I purchased a cpo tl about a month and a half ago. Today I decided to take the top plate off of the motor. What I saw shocked me. the entire inside of it was a copper color like a penney. My question is, is this normal? after I saw it, I took some carb cleaner and sprayed it a little and it came off. should I continue and soak it down or not?

 

if im not mistaken, 04-06 IM are made from copper... 07+ are magnesium...

 

Funny

 

Normal.

You can remove the intake manifold and clean it with carb/TB cleaner; or just clean what you see. Technically you're supposed to replace the gasket under the cover if you remove the cover. Be careful replacing the cover - torque on the bolts is pretty light and there is specific tightening order.

 

That doesn't make any sense. The upper manifold is a natural finish and mine is still a silvery grey. I bet it is aluminum just like the vtec plate. If it was copper it would be green by now. Unless it is an alloy, but I don't see acura doing that.

The inside of the manifold cover and manifold will be copper to brown color after awhile. New, they look silvery and clean. Most engines have something called a PCV Valve (Positive Crankcase Ventilation Valve) which lets the extra pressure created by the crank spinning around to escape back into the intake manifold thus creating better emissions for the car. The PCV is a tube or hose that is attached to one valve cover (where there is oil)connecting to the intake manifold. However there is usually a check valve in the hose that only allows the pressure to go one way preventing too much oil vapor from getting inside the the intake manifold. The copper color in the manifold is a super light coating of cooked on oil vapor. Which is not at all harmful to the engine.

If you find that the copper color is getting darker to brownish color then you should probably consider replacing the PCV Valve. They do go bad.

 

Exactly where is the PCV valve, I can't seem to find it.

 

fail

 

I would imagine that it would be between the rear valve cover and the upper intake manifold. Take off the cover and hopefully you should see the hose.

 

Normal color.