salmanzAC

I own a 99 TL with approx 92000 miles on it, and about 3 weeks ago the car went bust on me.
You see, i was in the heart of newark, nj... on my way to Rutgers university to play some basketball, when all of a sudden, the engine died on me. I was lucky enough to park the car safely but that was it. It was done. The car wouldnt crank over and when it did, the entire engine bay shook violently and as soon as i let go of the gas, the rpms droppped and the car shut off.

My mechanic now has the car, and says that the engine was messed with prior to my owning it. He said there were several oil leak spots as well as anti freeze leakage spots. Ultimately the engine is shot due to a broken valve and no compression in one of the pistons. So he's putting in a new engine this week. My mech vouches for the motors and says they run hard, so now im wondering how the asshole before me screwed with the car.

This totally sucks, ive become an acura tl owner as of february 2008 and am thoroughly annoyed at how much money ive put into this car since purchasing it.
Add to the fact that these cars have shit retarded tranny's and im already smelling the burn smell thru the vents, and the delayed shifting between park and drive, drive and reverse, etc etc.

I dont know if i should immediately sell the car after fixing it, or if i should hold on to it...what do you guys think?

ZEUS'O3TL

damn dude sorry to hear this........but if ur goin to put that much money into it i would say keep it and not worry about a car payment...

ArTL-S

do a 6speed swap while you putting a new engine in it and you will love your car

phee

iTrader: (5)

x2

Rajca

iTrader: (8)

did u have oil in the engine prior to it dieing?, what maintenance did u do to the car recently

01tl4tl

It was likely run without oil changes or engine coolant change ever
Very strange to get oil leaks from several places, there is only the valve covers,oil pan and the driveshaft seals to leak!
coolant leaks would be the weep hole on water pump, and possibly the radiator if things are really bad- but thats far more wear than the mileage stated would have

Is this a salvage/rebuilt title car? maybe replaced speedodometer panel?


There is a recall on 99s for the ignition switch, which will fail again 2-3 times in the life of the car, easy to DIY replace and not very $

The 99 is a 4speed isnt it? those trans are better than the 5 speed, but as others said, if spending the cash on a motor and trans, drop in a CL-S motor and 6 speed MT, then enjoy it or sell the car~

Whats the back story on the car? When did you last change the engine oil?

Rajca

iTrader: (8)

^or the rear main seal could leak oil

also did u see the damaged parts or the the mechanic just tell u about it, id want to see the damaged parts before i spend hundreds on a new engine.

01tl4tl

reading the first post again,
it sounds like the timing belt shredded then broke, causing an exhaust valve to hit the piston top, bends the valve, and puts a shock wave back into the piston rod- could cause breakage right thru the block, may have damaged the crankshaft...

A certain wife did that many years ago to the last acura, drove it while the belt was shredding!!! until it grenaded the motor!!!- violent shaking then wont run- boom!

01tl4tl

I knew there were a few more but edit time was over-

there are few places for the oil to leak from, hows that instead?

grip

sounds like you purchased a lemon.

fix it, and hope for the best, or fix it and sell it.

next time spend a little more time looking at the car, and looking into the cars history before purchasing it.

my TL-S has 140,000 miles on it, and if you ever drove it, or looked at it...you would think it had 40,000 miles on it. im sure someday my trans will die, but that just means its time for a 6 speed swap.

bibledriver

x2 That was my first thought. Below on mileage so not done, and way up on time. T belt failure! *Which would make the oil and coolant leaks completely irrelevant (as does a busted valve)*

Gfaze

Keep it. Think about it, you're installing a new engine on the car. Those engines (properly maintained) will go 300-400K miles. What happened here was that the previous owner didn't take good care of it. That's why the timing belt broke, it was overdue for replacement. I'd have the mechanic inspect the rest of the car while he's got it apart and make sure there isn't anything else that needs to be replaced.

