blacka66

WELL recently replaced my radiator.It was a succes but as soon as I turned mah car(after i added some anti-freeze to it) it starts leaking out constantly while the car is running and it was overheated with just a simple drive up the street.....I then got my car to a garage where declared it was mah water pump leaking like that......how much does that job normally charge for cause I dont know if $700 sounds right thats alot of f'n $$

jdjohn84

Sounds about right for a shop. It's a pretty involved job. You should have the timing belt and tensioner replaced at the same time. Why did you replace your radiator to start with?

01tl4tl

probably because it was overheating and someone said that was the cause!
Always pressure test cooling system problems to find leaks
Was the car sitting a long time recently? months I mean

has the temp ever hit the redline- how many times?
that may lead to head gasket failure next--or now

what led you to the rad replacement?- did you burp it with the heater ON so it was part of the flowing system? otherwise you trap air = problems

overheat driving just up the street?- I would suspect stuck thermostat too

How many miles- what year TL? a 99 correct? what service history- ever change the coolant- how long have you had the car--did you know there are service needs?

700 is actually cheap,, and not doing the job right for you- they might not have done one on a TL before either or they would know better
It needs the actual timing belt water/pump service--the `105` as its called
with tensioners and pullies you really do need- the parts alone are $250+ aftermarket-400-600 dealer,, easy
labor is several hours- an all day job and small area to work in

Good idea to do some other services then- not required,, depending on miles
the valve adjustment lends itself to the egr port cleaning and TB cleaning since they are off for the valve adjust

On the tbelt pullies and such- if you dont replace them now- they will fail in a year and take the tbelt with them - pretty much destroying the engine and all the money you spent

For now- first have the shop do a head gasket test- they can use a special dye or tool to sniff for exhaust in the radiator, and remove spark plugs to ck coolant loss thru there-
indicating blown head gasket
now your cost skyrocket!!! time to think junkyard motor and put a 105 kit on that
cheaper in the long run than fixing an overheated engine- the problems never stop if its been roasted good

jdjohn84

That was my point about replacing the radiator. Why? What were the symptoms that led to that decision?

totaledTL

Have you known this to happen? How many instances? I consulted 2 Honda mechanics & they both stated they have NEVER seen the pullies or tensioner fail.

gold2003tl (90)

my tensioner pulley bearing was completely shot and had loads of play in it. it was recalled and replaced @ 17k miles and @ 88k miles it was toast. as for the tensioner itself, not too much to worry about, but the tensioner pulley yes.

G8torz2

I always check the easy fixes first, stuck thermostat,I do know from experience that air in the cooling system, caused me to overheat and leak coolant from the holes around the water pump. Try bleeding the system.

totaledTL

If it was recalled it must have been defective from the beginning right?

01tl4tl

some 03s had a recall for alignment issue on tensioner pulley caused failure
essentially gets a free 105!!

there are numerous examples I read here on azine for the failed parts- grease leaking out tensioners and roller/idler pullies
some with less than 90kmiles on them,,while others with higher miles `looked fine`
I wonder how many of those got chkd before-hand with the stethascope?
probably none -thats the real tell beyond leaking grease and looseness when ckd by hand
after removal
to expect those critical parts to last another 105k+ without any issues,
especially after releasing tension on them- then installing new belts-retensioned and likely run hard now,, that its all like new~~~...often thats a setup for failure

to me: thats driving with a bit too much hope and faith and not enough preventative maitenance~
Having seen many cars that suffered broken belt for whatever reason, anything related to it running right---100 bucks more is cheap insurance
In my opinion

do a search for post with pics and search words tensioner or bearing failure
I have read and seen them on azine- my source for acura info!!

gold2003tl (90)

it probably was, i fell under defective 2003 recalled models vins, took it to the dealer and had the work performed. but they must have replaced it with another defective one

like 01tl4tl said, its cheap insurance to just replace it since the probability of lasting another 105k is bleak.

totaledTL

Oh well, guess I'll just take my chances, it's already done. Thanks for the input.

