2G TL Woes, opinions/suggestions welcomed please !
03-20-2016, 03:39 PM
#1
2G TL Woes, opinions/suggestions welcomed please !
Hey all, new around these parts.
After many years of being on a hiatus from driving I've made the plunge to drive again.
So i bought a 2001 3.2 TL w/ Navi.
Opinions would be great as to what to do with the car. I've fallen in love with it & hope to buy a 2g TLS w/ AV6 swap when i save enough.
So i bought the car like 2 weeks ago for $1,095. I'm thinking i just got a deal of the century. SIKE.
Without my knowledge, the car has a flooded title !!! It was listed as being stolen also. . . YIKES. (i'll be car faxing everything from now on) I was not aware of this until i was at the DMV and the guy at the desk informed me of this. If i knew that was the case i would have never bought the car.
I contacted the owner, but he couldn't tell me jack shit. Literally. All he said is that he had a bill of sale with the car & just registered the car. I doubt you can do that in illinois as easy as he made it seem, so i think he might've known someone that was able to do this for him.
Anyways, so besides that debacle, i said what evs. I'll just make due with it until i save for something better. SOL but it's just another learning experience.
The car itself drives fine, pulls pretty strong. couple of dings & cosmetic wear. Rear wells are starting to give out, but i believe i could salvage it if motivation is t here.
Now the only problem with the car that i was told was that the thermostat was stuck? It'd take a bit longer to heat up (getting to operating temp). I didn't think it'd be a horrible fix.
So i'm about 800ish miles into driving/owning the car and boom !
Car starts overheating. & maybe 2 miles before it started to happen, i heard like a weird, clunk/pop type noise.
I can drive maybe 4 or 5 miles (about 10 mins) before it starts to overheat. The fan does kick on while the car is off. If i turn the heat on @ 90 the temp does tend to fall. I'm thinking because coolant is running through the engine when this is done, correct.
one thing i also noticed is that when the car is turnt on, sometimes off also, it sounds like the car is drinking (weird i know) but i hear sounds as if something is either being poured or gulped.
Now i don't mind dropping 2 or 300 to get this fixed. I'm actually taking it to the shop tomorrow to have it looked into.
But i wanted to get you guys opinion on this & what to do.
Should I just junk the car & get a couple hundred back that i spent?
Get it fix & just keep driving?
The flooded title does have me skeptical though, but i do know that it probably wouldn't been that bad also. It's a iffy situation which sucks.
I just chalked it up to - someone stole the car, went joy riding or the ladder, & then ended up crashing the car in some water which is why it was labeled flooded when recovered? Maybe my hopes are high, but what ever makes me feel better i guess.
It has a B7WA trans also (starting to fail), original motor as well which seems to be bullet proof..
Other than that, its a pretty solid car. I have yet to really dig into it because weather here in Chicago has been wonky as hell & i don't want to be out in my drive way fiddling with my car when its 20/30 degrees out.
any insight on what to do would be great !! thanks for reading.
-ST !
After many years of being on a hiatus from driving I've made the plunge to drive again.
So i bought a 2001 3.2 TL w/ Navi.
Opinions would be great as to what to do with the car. I've fallen in love with it & hope to buy a 2g TLS w/ AV6 swap when i save enough.
So i bought the car like 2 weeks ago for $1,095. I'm thinking i just got a deal of the century. SIKE.
Without my knowledge, the car has a flooded title !!! It was listed as being stolen also. . . YIKES. (i'll be car faxing everything from now on) I was not aware of this until i was at the DMV and the guy at the desk informed me of this. If i knew that was the case i would have never bought the car.
I contacted the owner, but he couldn't tell me jack shit. Literally. All he said is that he had a bill of sale with the car & just registered the car. I doubt you can do that in illinois as easy as he made it seem, so i think he might've known someone that was able to do this for him.
Anyways, so besides that debacle, i said what evs. I'll just make due with it until i save for something better. SOL but it's just another learning experience.
The car itself drives fine, pulls pretty strong. couple of dings & cosmetic wear. Rear wells are starting to give out, but i believe i could salvage it if motivation is t here.
Now the only problem with the car that i was told was that the thermostat was stuck? It'd take a bit longer to heat up (getting to operating temp). I didn't think it'd be a horrible fix.
So i'm about 800ish miles into driving/owning the car and boom !
Car starts overheating. & maybe 2 miles before it started to happen, i heard like a weird, clunk/pop type noise.
