, drained and filled the trans, rear diff and transfer case. New brake pads on the front and the rear got new pads and rotors.





Removing the ball joint from the bracket that holds the lower control arm to the knuckle was a bastard. My trusty Harbor Freight ball joint removal tool had never let me down, but this time it met its match.



It bent one of the forks and went flying across the garage floor. I had the heat the drivers side with a torch and pound it off with a pickle fork.





The drivetrain fluids were well past due. The transfer case fluid looked and smelled the worst. I had a shop change the fluids last. I'm thinking they skipped the transfer case.





I was hoping that replacing the tie rods and lower control arms would fix the looseness that I'm seeing the front wheels, but it's still there. With the front of the car jacked up, I can grab either wheel at 9 and 3 o'clock and twist. Both wheels move a few degrees and I can hear a metal on metal clunk, which sounds like it's coming from the steering rack. I was able to get the car aligned like this, so I'm just going to keep driving it. The car is at 270k miles now. I'd like to have it last one or two more years, or until 300k miles. Then I'll look into getting something else.

 

I bought a 2008 RL from a good friend about six months ago and I love it! Yesterday it got an oil change and tire rotation. Upcoming projects will be a BT45-ACU Bluetooth module and probably a ProClip phone mount. I have seen several posts about the Bluetooth module. It looks like that is a good, and probably the only, option for the RL. But I am open to suggestions on both of those items.

 

I have the BT45-ACU...works great. I even connected and ran the microphone wire up to the driver's side sun visor so I have hands free phone/SIRI.

If you have the inclination, upgrade the door speakers...even just the front 2 doors will make a huge difference in sound. The woofers and tweeters are separate, not a coaxial. The rear speakers take a lot more work to replace the tweeters (they are in the rear deck, have to take the rear seat out) though the woofers are simple, but most of the sound is in the front when driving. The front tweeters are in the door along with the woofers.

I put in Polk audio speakers, but any decent type will do. I have a link somewhere on how to do it...

I also put in a backup camera (I have a "Base" not a "Tech" version). That was easy to do too if you don't have one.

 

I should clarify that I have the BT45-HON (Honda version, not Acura version). Check your Model Year/Trim to get the correct version. I bought mine through Crutchfield, so they can help you identify the correct BT45 you will need. Simple to install, hooks up in the trunk on the driver's side to one of the XM radio plugs

 

Thanks for all the advice! I bought my BT45-ACU through Crutchfield and used their product selector. So, I believe that it should be correct. Planning to do the installation tomorrow. Not sure if I'll install the microphone.

 

The BT45-ACU installation went very well, and I'm happy with the sound quality. I installed the microphone at the top of the driver's side A-Pillar, tucked the wire into the trim under the edge of the head liner, then down the C-Pillar and behind the rear seat to get it into the trunk. There is only about an inch or so of microphone wire showing between the C-Pillar trim and the rear seat back. I had to remove the rear seat cushion then loosen the rear seat back, but that was simple and my shop manual had good instructions for doing this. I've been told that I sound good on phone calls. The audio of phone calls is fair. People sound a little like they are muffled, and it's different from how they sound when I'm just using my phone or earbuds. Not sure why, but it's good enough for what I do and I'm not going to spend time trying to improve it. The stereo audio is very good. I'm not a picky audiophile, and mainly listen to podcasts anyway. Installation instructions were clear and the DIP switches came preset correctly from Crutchfield. Really happy with how this all went!

 

What control arms did you buy?

 

What a PITA. Got wrong part from junkyard (my fault) and had to go grab an aftermarket. The OEM was disintegrating as we removed it. The aftermarket was from O'Reilly. I've read to never use an aftermarket motor mount on these vehicles but I was in a jam and didn't have the money for a dealership trip. Such an improvement but concerned about the longevity of the part.

 

I've installed the same unit and it's been a great addition since the HFL is disconnected and I like streaming music as well. I've also replaced the door speakers with Focals and added my JL amp and sub. Sounds great.

 

What's the part number for the upgrade?