blacka66

My radiator did have a leak that was pretty bad it was cracked right on the top end of tha radiator basically the black plastic part but my issue now is the car has 337,xxx miles on it but rides smoothe is the water pump worth fixing on the car? or well putting all that money into it

01tl4tl

depends on the condition of the head gaskets and cylinder heads
driving with a bad rad will cause internal overheat that may not show on the guage

if everything else cks out, then a wp would be ok
but at this point expect severe engine damage- cheaper to install a junkyard motor and keep driving the car~
unless the rest of it has mostly original parts and its nearing recycle time~

blacka66

Well I got tha water pump replaced and now the car needs a IAC the car rides like sh## and it just feels like the car can drive on it's own and not to mention the constant jerkin when going over 40mph it's a real violent jerk to Iam hopin it's not the tranny

fsttyms1

The question is is for 70 to 100 or so bucks why wouldnt you. Its cheap insurance that every thing is new.

01tl4tl

who says it needs an IACV? same lousy tech?-
usually a good cleaning will remove carbon and restore function- thats basic DIY or shop can do
May as well do it right and remove intake manifold to clean EGR system and service the TB- iacv then

did they run a compression test before or after wp to be sure the head gaskets are ok?
keep a daily eye on the color and level of oil and coolant--if either ones changing something bad is wrong
foamy brown oil thats rising in level is Stop driving signal!

did they ck the spark plugs- with overheating it may have weakened or worn out one or more
Oil was changed with wp job?
its an odd thing to think of, but overheating destroyed the oils abilty to cool and lubricate

01tl4tl

what kind of shop gives you back a car thats basically undriveable?
jerking at 40? thats not cool
was it doing that before?

totaledTL

See post 5. And it would be an additional approx. $175, not 70 to 100, per acuraoemparts.com.

01tl4tl

ask real acura techs- those who actually see a TL several times a day
honda is different in many ways- reliabilty of parts being one

so $175 more on a 1500 job,,not that big a deal in order to drive with confidence

true that few will own the car till 200, so as long as it last till your done with it~

totaledTL

I paid $550 not $1500. And a comparison of the pulleys & timing belt part #s w/ those of an Accord of the same year indicated that they were the same. I would venture to say that an awful lot of the parts for both Hondas & Acuras come off the same lines.

01tl4tl

Im sure they do, and fit millions of other cars too~
do you think an accord driver treats his engine the same way a TL driver might?

anyway= yes it may be fine to 210kmiles on those rollers and tensioners
but if they fail... its all over
You must have gotten a deal on aftermarket parts and your labor?

totaledTL

All OEM parts were used.

01tl4tl

parts only no labor charge or some special ~works for beer~ type deal?? lol
thats a score at that price! and as long as you plan to let the TL go to another home at some point- you should be ok

all those service writers and techs dont have a follow up story at 210kmiles on those cars the parts were not replaced on
I have even heard SW's say the WP wasn't needed= since its not leaking now!!!
thats a lousy employee, should be looking out for you-- and to increase their profit with every part they can

with the 100-125+++ dollars per hour labor rates here in Ca, I may have to drive a state or two over to get a decent deal,,what a reason to spend a night in reno...
look hunnee!!! I saved 300 dollars at the shop, and only donated 500 to the hotel~

blacka66

ok Iam going to bring it to Honda tech then because I had advanced auto parts scan and the IAC came up and now going to give the car an oil just to be on the safe side but my thing about going to dealership is that i heard if your car is over 200 miles you got a less chance of them looking at the car

01tl4tl

a honda tech can easily clean the TB air plate, lube its pivot hinge (deep creep works there) and lube throttle return springs- lube the throttle cables inside their sheath, and clean the IAC for you
Make sure he plans to do all that- its all related, once the TB is coming off the cables are removed for that...DC or silicone spray thru them

what are you talking about dealer and 200--
yours said if you have more than 200,000 miles they wont touch it?

oil change- if you reset the reminder light system last time- the Mait Req light will start blinking at startup- eventually turning on full time when you reach 7500 miles since reset
Time for oil change!
If your oil looks or smells bad- no harm in early replacement