I can drive maybe 4 or 5 miles (about 10 mins) before it starts to overheat. The fan does kick on while the car is off. If i turn the heat on @ 90 the temp does tend to fall. I'm thinking because coolant is running through the engine when this is done, correct.
one thing i also noticed is that when the car is turnt on, sometimes off also, it sounds like the car is drinking (weird i know) but i hear sounds as if something is either being poured or gulped.
Now i don't mind dropping 2 or 300 to get this fixed. I'm actually taking it to the shop tomorrow to have it looked into.
But i wanted to get you guys opinion on this & what to do.
Should I just junk the car & get a couple hundred back that i spent?
Get it fix & just keep driving?
The flooded title does have me skeptical though, but i do know that it probably wouldn't been that bad also. It's a iffy situation which sucks.
I just chalked it up to - someone stole the car, went joy riding or the ladder, & then ended up crashing the car in some water which is why it was labeled flooded when recovered? Maybe my hopes are high, but what ever makes me feel better i guess.
It has a B7WA trans also (starting to fail), original motor as well which seems to be bullet proof..
Other than that, its a pretty solid car. I have yet to really dig into it because weather here in Chicago has been wonky as hell & i don't want to be out in my drive way fiddling with my car when its 20/30 degrees out.
any insight on what to do would be great !! thanks for reading.
-ST !
03-20-2016, 07:49 PM
#2
The gulping noise or whatever you heard was prob the coolant boiling over and going out of the overflow tank. If the temp outside is that you you should be using a good 50/50 antifreeze/water mix. Thermostats are cheap and easy to replace
But in my opinion whether you should junk the car and buy another or keep and replace things really comes down to how much you personally value the car. It sounds like that car had a pretty rough history though. I'd bet the flood and part where it got stolen was two different incidents.
If bought that car I'd prob just resell it or junk it because to me I personally don't want to have a car I know has been abussed by someone besides me lol and flooded cars are going to have some funky issues later along the line, especially if you don't know if it was salt water or how high the water flooded.
At this point you should fix it to where it doesn't overheat and will get you from point A to B. In the mean time save up for another car that has clean title and decent mileage. Be careful if you buy another 2nd gen tl because of the trans issues. I think they are still great cars regardless of the trans issues. It was just a time where cars still simple but also had good and still modern features
But in my opinion whether you should junk the car and buy another or keep and replace things really comes down to how much you personally value the car. It sounds like that car had a pretty rough history though. I'd bet the flood and part where it got stolen was two different incidents.
If bought that car I'd prob just resell it or junk it because to me I personally don't want to have a car I know has been abussed by someone besides me lol and flooded cars are going to have some funky issues later along the line, especially if you don't know if it was salt water or how high the water flooded.
At this point you should fix it to where it doesn't overheat and will get you from point A to B. In the mean time save up for another car that has clean title and decent mileage. Be careful if you buy another 2nd gen tl because of the trans issues. I think they are still great cars regardless of the trans issues. It was just a time where cars still simple but also had good and still modern features
03-21-2016, 11:16 AM
#3
several eastern states have very lax rules on re-titling a salvage/junked/stolen car- making it appear to be a clean title with no record!
Carfax only knows what its told by insurance companies and body shops where insurance paid for a repair or total write-off
I can bet this car needs a water pump- timing belt (done together at 105kmiles per book) and has waterlogged the computer, ABS sensors and worse
1000 dollars and you figured it was a score?
with slipping trans- overheating (use a honda genuine dealer thermostat!!!!) coolant loss
and fan runs after engine shutdown (if more than 1 minute it needs new Fan sensor A)
if that sensor is bad the fan wont run when needed,,, and runs 5-10 minutes after shutdown!
what was the final score???
dont expect a shop to fix it for 200 dollars!!- that barely covers a diagnostic fee these days, as they must look at several options of failure to find the real problems(s)
how DIY able are you- tools - space to work- able to follow directions?
assuming tbelt and wp- thats 1200-1500 DOLLARS at a shop, parts alone run 250 minimum to $350-500++ for what you will really need, and thats without shop markup!
Carfax only knows what its told by insurance companies and body shops where insurance paid for a repair or total write-off
I can bet this car needs a water pump- timing belt (done together at 105kmiles per book) and has waterlogged the computer, ABS sensors and worse
1000 dollars and you figured it was a score?
with slipping trans- overheating (use a honda genuine dealer thermostat!!!!) coolant loss
and fan runs after engine shutdown (if more than 1 minute it needs new Fan sensor A)
if that sensor is bad the fan wont run when needed,,, and runs 5-10 minutes after shutdown!
what was the final score???
dont expect a shop to fix it for 200 dollars!!- that barely covers a diagnostic fee these days, as they must look at several options of failure to find the real problems(s)
how DIY able are you- tools - space to work- able to follow directions?
assuming tbelt and wp- thats 1200-1500 DOLLARS at a shop, parts alone run 250 minimum to $350-500++ for what you will really need, and thats without shop markup!