 

I've been a long time member here since 2005, but I couldn't login to my old account. But! Today I removed the A-spec suspension from my RL and placed the original ones in. Didn't take photos of the progress, because it took longer than expected. Removing the rear seat back was a PITA, and the front suspension fork was also a PITA. Ended up having to remove the upper control arm, the upper double wishbone part. The service manual just says to push down the lower control arm to give it enough space to remove, well that wasn't happening at all.

Anyone interested in a set of lightly used A-spec struts and springs? They're definitely discontinued at this point.

 

I did this to my RL several months ago, and I'm just getting around to posting about it. I bought a ProClip bracket and mount for my RL. I really like the bracket. It is sturdy, well made, and was easy to install. The problem is that it had the phone mount too low and there was interference with the shifter when I moved into and out of Park. I had to swivel the phone away from me and then back as I shifted. This kept loosening the clamp of the phone mount on the phone. I lived with this for a few weeks then made a riser bracket. I used a piece of carbon fiber, for looks, and then mounted a 17 mm ball for my iOttie phone mount with wireless charging. This has worked out very well.

 

Why did you decide to go back to the standard suspension? Curious

 

i am curious to know as well about what makes you to go back to stock suspension. i also might be interested in ASPEC suspension. depend on the price and you are willing to ship if you are not close by for local pick up.

 

I finally pulled my valve covers off to assess the damage. The front isn't too bad. Cylinder #4 was the worst one on this bank, so I'm just going to try to patch this one with JB Weld and hope for the best. The rear bank was bad on all cylinders. I placed an order for a new valve cover at the Acura dealership.







The corrosion was so bad on cylinders 1, 2, 3 and 4 that it actually cracked the plastic housing on the coil packs.

 

My valve covers had issues when I replaced my gaskets too but not quite as bad. I just went ahead and kept them because the spark plug seals still seemed to fit right and keep a good seal. I also bought an ignition coil boot kit to refurbish the ignition coils. Nice to get these things done.

 

My spark plug seals still seemed to be good too, although they were very hard and brittle. There was no oil in the spark plug tubes, so they were doing their job. It was the valve cover gasket and gromets that were leaking.

It might even be possible to just patch up the holes in the valve cover for the coil packs and it not cause any problems. Even if they were as bad as mine. The spark plug tube seals don't actually make contact with the top of the valve cover as far as I could tell. The part that's usually corroded is just where the coil packs rest on the valve cover. It doesn't look like it needs to be perfectly sealed.

I don't know why Honda chose to make the valve covers out of magnesium. It seems like aluminum would have been just fine.

 

The car is back on the road. It only took about 5 months to complete.

3 new motor mounts
1 new transmission mount
New timing belt, water pump, pullies and tensioner
Power steering pump rebuild
All new rubber hoses for power steering
New PS high pressure line
Spool valve gasket and o-ring
Front main seal and oil pump o-ring
Oil pan removal and reseal
New rear valve cover
Valve adjustment
New gaskets for both valve covers
4 new coil packs
6 spark plugs
2 cam/thrust cover o-rings
New gaskets for intake manifold and throttle body
New serpentine belt
All new fluids
Intake filter replacement



The motor mounts made a huge difference. It drives like a new car again.

 

Blazin, you got a solid car for another 100,000K. Motor and transmission mounts, What brand and price range? I went with Rockauto Beck/Arnley 104811 and DEA/Marmon Ride Control A4599HY and the mounts produce too much vibration. Feels like a V8 roadster motor which sometimes i like it... I'm just afraid every single bolt is going to get loose overtime from the vibration starting with the rear view mirror.

 

Lookin good. How many miles does that beast have and what's the year? I've been going through a similar exercise on my RL over the past few months. I'll have to post a pic in the coming days when I get a chance.

Leave the plastic engine covers off. I like to appreciate the engine bay.

