I will post details later about what my father-in-law did to get the lower radiator support leveled to the point I could get the new radiator in. However, it appears I created another problem for myself...

I'd originally loosened the front suspension subframe bracket bolts the way I did several times while fighting to get the rack & feedline in a few weeks ago. However, it appears that when I last put them in, I must have over-torqued the outer 14mm bolt (see attached) with my impact wrench because it's not biting and just spinning when tightening it with my torque wrench. Ironically, the whole reason I was working on this car before the "jack incident" was because the oil drain plug was stripped and I had to replace the whole pan. I get why that bolt stripped cuz the pan is aluminum, but I didn't think it would be an issue with a bolt attached to the subframe.

So, if anyone knows the best way to fix this that doesn't involve Heli-Coil or Time-Sert, that would be great. I can get a replacement bolt from the dealer, but doubt that's going to solve anything. Ugh...

 

Well, my totaled MRP has already started paying for itself. I removed the 14mm bolt above from the MRP and it seemed to have a very slight bend to it. Pretty sure it was the result of when my other son rear-ended a VW Beetle on the freeway a few years back. So I took the same bolt out my MRP and slowly threaded it by hand with a small ratchet into my 2005 WDP. As it went in, on every rotation there was resistance, then smooth, resistance, then smooth. I think my son's accident, which caused the slight bend in the original bolt, may have also slightly bent the "internal" threads this bolt was trying to thread into.

Once it was snug, I set my torque wrench to 40 ft-lbs, then 45, then 50, and then, not wanting to tempt fate, 55 ft-lbs was my final torque. I'll keep an eye on the bolt, but I don't think it's going anywhere and nor will it being 20 ft-lbs short make any perceptible difference.

Can anyone tell me what this bolt actually threads into? I originally thought the subframe, but it just slides through there and then threads into another piece of metal above it. Is it possibly the side bar of the overall radiator support cradle?

 

I'm hoping your two son's are not prone to be (distracted by) looking at their cell phones when these unfortunate rear-ending accidents have occurred?

It's hard to tell, due to clear images on the inter webs, which component those bolts thread into.
My best guess is perhaps the #24 & 28 left & right front side frame (2nd graphic below), especially #4 & 8 subframe bracket set within those structures?
None the less, something has to be threaded to accept those large bolts.
Front Bulkhead - Dashboard - 2005 Acura TL 4 Door BASE (NAVIGATION) KA 5AT





Or the radiator support?

You would be in a better position to investigate if you can correlate the shapes & forms of those components above with what you may or may not be able to see from under the car?

 

Fortunately, neither accident was cell phone related. Instead, it was sleep deprivation and zoning out...

 

@zeta Thx again for the prompt and detailed response. So is #8 (04616-SDA-A00ZZ) that you highlighted an individual part of the Radiator Support Front you posted the pic of with the two arrows where those bolts attach?

Also, I just noticed that the parts finder and diagrams you post from APW are both different and better than the parts finder on oemacuraparts.com and other Acura dealer websites. I always assumed they used the same system, but they definitely appear to be different?

 

No, the #8 (04616-SDA-A00ZZ) left subframe bracket set (purple) and #4 (04606-SDA-A00ZZ) right subframe bracket set (purple) are individual components of the outlined #28 left front side frame (red) & #24 right front side frame assemblies (red) respectively.

Every individual part unit you see, such as #8 or #4, within the solid line border surrounding #28 or #24, those can be either purchased separately OR if you purchase #28 or #24, you would get everything within the solid line of #28 or #24.


With that said, the best internet image I can find, similar to #8 (04616-SDA-A00ZZ) left subframe bracket set / #4 (04606-SDA-A00ZZ) above is this for a Honda Civic Left Front Sub-Frame Bracket Set below.

The prefix 04616 and suffix A00ZZ of the TL left front subframe bracket part number is the same!
Genuine Honda Left Front Sub-Frame Bracket Set (Front) 04616-TR0-A00ZZ | eBay

Look at that big heavy 'nut' (red) located in the middle of the Civic left front subframe bracket below.

Therefore, I think it is reasonable to assume that this Civic example is similar to the 05 TL left front subframe bracket making that heavy bolt the female fastener for the male front subframe bolt.

You are correct, that is why I use APW for all my initial research, because the 'data detail' (P# data formatting / images et el. ) is the best out there (IMHO).

 

For anyone who's interested, here's the setup my father-in-law came up with to bend the lower radiator support down and fix the damage I'd done with the hydraulic jack slipping off the center lift point.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of what he devised before he took it apart, so you'll need to use your imagination as I describe the photo below.

As you look the photo, imagine that the lower 2x4 is actually a 2x2 metal square tubing that's about 2' long. On top of the tubing he taped some wood scraps that were about 2" wide and 3" long. From underneath the car, he then took the tubing with the wood taped to it and used a couple of quick release woodworkers clamps to secure/hold it against the lower radiator support (represented by the lighter wood at the top of my photo).

The struggle I'd had was thinking about what kind of clamp wound provide enough force to bend the lower support back down. I saw a YT video showing someone using a ball joint press and thought that would be perfect for this purpose. This thing is basically a huge, specialized C-clamp and I was able to rent it from Autozone. Using the pressure screw from the bottom with a piece of wood in between the screw and the metal tubing to keep the screw from slipping off, he used a ratchet with a 22mm socket to squeeze the clamp against the dent and it easily moved down. He repositioned the clamp several times to make the lower support as level as possible.

We were then able to put the new radiator in and attach the hoses and fans. Filled the system with OEM coolant and BAM: this old TL with nearly 190K miles was back in action!

And as an added bonus, the new oil pan I just installed, which I was trying to inspect when this whole "jack incident" happened, isn't leaking a drop of oil.

 

Nice! That was pretty much what I had in my head on how to do this in your driveway. Glad to see you got something worked out.