01tl4tl

Have your mechanic give an honest evaluation of the car overall- if a customer came in and said `should I buy this car and fix it up- or run away from it?` what would he say then
If the suspension and brakes and steering rack are shot- thats big dollars for a car worth what- 5 grand?

fsttyms1

Sounds like a timing belt.

Its a rare thing to see a TL engine fail.

EL19

iTrader: (4)

As soon as I read bought in feb 08, 99TL, 92K miles, blown engine, I immediately thought timing belt. Probably shouldve gotten alot of maintenance/tune up done on the car when you bought it. You never know how someone treated the car before you. Sorry about your loss though.

swalch@stanford.edu

Here's a complete engine and transmission. Just replace the timing belt and water pump and drop it in.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Parts...8#ht_500wt_963

ChrisQ1980

^ Thats from a 2000, he has a 99 with the 4spd. It's not a direct bolt on. Honestly if I were you I would walk away from the car. You are going to put in a new engine and it sounds like the tranny is going to take a shit soon. This car sounds neglected and it's going to be a money pit.

Edward'TLS

Yes, it definitely sounds like timing belt problem. It has very likely slipped a tooth or two, not a broken timing belt. With a broken timing belt, the engine will not turn over and run at all.

swalch@stanford.edu

I think it's a 4sp automatic. The add for the engine said it would fit 99-03, but perhaps not. They had plenty of engines for specifically 99 also on ebay.

Hard to say what else the car may need in the future.

6MTUA5

iTrader: (2)

wtf??

Rajca

iTrader: (8)

lemon car is when a person sells a broken car to someone but fixes it so it holds for a bit just so the buyer doesnt come back and start bitching about that this and that is broken right away.

6MTUA5

iTrader: (2)

I thought a lemon was fixing the same problem over and over

Rajca

iTrader: (8)

thats what i thought a lemon was

grip

a lemon is any car that always has problems from the time it rolls off the factory floor. basically a car with bad luck.

the op did say: "This totally sucks, ive become an acura tl owner as of february 2008 and am thoroughly annoyed at how much money ive put into this car since purchasing it."

i would call it a lemon.

Hitman187

I feel the sh*t u goin' thru, man. I went thru similar headaches with my previous car, Cadillac Catera {What A Piece Of Sh*t Dat Was}.

6MTUA5

iTrader: (2)

I guess there's a few different kinds of "lemons"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemon_Car

Bearcat94

OP sorry you've had trouble. With a new motor, I'd really think about it keeping it. The real question was did the previous owner screw anything else up.

But don't point the finger at all 2G TL's (or all TL's or all Acura's). I've had my '02 for 7 years tomorrow.

So far, I've had 3 wear related issues:

- Bulb that backlights the clock went out
- Wiper Linkage needed replaced @ 73k ($100 w/Ext Warranty)
- Motor Mounts needed replaced @ 66k ($100 w/Ext Warranty)

The last 2 are fairly common items.

I am *hoping* my trans goes soon so I can the updated rebuilds.

salmanzAC

I just finished reading everybody's posts regarding my car, and some of you mentioned timing belt, but i had that installed back in March 08. Even the mechanic said the timing belt on my busted engine is good enough to place on the new motor hes putting in.

I trust the motor will be fine after it gets put in, since i will know exactly what is being done with it. But i am definitely scared of that transmission. Its funny becuase i actually did a lot of research on the car before buying, Carfax, Consumerguide, checking out plenty of TLs before setting my heart on the one i purchased.

I was thinking about swapping in a tl-s motor and trans but i didnt have money for that, just hope the car serves me well after i get it back.

salmanzAC

Thats exactly what i asked the mechanic, he only works on hondas and acuras and said if i put in the motor i will be fine. He mentioned refurb'd trannys from honda with 3 yr warranty for approx 1800, if it comes to that , i think i will do it. that should suffice...

Rajca

iTrader: (8)

since u got your timing belt done, it might have been miss aligned and after time it got worse and worse until a couple days ago when it took a dump

ChrisQ1980

It sounds like the cars maintence was neglected by the previous owner.