I just ordered my TL. Yup...ordered. Dealers are out on 6spd Navis. Anyways, I noticed that they all seem to have rust around the starter. Whats that all about? Is it just my dealer's lot, or is it a larger thing?

My 1st gen CL hardly has any rust in its engine bay and its 5 years old. Do I take delivery on my new TL? BTW, If anyone is interested in a 99CL 5spd let me know.

BogdanSUA

 

Could someone take a picture of theirs and post it? Otherwise I'll end up buying a bucket of rust. Hehehehe, but it has a navigation system.

 

OK, how do you see rust on the starter? Are you under the car at the dealership??

 

You can see it from the top. It is just behind and to your left of the battery tray, under the radiator hose from the radiator to the engine, and mine is rust free.

The service manual says it can be removed and replaced from the top. All you have to do is remove the cover over the battery, remove the battery and tray, and then remove the wiring harness and the two bolts that hold the starter on.

 

It is likely cast iron, and there for strength/vibration damping. If it is CI, why worry aboy about it? Or, paint it with Rustoleum.

BTW, want to see some rust. Look under the front clip halfway between the mumper and the a/c condenser. there is a big ol' hunk of CI - I believe it is there as part of the crask system, but it is rusting like no tomorrow. That is what cast iron does - but it is cosmetic problem only.

 

Here is a Road Rage preventive maintenance tip:

Honda's rotors are not the best appearing in terms of rust - the "hats" on the TL are better than the S2000 in this respect, but here is a tip that can pay off if you ever have a flat.

1) Pull the wheels off (follow safety and procedures you would for changing a tire).
2) Clean the corroded material on the wheels and the rotor hats where they touch - use WD-40 or similar material. Dry with paper towels, then let air dry.
3) Apply a light coating of anti-seize compound to the mounting surfaces (light!), smoothing it all over the hub/hat. Do not use bearing grease - it will migrate when the wheel gets hot from the brakes, and make a mess of things, spinning all over.
4) Remount the wheels and torque to 80 ft/lbs. in a star pattern.

This will do a few things:

1) Reduce the cosmetic mess, esp when the rusty material can drip on the wheels
2) Will prevent the weel and caliper hat from "galling", either by rust or by galvanic action, or both. Galvanic galling occurs when dissimilar metals actually exchange those promiscuous atoms, forming a physical bond that can be hard to break - which will always be in a cold rain storm byu the side of the road at rush hour.*

*If you cannot break the rotor/wheel bond, here is a mechanic tip I got from the 68 year old who taught me a lot when I was 16:
re-mount the wheel to the hub, and tighten the wheels snug, but not road ready tight. Drive a few feet, and nail the brakes HARD. This will aolmost always break the bound, without harming anything. When ou get home, get clean, and get dry, do 1-4.

 

For those that are really ambitous and mechanically inclined, RR's recommendation could be extended to removing the brake discs themselves and doing the same clean up and anti-seize treatment to the area where the brake discs contact the drive hub.

Anyone who's ever had to replace a brake disc that's been on the vehicle for a few years, especially in the rust belt, will understand the benefit in doing this as well. I've spent more than a few hours with a brass wire wheel and WD-40 cleaning up a corroded hub surface behind a brake disc. After struggling to get the disc off in the first place.

 

Good point - and if you plan to replace the rotors soon, remove those little Phillips head screws - they always seize up, and you need an impact screwdriver toi remove them - either anti-seize them, or just remove them altogether.