dnd2984

iTrader: (6)

I know a lot of people neglect there cars, and some don’t even keep them past 100k. But what can I do to make my TL last till 200k. My interior is in great shape and my car still looks great. How often should I use the fuel system cleaners and seafoam. Would seafoam also be better than Gumout. What can be done to maximize the life of the engine. I know joe had close to 200k on his engine and his TL responded better than mine did. I started using Maxlife oil to. Also is there such thing as cleaning the engine out, as in doing an oil flush??


I condition the leather ever three month. But I do have small cracks in the vinyl. Wax it fairly often to, but will be getting the front end of the car painted soon.

fsttyms1

Normal maintenance and the motor will far exceed 200k. I had 200k on mine when i pulled it out for the swap and the only thing i ever did to the motor was change the oil and occasional seafoam and clean out the egr ports. That motor was still in perfect shape and ran better than the day i bought it. I would recommend Mobil 1 syn over max life.

dnd2984

iTrader: (6)

I dont know much about oil but whats the differ between mobil 1 syn and castrol or valvolin syn.

-MiG-

iTrader: (3)

i got 160k on my TL.. all i have done is get a new solenoid for the tranny, and its on its second tranny.. oil change every 3,000 miles.... nothing else..

slavver01

iTrader: (3)

i just bought my 99 tl with 145k miles on the clock. dunno how it was maintained before, but im definelty doing the seafoam, changing plugs, oil change and im thinking about a tranny flush, but not sure yet. prbly should just in case. oh and brake fluid change dunno bout the power steering fluid tho, i looked in it, looks pretty dark and dirty, but my steering is still fine. so not sure if ill do that.

i heard from the other oil thread that mobil one isnt as good as it used to be. that true? heard some purple power or something oil is great but i really dont know.

haha, and dont forget your window washer fluid, since im on that topic

LeeDan00

i have used nothing but mobil 1 syn in all of my cars and i will probably never switch to anything else. it might be a little more expensive but trust me - it's worth the money. proper oil changes are probably the only thing you don't want to skimp on. like kris said, with proper maintenance our tl's will run way over 200k.

dnd2984

iTrader: (6)

I use to get synthetic Castrol all the time but this is the first time using the valvoline. Also is anyone familiar with this stuff http://www.valvoline.com/pages/produ...asp?product=29
I was looking at it when I was getting my oil changed and it looks pretty promising. They say they put it in the car right before the oil change and let the car idle for 5 minutes...

01tl4tl

seafoam in the crankcase before an oil change will clean all the oil passages and such- that a good thing to do
3x method trans fluid CHANGE- flush is a bad word here, is great thing to do
PS fluid looks bad is bad- simple to drain and replace
Good idea on window cleaner fluid- lots of crud inthe bottle and you can put in fresh good stuff.

Keep the (except 99's) cabin air filter changed for your own health


Mobil and others have changed their formula to a cheaper blended oil - no longer what you used to get
The Penzoil Platinum Fully Synthetic 6$ qt is in use by many race teams and its in my TL to test for myself.

Eisenhulk

What is the reasoning behind this, 01tl? I'm getting ready to change mine (I have a 99)....Please explain.

JMAL

aHHHHH!!!!!
dont flush the tranny!!!!!!!!! its certain death. if it runs fine, leave it alone!

laidback93

It also helps if you whisper sweet nothings in it's ear every now and then.

asaldworth

currently all of the debris has setteled to the bottom, when you flush it, you stir everything up. right?

JMAL

yeah supposedly. its not even worth it. the transmission is sensative. sometimes you do have to whisper sweet nothings. or go on long drives on the beach etc.

anything you can do to keep her from ruining your day and robbing you blind is great, also applies to transmissions too

Eisenhulk

BUMP for 01tl4tl.

6MTUA5

iTrader: (2)

^^^ talking about the cabin air filter? it's behind the glove box and filters the air coming into your cabin (hence the name). you want to keep it changed so you are breathing good quality air, which will keep you healthier all around as opposed to breathing dirty air from an old filter.

here's the thread that shows how to do it

AznWay

iTrader: (8)

I have 99 with over 200K now

Do regular oil change every 3k-4K
After 150K Do tuneup (timing belt,water pump, tensioner,etc)
Change Out your Motor Mount (if it's broken)
Don't play around with Auto shifter just drive on D4 or D5 (2000-03TL)

Good Lucky on your Quest for 200K

dnd2984

iTrader: (6)

are you the orignal owner

Eisenhulk

I know WHAT the cabin air filter is and how to change it, but I'm referring to a particular sentence he wrote, "Keep the (except 99's) cabin air filter changed for your own health."

Thanks anyway for your input.

dnd2984

iTrader: (6)

maybe 99 didnt have one??