 

I also went went with RockAuto front and rear motor mounts. The front was Anchor (part no. 9247) for $22.79 and the rear is DEA/Marmon Ride Control (part no. A4599HY) for $33.79. The passenger side mount (TRQ brand) and the transmission mount (Advanced Ignition brand) are from Amazon and were $69.95 and $76.19 respectively. I had read that the aftermarket mounts cause a lot of vibration, so I was fully prepared for it and willing to make the sacrifice since I wasn't planning to keep the car much longer. There is a very slight vibration that can be felt at idle when you're holding onto the steering wheel or shift lever, but the mirrors are perfectly still. I've owned the car since 2013 with ~85k miles until now with 279k miles. The only indication that I had that the motor mounts were going bad was the "clunk, clunk, clunk" sound and the corresponding jolt that could be felt when the shift lever was pulled from park, to reverse, to neutral and then into drive. It was probably getting progressively worse over the past several years, but it was over such a long period of time and the change from day to day was so small that I never gave it much thought. I had become so accustomed to it that it now feels strange shifting into drive with no vibrations and almost no noise. It wasn't until this past summer that I noticed a short delay and a "clunk" sound when pressing on the gas pedal to pull away from a stop. The delay and clunk was likely the engine twisting in the engine bay before sending power to the wheels.

The old OEM rear mount was still intact but starting to show the circular cracks around the engine mounting point at the top. The front, passenger side and transmission mounts had all completely failed.



The car has been incredibly reliable these past 12 years considering I've done very little maintenance to it. It needs 3 new door lock actuators, the drivers side window doesn't roll down anymore and the front axle seals are leaking. Aside from that, it's in pretty decent shape.


Thanks, it's an '08 with just under 280k miles. Definitely post up your progress and help keep the forums alive. I love seeing what others are doing with their cars, even if it's basic maintenance.

I was hesitant to put the engine cover back on, but ended up doing it last night after reinstalling the strut bar. If I didn't put it on the car, it would end up somewhere in the back of the garage where it's likely to get bent or broken.

 

I pulled in to my driveway and the water pump gave way. Since I had done the whole process, timing belt, etc. 12 years ago and 60k miles, I decided to do it all again. Took a while but got it done. I have 160k miles on my 19 year old car. The belt looked new, actually. Glad the pump failed rather than the belt.

 

That's good luck it happened while in your driveway. Was the water pump replaced 12 years ago when you did the timing belt last time? What brand of water pump was it? Just curious.

 

Hi All, I've been working on the '05 RL for about 4 months and tackled the following:
- Oil gaskets: oil filter housing, front and rear cam thrust cover o-rings, valve covers
- replaced fluids: oil, transmission, differential, transfer case, brake, power steering. Transmission was 2 valvoline max life and 2 idemitsu type H for a 4x4 flush.
- various lights: license plate, front high and low, turn signal light.
- engine air filter & intake hose & cabin filter
- PCV valve & battery
- spark plugs: went with Denso and no complaints.
- neutral safety switch to get rid of that flashing D.
- cleaned throttle body & new gasket
- timing belt, water pump & pulleys with Aisin kit. Didn't do the crank or cam seals but they weren't leaking. Hope I don't regret that.
- drive belt and tensioner with Conti-tech kit: OK but not OEM quality.
- replaced thermostat & front & lower hose
- side & front engine mounts: went with OEM.
- replaced radiator: spectra premium: not bad for the price. Made in China not Canada.
- Conditioned leather interior with Skidmore's leather cream. Turned out good- I'll add a couple pics.
- Reconditioned headlights with 3M kit. Happy with the results.

I think it's still looking pretty good for 244k miles!

 

Here's a couple pics of the interior after I used some Skidmore's.

 

One rear wheel well does have some rust but the underbody looks clean and solid. I don't think I have rust problems.

 

I still have a very slight oil leak you can see marked below. A drop will pool right there and it will hit on my garage floor like once a week. I don't think it's the rear main seal since it's such a slow leak and appears to be coming from above. Not sure what it is to be honest.

 

It was a Gates water pump from RiockAuto. Replaced with Aisin.

