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Are ball joints a maintenance item, or just replace when there's play?
Hi, I recently purchased an '07 Type S with 160k miles. The car is great condition overall, and I just had new tires installed with an alignment. Inspection found no issues with the ball joints. However, I just read a horrific story about a ball joint sheering off without warning, and I know that the ball joints are a weak point on these cars. My question is whether I should just do the replacement preemptively, or is it something that typically can wait until it starts showing signs of wear?
I just thought I had seen it mentioned as a point of concern for 3GTLs in Facebook groups, YouTube videos, and posts here (I think?). Although now that you've put me on the spot, I can't point to any sources. Maybe the ball joints aren't any more or less concerning than any other vehicles, and I just misinterpreted general advice?
I recall ball joints, power steering leaks, and cracks in the dash as being things to look out for with these cars.
I haven't seen widespread reports of the ball joints failing, You might be conflating it with the compliance bushing/lower control arm bushing failure which seems to be a high failure point on these cars. I would not pre-emptively replace the BJ until it needs it and if/when it does fail, only replace it with an OEM Honda part.
Thank you! I've had my heart set on one with the 6-speed for about a decade. And since it's a car I'd like to keep for a very long time, I've been going a bit overboard on the maintenance checklist.
Thank you! I've had my heart set on one with the 6-speed for about a decade. And since it's a car I'd like to keep for a very long time, I've been going a bit overboard on the maintenance checklist.
Thoibot, stop calling him out on what the famous facebook pages have produced! meany head
Haha, you know, it's funny, I wasn't going to post pictures, since I figure everyone has one and knows what they look like. But, then, I never get sick of looking at them myself, so it makes sense. Where in Wisconsin are you? I'm in Oshkosh. I got the TL to replace the Subaru you can see in one of the pics, so the TL is my daily now. I'm a bit concerned about the salt here, but I'm hoping that Woolwax and compulsive cleaning will keep any rust at bay. I guess we will see.
That thing is pretty clean. Where did it reside before the rustbelt here? First thing you must do is remove the body side molding and the mud flaps!! Try to source the aspec kit to make it nice, then drop it on some coils. Auto or Manual?
I am down in Waukesha Co. I miss my KBP at times when I see a nice clean example driving next to me. I always said, one day I will get another one but that day is fading fast. I don't feel like refreshing the whole car for dated tech. It was a great driver tho!
Thanks! It is a manual like yours was, which was really tricky to find. It was actually bought in Brookfield and spent its whole life in Wisconsin, but apparently it was never driven in the winter before. Although, from pictures of other cars for sale, the TLs seem pretty resistant to rust compared to other cars in Wisconsin. Hmm, does salt tend to collect under the side molding and mud flaps? I would hate to remove them, since I like how they look.
I can definitely understand wishing these cars were more up-to-date electronically. But, it's actually a bit of a selling point to me, since it's less that'll need to be fixed when it breaks.
Body side molding needs to go. Cleans the doors up and makes the side look much better IMO. Mud flaps aren't too bad, but they will give the salt another crevice to collect. Your car, your choice. Enjoy it! Should last a long time if you take care of it.
Body side molding needs to go. Cleans the doors up and makes the side look much better IMO. Mud flaps aren't too bad, but they will give the salt another crevice to collect. Your car, your choice. Enjoy it! Should last a long time if you take care of it.
Ohh, yeah, the car in your pfp does have a very nice shaved looked. The funny thing is, I wish the car was just slightly louder, but I'm having trouble even making myself cut out the mid muffler. I just can't change anything about it—maybe it's just too new to me yet.
Thanks! It is a manual like yours was, which was really tricky to find. It was actually bought in Brookfield and spent its whole life in Wisconsin, but apparently it was never driven in the winter before. Although, from pictures of other cars for sale, the TLs seem pretty resistant to rust compared to other cars in Wisconsin. Hmm, does salt tend to collect under the side molding and mud flaps? I would hate to remove them, since I like how they look.
I can definitely understand wishing these cars were more up-to-date electronically. But, it's actually a bit of a selling point to me, since it's less that'll need to be fixed when it breaks.
Nice find! How's the interior? Got plans or just getting up-to-date on the maintenance?
Don't remove the molding or flaps. Don't eff with it at all. Keep it OEM or easily restorable back to OEM.
Keep your eye on the rear quarter where it meets the bumper..it's a typical rust spot on Hondas.
I'm with you on the 'selling point'...
Ohh, yeah, the car in your pfp does have a very nice shaved looked. The funny thing is, I wish the car was just slightly louder, but I'm having trouble even making myself cut out the mid muffler. I just can't change anything about it—maybe it's just too new to me yet.
I wouldn't cut up the stock exhaust. If you want sound, do it right. Get yourself a J-pipe and a cat-back. Super easy to install and most sound great!
Very unfortunate that you have to drive it in the winter. But yeah, fluid film or woolwax will go a long way...but its so disgusting and messy lol.
I undercoated my trOck with black fluid film. I effing hate getting the stuff on me. Until I found all its hiding places in the door sills and bumper, I kept getting oily black grease all over my pants. Worse yet...I have to do an oil change sometime soon and I'm really dreading it.