Eisenhulk

I thought about that for a second, but I am 99.99999999999999999999999999999% sure they do. If for some unknown reason they don't, I might just

6MTUA5

iTrader: (2)

yea, 99 has one. i know this cuz i have one and changed it a few months ago

6MTUA5

iTrader: (2)

Sorry for the double post, but why not shift in SS mode? Decreases tranny life? I use mine every time I drive, and do the same in my 98 Prelude that has SS shifter as well.


hope it doesn't

fsttyms1

Using SS mode wont shorten it any more than leaving it in auto

acurabum

Using SS mode wont shorten it any more than leaving it in auto ....... UH I'm not convincing
.....the more using SS mode the more you put stress on the gear ('cause latter shift point)
so I think your gears will be use more ......just my opinion !

fsttyms1

Sure if you are constantly going back and forth thru 3rd maybe it will but it doesnt control the trans or make it do any thing different than the ECU.
In fact using it correctly you could most likely extend the life of it.
(of my 5 trans that went 1 never saw SS and it still died on the average mileage the others did)

Oh and the gear isnt the problem. Its the clutch packs which are wear items that are.

01tl4tl

Let me clear the air!

I was of the ~belief~ the 99s did not have cabin air filter
If you do have one, by all means change it!

Annual Fluid changes on trans- good!- if there is that much sediment to "stir" then you have a problem! Do the 3qts x 3 times method as described on this forum

Use of SS- shift point higher etc
Stand on the gas pedal in D5 regular mode and note where the shift points are from the computers use of the trans!
Think you can drive it any harder?
It's just electronics running a trick internal set-up
So use it and enjoy- thats why you bought a TL isnt it?

Jcanscore50

I knew of the transmission problems before I bought this car and purchased an extended warranty. However my car has 98k miles and is a 2000, so my transmission may still be covered under Acura's extention of the warranty. I had it towed into the dealership two days ago and still haven't heard from them (trust me, I called). I would recommend to anyone who wants to make 200,000 miles and get a good deal on the car- Buy the car with 100,000 miles or somewhat near that from a reputable used car dealer who also provides aftermarket warranty.

Once you get the good new tranny installed in your ride, I don't see any reason why these cars wouldn't be able to reach 200,000 with good maintenence. The engines themselves last a long time. Just keep the tranny in mind when purchasing the vehicle and cover your ass in case the Acura warranty falls through for you by getting the extended warranty.

Bob_F

Unless your car has a salvage title, it has the extended warranty on the transmission. The extension takes the warranty to 109,000 miles and 93 months, whichever occurs first. Your 2000 TL, with 98,000 miles should fall comfortably within that limit.

That won't be the case a year from now when many of the 2000 TLs will have already reached the 93 month limit. My 1999 TL hit the 93 month limit several months ago.

Bob

CL Platano

6spd swap and your car will last way beyond 200k ask Kris

tjmedford

I have 265,000 miles and have done nothing special. The engine is the best part of the car! Do NOT change the tranny fluid - ever. My first one lasted to 235,000. The car is starting to fall apart around the engine. Stuff is starting not to work now. Navi stopped working this week. AC stopped this spring. Door handle broke. Stuff is just plain wearing out.

Bob_F

I'm guessing you must have a 1999 TL with the 4-speed transmission.

If you do have the 1999 model, there could be an inexpensive fix for your navigation system. In my 1999 TL the navigation unit's hard drive failed and I replaced it with a compact flash card and a PCMCIA adapter for less than $25.

Bob

tjmedford

I do have the 99TL with 4 speed. I am all ears on an inexpensive fix for my navi. I got the unformatted hard drive error. What is the proceedure for the fix. I searched but didn't come up with it.

acutee

I do drain and re-fill my tranny fluid atf-z1 every 10k, and the drain plug always has a bunch of black residue and some metal shaving on it. This is really bad for any kind tranny with that kind of residue floating around.

Bob_F

See this thread for more information on the compact flash fix:

https://acurazine.com/forums/ramblings-12/damn-bulldog-142326/

For even more threads, do a search for "PCMCIA".

In a nutshell, you'll need a 512MB CF card, a PCMCIA adapter and a source for the navigation data files.

You can also buy these units pre-assembled and loaded with the needed nav data from Paul Mooney on his navhelp.com site. Those run about $130.

Another, more expensive, option is to replace the entire trunk-mounted hard drive unit with the DVD-based unit used in the 2000-2003 TLs. The DVD units store a lot more data and they covder the entire USA.

Good Luck!

Bob

yunginTL

what does the water pump do exactly? and also with our cars is there a plug for the power steering fluid haven't really gotten a chance to look, but it seems like my fluid is low and i need to drain and refill

Montaigne

The water pump pumps water (coolant) through the engine.