thewrangler99

i bought my 1999 acura tl with 153000 miles on it and now it has 163xxx on it, i was wondering if i have to check my spark plugs if they are ok because i have this car for 10000 miles only. Tomorrow i am taking my car for oil change and i am using castrol gtx sludge protection 5w-30 motor oil. should i try castrol gtx high mileage motor oil?

jdjohn84

If you don't know the service history of the car, you should do a SeaFoam treatment for the engine and the intake (do a search for it on the forum) before changing the oil and spark plugs. The high mileage oil would be fine, but most here prefer synthetic. As for the spark plugs, you should get NGK Iridium IX.

gold2003tl (90)

take a plug out and look to see how worn the contacts are, mine were shot at 86000 miles. i got new NGK Iridiums IX along when i did my oil change. new plugs make a huge difference in engine performance, smoothness, fuel economy, and response.

thewrangler99

can a car mechanic do the seafoam treatment?

totaledTL

No receipts/service records came with it? Know previous owner?

gold2003tl (90)

probably, ask him and explain what you want the mechanic to do. but you dont need to be a mechanic to do a seafoam treatment, its very simple, check out our DIY section.

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

If the plugs haven't been replaced yet, definitely change them out.

thewrangler99

no idea! i bought it from a dealer...i went to a dealer to buy a car and didn't have any idea what to buy... this was the only car i liked among all other used cars

01tl4tl

I take it you have no tools and dont know about working on cars
A shop will seafoam but use a special machine and charge you a hundred dollars for the pleasure~
20 bucks and you can do it yourself

I would run half a can of seafoam in the oil for 30 minutes then have it changed
Make sure its drained immedialty or sludge reforms in the oil pan-
needs 15 minute warmup drive if you have seafoam in oil and it sits overnight before change

you need to know if the timing belt was changed at 105 and the water pump

finalcross

iTrader: (3)

Yeah I still don't know if my timing belt was ever changed. Is there a way to check. I called Acura but they said that they don't have service records. I bought the car at 124,000 miles and have no idea of the history except for whatever is on carfax.

01tl4tl

carfax only knows what its been told (accidents that insurance was involved) and thats not much in most cases, stuff like this only shows as a service at dealer, miles xxx

you can look at the bolts on the covers- any marks from tools would indicate someone has been in there and hopefully replaced the right parts

there is an inspection cover but can only tell if its broken thru there
Until you take off enough covers to see the actual belt and note if the writing on it is still clear- its new
and look inside part for cracks- worn teeth-needs replacement

a LOT of people dump (sell to unsuspecting person) their TL when it comes time for the 105 service- being told $800-1200 or 1500 at dealer will send many to the trade-in dept and a buy newer car
not very logical but thats what makes the world run
The dealer doesnt replace those parts before sale- they want max profit for minimum investment
note the `no warranty` part of most sales~

BlackRaven

You can just pull one sparkplug out and visually inspect it. If it is dark in color but there is no visible damage, or fouling, oil, etc then there is no need to replace them. Also check the gap, I think on our cars it's supposed to be .42 or so.

01tl4tl

dark in color? what?
how about a nice tannish white on the electrode like they are supposed to be

You can tell if the plug is old-original when you remove it- the 10 year old stock ones will have rust on the edges and be a pain to remove

acura says up to 100 on the ngk's, but ziners find anytime after 60 improves running and mileage

Sperry

iTrader: (1)

#1 Where are you?

#2 Start a maintenance journal. Immediately.

#3 What, exactly, is your fuel economy?
Any chance you can give us a straight highway number?
If you are above 30 mpg over 100 miles, I'd bet your plugs are working fine.

#4 How does the engine air filter look? New or not?

Conclusion:

If you cannot change your own oil, can you install spark plugs? They are harder to do.

