Beniot

I am in the process of buying a 2004 TL (59000 miles), and during the mechanical inspection, we found on cylinder being much lower than the others. It was at arround 160 psi while all the others where at 200 psi or higher. I have three questions:

Does anybody know what are the specs (where it should be and the maximum variation to expect) ?

If Acura agree to fix the cylinder under warranty, should I change the other rings at the same time (since most of the labor will already be paid, it should not be to expensive to have a "like new" engine) ?

Should I walk away from this car ?

Thanks in advance,

Ron A

The 04 Service Manual says to check the compression with the throttle open fully and then crank the engine with the starter.

All it says is the compression should be above 135psi, but the maximum variation between cylinders is 28psi.

It say to check valves and seats, head gasket, rings, and worn piston or cylinder bore.

If they agree to fix it under warranty they will surely check the other cylinders again, but if you have 200psi in the other five cylinders I don't think you would need to change all the rings.

If you are getting a good deal on the car, and the engine meets the specs after repair, then you should probably buy it if it what you want.

flanso

iTrader: (1)

The 2004-2006 Acura service manual specifies minimum compression of 135 psi and maximum variation as 28 psi. Low compression can also be caused by valve leakage. After the first compression test, the suspect cylinder can be filled with an ounce or so of 90 weight oil and the compression test run a second time. If the reading on the second test is substantially higher, the problem is worn rings. The heavy oil will temporarily seal ring leakage. If the second test readings are similar to the first, the problem is the valves. Unless the car is being well repaired and sold below market, say 20%, I would walk away. I do not think that repairing just the suspect cylinder would be an adequate repair. I wonder why this car, with relatively low mileage for a Honda product, would have a compression problem in the first place?

Sodde

You need to have a cylinder leakage test done rather than a compression test.
This will tell you exactly where the leakage is occuring and thus what needs to be repaired. Any good shop should have the equipment to do this.

Once you have a result, weigh in to the evaluation the amount of mileage the engine has to see if a complete rebuild should be carried out. Either way, if the leakage is by the valves on one cylinder, you should rebuild BOTH heads, if the leakage is by the piston rings, all cylinders/pistons need to be addressed.

This is probably old school stuff to some of you guys but I've built many engines and watched others suffer the pitfalls of trying to 'underfix' a basic build problem.

Beniot

What you said is exactly what was done. Since only three cylinders are easily accessible, I asked only for those three to be checked. Luckily for me, it was one of those three (the middle one) that was lower. The service guy then called the local "manager", who asked to have all the cylinders checked again (this time I did not pay) and with oil in the faulty one. The compression then went from 160 to 185 psi.

I think the price is quite good, but I will try to lower a bit more, since that car seems to have had a hard time. There are other issues with the car. The crank oil seal is leaking, but that will be fixed under warranty. The mechanic told be that it could be due to the fact that the oild filter was not a genuine Honda, resulting in a higher oil pressure, causing the seal to leak.

I was very impressed by the car, not so much by the power, but more the handling. I will probably end up buying the car, but only if the problem gets fixed under warranty, by the dealer.

Greg-ster

I'd be worried why any 2 year old Honda product is having any engine problems.

Honestly, I'd walk away from that car and not look back, since something funny had to have happened to it.

CobraGuy

Bingo! If the dealer can't do it, take it to any decent performance shop. They should have a leak down tester. Leaking a motor is the best way to determine just what the problem is and how bad.

PeterUbers

iTrader: (1)

Seems like too big of an issue to consider this car a realistic purchase, doesn't it? Especially since you're out of warranty anyways... what if the problem occurred again or something worse in a week/a month/three months ... even if you paid ..i dunno.. $15k for this car... is it work the possible thousands of dollars in future costs?

Adobeman

Is there anything so unique about this car that keeps you from walking ? If your not particular you will find another; walk. There is simply now way for you to know why it's in the shape its currently in. That translates to risk, even if they fix it. For you to assume the risk someone needs to pay you (in the of much lowered price for the car) A warranty is not compensation for the risk you will be accepting.

jayare627

If you can get it cheap enough (the car that is) get an engine on e-bay. These things are like dirty cheap with only 20 miles! I think that's what I'd do if I ever needed to replace my engine. Check out the link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/04-06...QQcmdZViewItem