jmkiang

iTrader: (5)

Just got an 05 TL with ~52K miles on it now... bringing it in to the Acura dealership soon. My oil life is <10% so I'm going to get it changed (request for synthetic?). What else should I look at doing?

Also planning on seafoaming it soon too. My friend just did it on his GS430 and there was tons of smoke. I'm excited!

chinesestunna

What is Seafoaming? Don't let them flush your tranny or drivetrain - I've read some bad stuff that comes of those.

thanks

TeknoKing

It's all depends on the original owner's maintenance of the car.

Seafoam it, synthetic oil is good. Transmission fluid flush will also be advisable.

It's always good to do a self-inspection. Asking the dealership for advice will lead to unnecessary maintenance and higher bill.


Good Luck, and enjoy your car.

TeknoKing

Umm, I disagree. By flushing, it means you drain the old fluid, replace with new, go thru gears, and repeat this 3 times.

What they don't recommend is using a flush machine that utilizes detergents.

chinesestunna

That's what I meant - a lot of shops/dealers will use the machine for flushing which is scary.

jmkiang

iTrader: (5)

^ Oil change with synthetic oil, transmission fluid (any particular brand or just whatever the dealers got)... I will seafoam it myself. Anything else?

TeknoKing

^^^

There are tons of threads on oil.. Mobil or AMSOIL or Royal Purple...see threads to pick what you want....

Your dealer will probably only have Mobil 1 Synthetic.

jmkiang

iTrader: (5)

Thanks!

Eoanou

I have a question about Synthetic oils versus Conventional oils, how can I distinguish the two? I ask because how can I know with a reasonable amount of certainty that my oil was replaced with synthetic oil and not conventional? I mean I could paying the extra dollar for the same stuff. I guess I might have to end up doing these oil changes myself.

YeuEmMaiMai

using a machine that changes out your transfluid using the transmission's internal pump won't hurt the car and you get 100% fluid exhange......

I did it with my 92 sable at 100K
I did it with my 94 honda at 90K

I have not done it to the CL type S as that trans is messed up anyways and a flush will NOT solve it's problems.

the machines you want to avoid are the reverse flush type machines or the ones that do not rely on the transmission's internal pump

Bearcat94

^^

That is NOT what Acura TL Service Manuals and/or Tech Articles indicate. AFAIK, the ONLY Acura approved method is 3 x 3 drain and refill.

The 2G/3G TL is NOT a 92 Sable or 94 Honda.

YeuEmMaiMai

OMG!!! Thanks for being such smart person............lol oh tell me oh great one would one do without your wisdom...........

you do know that the new machines are just 2 tanks and hoses right? one tank is full of new fluid and has a hose that goes to return line's port on the trans cooler and the other one goes to the inlet port on the trans thus allowing the trans to suck in new fluid while expelling out the old fluid right? As long as you use the right fluid, you should not have a trouble.......

Other things that people do to their acuras that are NOT recommended by the Acura service manual:

1. Seafoaming the engine
2. modifying the car by chaning intake exhaust etc....
3. installing non acura parts


but hey people do it and it works...........

you're right the the cars are not acuras.......the 92 sable went over 143K on the SAME automatic transmission before the car was totalled and the 94 Honda is well over 180K on the same auto trans........this car is on it's SECOND POS trans within 70K..............

ecliptics

is a tranny flush something you do yourself like changing oil or somethin you'd give to the shop to do? how much is it usually run and who do you guys take it to? thanks

TeknoKing

Just swapping the fluid will actually only replace about 50% of the fluid. Why? Each gear has it own reservoirs, so unless you go through each gear, all you are doing is topping off fresh fluid into the old one.... pointless.

I'll admit it, I did a few trans flushes on my 00TL, but I use to do them every 6 months, and by myself in my friend's shop.

In regards to Seafoam...either do that, or do what all 2G do, remove the throttle body, and clean it...I did that every year.

TeknoKing

You can definitely do it yourself, but you will need to raise the car on jacks....

I usually go to a shop, expect to pay about 80-100 dollars. (Why shop? My days of coming home covered in dirt/burns/cuts are over, lol)

Make sure where you go that you trust the mechanic... I was lazy once, and I went to a local shop that everyone used, this was my first time. The idiot hooked up the machine to my vacuum hose, expecting pressure. I almost connected him to the machine, to see how he likes it.

Check you fluid regularly, if it's a nice luby texture, and it's nice and pink (lol), you are good. (Check tranny fluid when the engine is not running)

TeknoKing

Synthetic oil runs thinner, but honestly, you will not be able to tell.

You just have to be there when oil gets changed, or just bring your own oil next time. Drive for 3K miles, and then check the smell... Synthetic oil has a different smell when burnt, it has a mellow light smell. Regular oil has a stronger burnt smell.

Bearcat94

Nice sarcasm!!


Maybe you're just short on facts:

1. TL's (Honda/Acura in general??) have a histroy of weak auto transmissions.

2. Drain and re-fill 3x is a farily easy procedure (and DIY) and does not require a machine.

3. As recent as Jan 2008 Acura sent it's techs: "..... aftermarket flush systems. American Honda still strongly recommends that you avoid using them on any Acura vehicle. ...." See https://acurazine.com/forums/ramblings-12/who-wants-give-me-%245-129196/ January 2008.

4. You recommend a procedure SPECIFALLY not recommended by the engineers that designed the car as if it were generally accepted. I just pointed out, for the OP or future users that you recommend something COMPLETELY contrary to OE service guidelines. Now the OP and/or other users can make an INFORMED decision instead of just relying on your say so.

(Sorry I pointed out your suspect procedure, apparently it hurt your feelings. )


5. Most AM parts/mods have a track record PLUS you *know* there is potential risk with any non-OE part/mod; you make an INFORMED decision to install or not. Further many Acura Dealerships will install common AM mods/parts but they will NOT machine flush your trans fluid.

6. Two old POS cars and your maint of them, as far as I am concerned, does not qualify you to subvert the recommended procedure.