I'd forget the synthetic. The "Most of us around here use synthetic" is complete speculation. Synthetic is great for performance guys, but it sounds like you are more concerned with general maintenance, rather than getting the engine to run at above-specifications. I use a decent 5-30; high mileage might be good if your engine has suffered abnormal wear, but if the oil was changed the American Way, i.e., twice as aften as the manufacture recommends, it is probably fine. This "Seafoam" of which everyone speaks is an additive that cleans up the engine. Add half a can, 8 oz, to the oil, half an hour before the oil change, making sure to drive in the preceding half hour.

If the engine air filter looks crappy, I'd buy a new filter and six OEM spark plugs. After the crankcase Seafoam, plugs, air filter, and perhaps a full can of Seafoam in half a tank of gas, you will notice a dramatic increase in fuel economy.

Then, after that, you might turn your attention to replacing the other automotive fluids.

01tl4tl

on the spark plugs- it came with NGK Platinum but its ok to upgrade to NGK Iridium or Iridium IX (racier)
gen3 comes stock with ngk irids

there is a Meets section on this forum where members hold car shows and bbq- someone local can assist you in DIYs- we are a good bunch of people

run synthetic oil- semi synth- or plain `dino`oil.. the car doesnt care-
synth is really for those who are looking at tiny mileage increase and better protection for the engine...racers...thrashers. commuters
The kind of people who plan to own the car a long time~

if synth is on sale- sure use it!!
a good quality filter is important, the cheapest one is not the best

but on this OPs car.. lets get its basics in control before lots of upgrades

pitmen

sorry dude thats not the case. i'd inspect EVERY plug. one plug could be burning fine, the next could be lean, etc... engine doesn't need to throw a code for a plug to be getting more fouled then the others. if you don't know ANY of the history, i'd change the plugs without a doubt. every vehicle i've bought, it was an immediate plugs/wire change (wires depends on how they look) with an oil change.

BlackRaven

Well, if the engine is running smooth, doesn't seem to burn excessive gas, no check engine light on.... then it's probably running fine If you suspect slight hesitation, you can check all of the plugs individually like you suggested, but if they look ok then I don't see the need to change them. They only need replacement once they go bad. Spark plugs in modern cars can last a very long time.

01tl4tl

anytime after 60kmiles is ready on the TL for new plugs

Clean the TB air plate on both sides and edges for hesitation prob
clean and lube throttle return springs while in there

Seafoam the gas to do `tune up in a can` then replace spark plugs
No it doesnt hurt the plugs unless they are super high mileage-over 100 and weak -
its just a logical step by step way of working on the car with unknown history

for this thread, the one plug ck was to see if they had ever been changed.
If you had an imbalance in the combustion between cyls- the CEL should pick it up and warn you, the car runs bad and gets poor mileage

A coil failure is a great example of what causes one cyl to run rich

loose clamps on air filter tube to TB are common after someone replaces the air filter- hesitation possible from that too
Ive even seen the edge of airbox cover broken and air leak cause probs

01tl4tl

pitmen- we havnt had spark plug wires since 1999
six coils on 6 NGK spark plugs 00 and on

the TL should run like a 200 HP sewing machine- that means smooooooth

note some years have vac boost system to front and rear motor mounts
If one is broken (front common after 50kMiles) it causes a mystery vac leak and related probs with idle
When working properly- the vac system stiffens the motor mount under full throttle
may do at other rpms/vac pressure too,, I dont really know--experts??

pitmen

you missed what i said. i quoted you saying that you could pull a plug and look at it, i said you should pull ALL the plugs...you disagree'd with me on the wrong point, but overall agree'd with me lol. i was just saying that don't pull 1 plug to inspect it because they can burn differenly (for who knows what reason) #2 can be a nice golden brown, while #5 can have the slightest white on it. i'm jus' sayin to check em all, don't just go off one.

01tl4tl

if they have rusty crud on the OUTSIDE of lower parts, the metal outside of the engine block- replacement is due
they are originals and subjected to who knows what grade and brand of gas over the 7-10 years they have been in use

that seems a reasonable amount of life-- that 50 bucks for 6 new doesnt hurt as bad

thewrangler99

three days after oil change, i checked my motor oil and the level of oil was high and i went to mechanic to drain excess oil. so, i was wondering my seals won't be affected within three days? Will they leak?