 

Today I put in a used Blower Motor then cleaned the original really well (there was a ton of build up) then placed the original back in and it’s very quiet in comparison to its previous noise and the used one which I’ll clean as well. I removed the center display unit (time & other info) then I removed the speaker and the cloth which was very stained. I reinstalled the display and it actually fixed the display not working except rare intermittent times when I first start the vehicle. Other things I did recently were changed the relays involved with the blower motor, the blower motor resistor, and I ordered T5 LED bulbs for the glovebox and any other fits since the glovebox light is burnt out and the glovebox is currently out since I’ve been back there to fix a no air coming from vents issue.

 

Nice work! Your car looks a lot nicer than mine with nearly the same mileage. Your front bumper still has the chrome inserts. Mine chipped off maybe 10 years ago.

 

New owner of an 05 RL w/ 70K miles. I needed a 2nd car and happen to find this for $4500! Never heard of an RL before, but am quickly educating myself.

Things so far:

• Fuses - got my cigarette lighter working again
• Bought a replacement owners manual - wealth of information
• Replaced worn shift knob with one in excellent condition
• Got the BT-ACU - just need to install it
• Silicone key fob cover - buttons are pretty worn
• Chrome/silver wrap for chipped up front grill
• Plasti Dipping wheels black - will do this week and maybe emblems too
• Removed old stickers from glass and bumper
• All weather OEM floor mats
• Like-new RL front carpet floor mats - too good to pass up

Things I'd like to do:

• Buy OEM paint pen - touch up minor chips around bumpers
• Replace headlights/fog lights with brighter/better lights
• Replace center arm rest leather... its not bad, but just a little wonky
• Tint windows
• Paint Acura wording behind rims/on brake pads
• Paint Acura wording/logo on engine plastics

Things I'm doing today:

• Wash/Wax and Interior Detail

 

Thank you. I know what you mean about the chrome inserts on the front bumper. Mine is peeling off in spots and the black underneath is showing. Eventually, I may peel all that plastic chrome off and just have the black accents showing.

 

Welcome to the club. Nice to have a low mileage RL on your hands. Show up a pic. Are you planning on getting it up to speed on maintenance?

 

According to the CarFax, it's had most of the major MX done, including timing belt. When I get my next oil change, I'll have my mechanic look it over.

 

A couple of weeks ago I started hearing the sound of a bad bearing coming from one of the pulleys on the accessory drive. It was getting progressively louder each morning when I started the car. Then this past Wednesday as I was leaving work to grab lunch, I noticed the little volt meter on my 12V USB adapter was reading 12.2 volt instead of the normal 14.2 volt with the engine running. I was able to make the hour drive home that afternoon on just battery power alone. I had the radio off, A/C off and the windows up just in case the car died. I didn't want to get stuck on the side of the road with the windows down when the typical afternoon thunder shower rolled through. It was like mid 90's that day. I don't think I've ever sweat that much in my life.

I bought a Denso remanufactured alternator from Rock Auto and replaced it on Friday evening.

 

Nice to get the new alternator in. The Denso sounds like a reasonable choice. The alternator on my '05 went out in March 2020 when I had 198k miles on it. I had to have it towed to a shop and I'm not sure what they replaced it with. Nowadays I would replace it myself but back then I wasn't as inclined.

 

This past Saturday, I replaced the front and rear brakes and rotors. I used a powerstop KOE4045 front and rear kit I got from Rock Auto. It's on the cheaper side but I didn't want the coated rotors or the drilled or slotted ones so I think these will work out fine. One of the rotors was not sealed in a bag and same with the rear brake pads. Not sure if they were a return or what, but they looked fine. They were made in china.

The reason I replaced them is that my front brake was squealing but when I took it apart, the indicator on the pad was bent so it was squealing even though the brakes were at like 70-80%. I went ahead and replaced them anyway, but I wish I had known that to begin. It's a lesson learned. The fronts I had replaced about 4 years prior. The rear were toast and definitely needed replaced, so I guess it was time.

 

Ice storm is here. I managed to turn a 2 car garage into a 3 car garage to get the RL out of the elements.



I was afraid it would freeze shut and I didn't want to risk breaking the door handle.