03-21-2016, 02:04 PM
#4
Thanks for the replies guys ! I replied in bolded italics.
I havent really driven the car since this has happened, only to the gym & grocery store that is about a mile and a half away.
In all i feel like a girl with the current situation i've gotten myself into. I'm not in love with this particular car but i am in love with the 2G/3G/4G body look.
Thanks for the replies guys.
-ST !
The gulping noise or whatever you heard was prob the coolant boiling over and going out of the overflow tank. If the temp outside is that you you should be using a good 50/50 antifreeze/water mix. Thermostats are cheap and easy to replace. It happens from a cold start too, not only when its been on for a while (heated up).
But in my opinion whether you should junk the car and buy another or keep and replace things really comes down to how much you personally value the car. It sounds like that car had a pretty rough history though. I'd bet the flood and part where it got stolen was two different incidents.
If bought that car I'd prob just resell it or junk it because to me I personally don't want to have a car I know has been abussed by someone besides me lol and flooded cars are going to have some funky issues later along the line, especially if you don't know if it was salt water or how high the water flooded.
At this point you should fix it to where it doesn't overheat and will get you from point A to B. In the mean time save up for another car that has clean title and decent mileage. Be careful if you buy another 2nd gen tl because of the trans issues. I think they are still great cars regardless of the trans issues. It was just a time where cars still simple but also had good and still modern features. Thanks for the words. Yes i know, it sucks that i have no info on the car what so ever & i didn't even think about salt water getting into engine parts. . . just looking at the engine, under the car, etc i don't see any rust or anything. . . The interior doesn't smell like mold (besides my old work out shoes lol) And it's over all an clean car. . i know it's whats inside the engine that counts though. I think i'll do the point A to point B thing if it isn't too costly !!
But in my opinion whether you should junk the car and buy another or keep and replace things really comes down to how much you personally value the car. It sounds like that car had a pretty rough history though. I'd bet the flood and part where it got stolen was two different incidents.
If bought that car I'd prob just resell it or junk it because to me I personally don't want to have a car I know has been abussed by someone besides me lol and flooded cars are going to have some funky issues later along the line, especially if you don't know if it was salt water or how high the water flooded.
At this point you should fix it to where it doesn't overheat and will get you from point A to B. In the mean time save up for another car that has clean title and decent mileage. Be careful if you buy another 2nd gen tl because of the trans issues. I think they are still great cars regardless of the trans issues. It was just a time where cars still simple but also had good and still modern features. Thanks for the words. Yes i know, it sucks that i have no info on the car what so ever & i didn't even think about salt water getting into engine parts. . . just looking at the engine, under the car, etc i don't see any rust or anything. . . The interior doesn't smell like mold (besides my old work out shoes lol) And it's over all an clean car. . i know it's whats inside the engine that counts though. I think i'll do the point A to point B thing if it isn't too costly !!
several eastern states have very lax rules on re-titling a salvage/junked/stolen car- making it appear to be a clean title with no record!
Carfax only knows what its told by insurance companies and body shops where insurance paid for a repair or total write-off True. But is it the same for the DMV? IE - carfax reports w.e info they get to the DMV? Because i found out the stolen/water damage thing from them . . i'm very happy the guy even told me !
I can bet this car needs a water pump- timing belt (done together at 105kmiles per book) and has waterlogged the computer, ABS sensors and worse I know WP & TB is recommended but is it NEEDED? As 02TLnate stated, i think i'll just get the car running where it's a point A to point B car. (yeah i know even with the trans failing). None of the electrical seem to be messed up (besides me disconnecting the battery & resetting the radio i guess). ABS & everything seems to work fine. No dash lights on besides the maintenance required light, which i assumed was for an alignment.