01tl4tl

how high..just a bit over full as if they added a full 5 qts?
instead of the 4.5-4.7 it takes? many of us do that to compensate for the slight oil use every car has

or a full qt over?
potential for foaming and frothing of the oil as level allowed crankshft to swirl in it
but
should be ok as you caught if before too long and no trips on it
does it look ok on the dipstick now?

thewrangler99

before it was .40 cm above normal and now its very normal after draining some oil. i am glad made very few short trips in town

01tl4tl

sounds like a full qt over

just goes to show you- NEVER trust those oil change places or even the dealer to get things done right,,sloppy lazy employees are the norm

You have to ck your own oil level, tire pressures, and wheel lug torque is at 80 not 130!
sad but true
tell the MANAGER when this occurs- only way to get info down to the techs

thewrangler99

i went to a private garage and paid $10 for doing oil change.

01tl4tl

there you go- getting what you paid for!!!

thewrangler99

lol!

01tl4tl

note: on the choice or regular or high mileage oils- the TL engine is barely broken in at 100,000!!- so run whatever oil you want
-it really doesnt care

YeuEmMaiMai

just so you know dealers will not include previous owner service history with the car as it can open then to huge liability. I always gave my service records to the dealer when i traded my cars but they would never go to the next owner. plugs should have been changed around 100-120K if the owner followed the maint schedule/ I did my plugs at 94K (today as a matter of fact)

YeuEmMaiMai

my CLS (02) had laser iridium plugs in it when I changed them out. I have had the car since 39K

01tl4tl

do you have a non usa car? or the first owner wanted the super racy stuff (maybe autocrossed or track days on the car?) and was used to the days of 30k spark plug changes and 3k oil changes

the stock plugs barely make it to 105- look at any that have 80 on them -many pics on azine- and they are ready,,anytime after 60 is good a good plan

01tl4tl

laser refers to how they weld the electrode on, we use the normal Iridium or most use Iridium IX--somehow a more performance plug-- in our minds at least

to the best of my knowledge- most gen2s came with ngk Platinum

YeuEmMaiMai

Plugs were in ok shape but replacing them resulted in a much smoother idle. The guy at Napa said that those were the OEM plugs and he offered to sell me some platnums for about $7 each. I took the iridiums. Those plugs had definately been in there a long long long time as it was not easy to remove them (it took a lot of effort to break them free)

01tl4tl

they get stuck in there easy from corrossion-
one reason to use anti sieze on install~

napa can say anything they want--NGK plat were stock gen2, irids stock gen3
8 bucks each is about average
if the lazers are working for you -great!!

YeuEmMaiMai

my car was a lease return and since there was no mods to the car, I seriously doubt that he/she installed new plugs....the only thing odd about the car was it had a new set of hankooks that were not very good in the snow so I replaced them with some arizonian silver edition plus tires and they have been on the car for the last 50K and are only 1/2 worn down.

01tl4tl

you never know what a good service writer can sell an unknowing customer~
They make a living at it.... I will leave it at that

New plugs and tires go together right?
same person can sell a timing belt at 60 because other makes of cars do it then.
What the customer doesnt know,,,will hurt them

totaledTL

Not so for all dealers. I went to my local dealer w/ the VIN of my car before purchase & they printed out the service record of the car, no questions asked.

YeuEmMaiMai

that's only if they did the work. If your car came from another dealer or the previous owner did not use that dealer, then there is no way to know the service history of the car unless it is warranty work (Acura DOES keep track of that). When I got my car the dealer I use happened to be the one who sold the car on lease and they only had 1 previous record for the car and that was when the first owner brought it in for a recall notice (2nd gear oil jet kit) other that, they have no service history on the car before I bought it.

Now it could be possible that one guy owns several Acura dealers and if that is the case they might have one cental database and then each dealer would have access to it.

YeuEmMaiMai

did the records include the previous owner's information? if so tell me the dealer so I know never ever in my life to go near them.