Ok,

First of all i think the Garage on here is great. I am confident about doing all the work below thanks to the excellent write ups and knowledgable input given by fellow A-ziners.

Here is my schedule, the only thing is I am on a tight budget, but do not want to skimp on a few dollars and pay for it later. Any recommendations you guys may have regarding fluids or parts is much appreciated.

I drive a 05 (MT) TL, 74k miles, rebuilt transmission in Jan 09 just before i bought it.

I have to.........

1) replace the hood arms as they are not holding the hood open which is pretty essential for the rest of the items.

2) Have to replace coolant asap.

3) It was brought to my attention last week that my RF brake pad while having 6mm on it had a hairline crack on it so I have to replace my front pads i guess. while the tires are off im gonna wax them up good to avoid brake dust. Prob just gonna pick up pads from autozone/o'reillys.

4) Along with brake pads i will do a brake fluid flush & fill.

5) Flush & Fill power steering

6) Drain & fill Transmission fluid, also might do the 3rd & 4th gear pressure switches. Not sure whether to replace ATF filter or not.

7) going to get alignment

8) Next oil change, gonna seafoam the crankcase and replace spark plugs.

So that is my schedule for the next while. Like i said i tend to shop at the local stores and walmart to keep costs as low as possible. I live in houston (which on a side note has a crazy amount of 3rd gen TL's - i see at least 4-5 everyday on my drive) where it gets pretty hot so maybe my fluid choices will be affected by the crazy temperature here.

Any tips, advice, recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

dude if i was in Houston would have done all of this for you in 1 full day !!!

hood arms : 15 minutes...difficulty 2 on 10
coolant 10 minutes....difficulty 2 on 10
tranny fluid: 15 minutes for 1x3....1 hour for a 3x3 job....difficulty 2 on 10
brake pads: 45 minutes....difficulty 5 on 10
brake fluid: 1 hour.....difficulty 5 on 10
power steering: 45 minutes....difficulty 5 on 10

I saw take the weekend....do it yourself....save yourself some money....if you take it to a decent shop, your looking at 500 bucks (max) for labor....

 

I'm confused, is your TL a manual or automatic?

Sounds like some good quality time with the TL either way though.

 

^
Good catch.

OP, if you drive a manual, you don't need to do the 3rd/4th gear switches.

 

damn, I missed out on that !!!

 

Man sorry - Yes it is an Automatic. Not a manual.

And i do plan on doing all this myself. I was just more seeing what sort of fluids are highly recommended, which i know opens a whole other can of worms since everyone has their own opinions.

I am very handy with cars and have done my brakes before. Just since moving from the UK i havent decided what products i should adopt as my favorites from American stores!

 

engine oil - any synthetic....Mobil 1 EP....good grp 4 synthetic oil....cheap....i go for this as compared to Redline or some, since i do my oil change every 5K miles.....
filter - mobil1
tranny oil: i use Acura ATF-Z1....if your doing it for the first time do a 3x3....i do my tranny oil every 10K miles, so i do a 1x3
tranny filter - acura....i switched it recently and noticed the shift differences off the bat.....
brake fluid: any dot 3/4 or 5.1....
coolant: i use acura coolant
power steering: again acura ps fluid

 

Is there a DIY for replacing the trans filter?

 

take it from your fellow aziners, royal purple is NO better than freaking mobil 1. and the k&n filters are apparently made by the same company as the mobil 1 filters; chamption labs. i was pretty upset when i found out i've been paying a premium for royal purple and k&n filters for almost a year now WALMART for the huge jug of 5w20 for like...$23...good stuff! GOOD LUCK!!!

 

Oh, and the ATF you can pick up from your local Honda dealership; it's cheaper and you're looking for the Honda Z-1 ATF.

 

I went and got my coolant from a Honda dealer as well as the s2000 filters I used to use. I now use amsoil filters and redline oil but I am supercharged so I go alittle overboard.

People seem to like draining and filling the tranny at every oil change, since only one third of the fluid is drained and 2/3 remains each time you drain it.

 

Just my $0.02, but make certain you have the proper tools or else it's going make everything a nightmare. You wouldn't crap without having TP on the ready, and if you've had to, well...you catch my drift.

 

the tranny filter on the TL is not bad at all (04-06).....you can see the filter from the top....3 screws to take it off....throw the filter out....put the new one in....

lemme try snapping a couple of pix and put em up !!!

 

Very Eloquent! and yes i have the tools i need. Although a hydralic lift in my garage would be nice!

 

Uh...there's a tranny filter?! I've never done any tranny fluid swaps...forgive my lack of knowledge

 

^^^ hey erick its right on top....i was out for the weekend, lemme take some pix today and put em up !!!