I have an '05 TL that I bought last July, and it's close to approaching 100,000 miles on the clock, and with that landmark also comes the demise of my bumper to bumper warranty. I am a little sad that by this coming July, I will have driven over 30,000 miles since I bought it!

This means, that I will be soon be attempting maintenance and repair to the TL myself. Especially considering, the 90,000 mile timing belt replacement I became aware of it this evening.

My other car is a 1999 Saab 9-3, with 225,000 miles on the clock (with a timing chain btw! I wish the TL had a chain). I bought a Haynes manual for it awhile back, and that vehicle has taught me a lot about fixing a car. Fortunately, I amassed a lot of resources for fixing that car besides the Haynes manual.

There is a blog, by Dmitry Platonoff, where he takes step by step photos of common major repairs: head gaskets, front end work, exhaust, transmission removal, etc.

In addition to that, I have 3 websites where I routinely buy parts for the Saab that are typically 40-60% cheaper than dealer parts.

I also have quite a relationship with the saabcentral forum.

Having said all that, I have not been able to find all of these resources for the Acura. I do like this forum, it's much more robust than the Saab forum. I will also be ordering a Haynes for the TL. However, I haven't found any comprehensive DIY blogs on Acura repairs, or any websites with compelling discounts compared to dealer prices. So far I've seen oemacuraparts.com, acuraoemparts, and partsgeek (I like this one the best so far.) I am not even looking for OEM on everything. I would love to find some generic/aftermarket suspension vendors, when it comes time to replace those parts, for example. Feel free to tell me if I am just suffering from sticker shock. Coming from owning a Saab, I became used to various mechanics in the past telling me repairs were so expensive, because the parts were unusually expensive. This is why I started fixing the Saab myself, and saving thousands in the meantime. I thought maybe Acura parts would at least be within the same price point, if not a bit cheaper.

If anyone would be willing to bring me into the fold here on this forum, so I can brace myself for getting my hands dirty with the TL, I'd be very happy. Thank you, Bill

 

Something better than the hayes manual is the HELMS service manual which has everything in it. From removing the motor to testing wires and trouble shooting, it's in there. The book is made by the factory for honda and is sold mainly to dealership technicans. Consumers can also buy them. If you take a look at the 3G garage like for instance the topic of brake overhaul, you can see how the manual looks.

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/brakes-caliper-o-h-pad-repl-hoses-bleed-disc-specs-park-brake-adj-3g-garage-d-041-a-578017/

http://www.helminc.com/helm/Result.a...elected_media=



As far as discount parts, there aren't very many people who sell them 40-60% off really. I mean Tim is probably the best person to get parts from since he sells them nearly at cost! For example the A-Spec kit was 799 shipped to our doors while acura dealerships charge nearly 1200 dollars!

As far as a blog, the closest thing is the 3G garage which has many topics in it and as well continually is growing!

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/3g-tl-service-department-aka-garage-questions-answers-check-here-first-553557/

 

i have the same problem,,

 

Thanks csmeance. I looked at the HELMS guide for the brakes, and I was blown away. Once I hit 100,000 I will be putting an order in for one of those.

Do you know if someone posted a HELMS scan for the timing belt procedure?

I also glanced through the 3G garage, and I was impressed by the vast amount on material there.

All in all I am feeling a lot better now. I don't know who Tim is though...