1000 dollars and you figured it was a score?
with slipping trans- overheating (use a honda genuine dealer thermostat!!!!) coolant loss
and fan runs after engine shutdown (if more than 1 minute it needs new Fan sensor A)
if that sensor is bad the fan wont run when needed,,, and runs 5-10 minutes after shutdown!
what was the final score??? Yes i honestly did. This was before i found out that the trans design was flawed by Acura. It was not overheating when i bought it, it isn't leaking any fluids at all. I didn't notice the trans slipping until about 200 miles into driving the car (mind you i havent driven in 5 years (like no seriously i havent been behind a wheel of any kind at all) so the feeling had to come back to me if that makes sense). I believe the driver's side fan is the fan that pops on after the car is turned off & it is on for i'd say maybe 2 or 3 mins before it turns off. I think they are operating fine, but i'm not too sure.
dont expect a shop to fix it for 200 dollars!!- that barely covers a diagnostic fee these days, as they must look at several options of failure to find the real problems(s)
how DIY able are you- tools - space to work- able to follow directions?
assuming tbelt and wp- thats 1200-1500 DOLLARS at a shop, parts alone run 250 minimum to $350-500++ for what you will really need, and thats without shop markup!
yeah maybe saying $200 was a long shot (sorry, i tune/mod 2stroke engines, so i'm not used to the price mark up of cars yet lol. With that said i'm pretty DIY. I have a pretty full set of hand tools (craftsman 200pc set or something. Nothing too crazy (maybe a torq wrench and one or 2 other ''specialty'' tools i have in the garage.) Space, i have some space to work in (drive way & garage). Able to follow directions, i think i'm ok with. I'm a way better visual learner though.
Carfax only knows what its told by insurance companies and body shops where insurance paid for a repair or total write-off True. But is it the same for the DMV? IE - carfax reports w.e info they get to the DMV? Because i found out the stolen/water damage thing from them . . i'm very happy the guy even told me !
I can bet this car needs a water pump- timing belt (done together at 105kmiles per book) and has waterlogged the computer, ABS sensors and worse I know WP & TB is recommended but is it NEEDED? As 02TLnate stated, i think i'll just get the car running where it's a point A to point B car. (yeah i know even with the trans failing). None of the electrical seem to be messed up (besides me disconnecting the battery & resetting the radio i guess). ABS & everything seems to work fine. No dash lights on besides the maintenance required light, which i assumed was for an alignment.
1000 dollars and you figured it was a score?
with slipping trans- overheating (use a honda genuine dealer thermostat!!!!) coolant loss
and fan runs after engine shutdown (if more than 1 minute it needs new Fan sensor A)
if that sensor is bad the fan wont run when needed,,, and runs 5-10 minutes after shutdown!
what was the final score??? Yes i honestly did. This was before i found out that the trans design was flawed by Acura. It was not overheating when i bought it, it isn't leaking any fluids at all. I didn't notice the trans slipping until about 200 miles into driving the car (mind you i havent driven in 5 years (like no seriously i havent been behind a wheel of any kind at all) so the feeling had to come back to me if that makes sense). I believe the driver's side fan is the fan that pops on after the car is turned off & it is on for i'd say maybe 2 or 3 mins before it turns off. I think they are operating fine, but i'm not too sure.
dont expect a shop to fix it for 200 dollars!!- that barely covers a diagnostic fee these days, as they must look at several options of failure to find the real problems(s)
how DIY able are you- tools - space to work- able to follow directions?
assuming tbelt and wp- thats 1200-1500 DOLLARS at a shop, parts alone run 250 minimum to $350-500++ for what you will really need, and thats without shop markup!
yeah maybe saying $200 was a long shot (sorry, i tune/mod 2stroke engines, so i'm not used to the price mark up of cars yet lol. With that said i'm pretty DIY. I have a pretty full set of hand tools (craftsman 200pc set or something. Nothing too crazy (maybe a torq wrench and one or 2 other ''specialty'' tools i have in the garage.) Space, i have some space to work in (drive way & garage). Able to follow directions, i think i'm ok with. I'm a way better visual learner though.
In all i feel like a girl with the current situation i've gotten myself into. I'm not in love with this particular car but i am in love with the 2G/3G/4G body look.
Thanks for the replies guys.
-ST !
03-21-2016, 02:05 PM
#5
03-21-2016, 04:02 PM
#6
^ nice color combo but doesn't state the actual mileage. Unfotunately, any 2G TL will be a potential for issue with the trans. And on your first go around, unfortunate you also seem to have engine issues besides bad history on the car. If I were going to get another 2G, I'd honestly look for a type-S and one that is clean 'low' miles (under 150k at least). I'd probably look for a well cared for one that has a failing trans for a good price (~$1k). Find an AV6 and have it swapped in. As long as the engine and the rest of the car (suspension etc) are good, then you have a reliable car for say $3k or less.
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