But...it does do its job at protecting metal. Contrary to what you may think...don't do frequent underbody washes. It will remove the woolwax/fluid film faster.
I use an air sprayer and it takes about 1.5 gallons to do my Expedition. 1 gallon should do a TL easily.
I'm just going to go ahead and full-on ramble about it. My friends and family are sick of hearing about it
Originally Posted by Pair of TLs
Nice find! How's the interior? Got plans or just getting up-to-date on the maintenance?
Don't remove the molding or flaps. Don't eff with it at all. Keep it OEM or easily restorable back to OEM.
Keep your eye on the rear quarter where it meets the bumper..it's a typical rust spot on Hondas.
I'm with you on the 'selling point'...
So, my overall goal is to get it as close to "like new" as possible and keep it that way, without sparing expense. Actually, this car is a sort of experiment I'm trying to conduct. People buy cars and use them for ~7 years, and then replace them, right? What if you just took the money you would spend on a new car and put it into maintaining the car you have? Cubans do it out of necessity. And there's that guy who drove his Volvo P1800 to 3.2 million miles. I do have to deal with Wisconsin winters, so that's a bit of a complication. But my dream is to spend my retirement going to car shows with my old Acura that I owned and drove for forty years, just like the guys I see now do with their Studebakers and AMCs. Eventually I'll probably wimp out and get a winter beater.
I've always really liked 3rd gen TLs, so it was an easy choice. Great reliability and more than adequate performance, while still being practical. They are somewhat uncommon, but parts are reasonable and easy to find. And in my opinion, it's an absolutely gorgeous, timeless design. I'm actually surprised that they're not more well-remembered. I know a lot of people hold FWD against it, but I don't mind it since I'm driving in the snow. AWD would be better, but then that's extra stuff to have to fix.
The interior looks great, considering the age (I attached a picture). The front seats are starting to show wear. I applied some Colourlock Protectant this week, but I haven't decided if it's better to put some seat covers on to keep them from wearing more, or to just plan on doing a reupholster in a few years.
The dash has no cracks, thankfully. I put 303 Aerospace on it and plan to do it every couple months. Would a sun shield help prevent it from cracking?
Some minor wear on a couple buttons and the trim by the shifter. It doesn't bother me for now. There's a backlight out on one of the seat warmer switches, and I was just thinking about looking into opening up the console to replace that light. Pulling interior apart is no fun though. And of course, the cupholder cover is broken, so I've got to look into replacing that as well.
Thanks for the tip on the rear quarter. I focused some Woolwax there, but outside of keeping it clean, I guess I just have to keep an eye on it. I've even thought about removing the covers every year to make sure there's no corrosion starting. I'm hoping that I can any rust spots corrected before they really dig in.
So far, I've just gotten all the maintenance items up to date. I just finished replacing all the fluids and filters. I've been doing research into the best methods for cleaning in a garage. I'm looking at paint correction to fix some of the small chips and scratches in the paint, and then possibly a ceramic coat. I still haven't really decided what would be the best course to protect the paint.
Regarding the splash guards—were they a dealer add-on, Type S cosmetic, or do people just remove them? I've seen a lot of cars with and without them.
Like I was saying, the only thing I'd really want different is the exhaust to be just the smallest bit louder. P/O added tint and painted the calipers, which I think looks good.
Originally Posted by BreezyTL
I wouldn't cut up the stock exhaust. If you want sound, do it right. Get yourself a J-pipe and a cat-back. Super easy to install and most sound great!
I think you're right. I'll have to look into all the options. I want the car a little louder, but only so much that the average person would just think it came from the factory that way.
Originally Posted by BROlando
Its so clean.
Very unfortunate that you have to drive it in the winter. But yeah, fluid film or woolwax will go a long way...but its so disgusting and messy lol.
I undercoated my trOck with black fluid film. I effing hate getting the stuff on me. Until I found all its hiding places in the door sills and bumper, I kept getting oily black grease all over my pants. Worse yet...I have to do an oil change sometime soon and I'm really dreading it.
But...it does do its job at protecting metal. Contrary to what you may think...don't do frequent underbody washes. It will remove the woolwax/fluid film faster.
I use an air sprayer and it takes about 1.5 gallons to do my Expedition. 1 gallon should do a TL easily.
Salt is the worst. Good luck!
Right? If only I could move. Thanks for the tips! A coworker has the the air sprayer, and one of the first things I did was get it into the paint booth at work and spray everything. And boy are you right... stuff is nasty. I'm glad I wore old clothes because it does NOT come out in the wash. Since then I did the oil and transmission fluid, and I went through so many rags and towels wiping it off of my hands and arms. Even after showering, I think I still felt it in my hair the next day, haha. Hopefully, that just means it works. My friends have had good results. Definitely better than any rubberized undercoating.
Hey, does anyone know if Jon Ikeda has signed anyone's dash before? I'd love to have him do that, half because I think it'd be a bit funny and half because I genuinely think it'd be cool. Of course, he's the bigwig VP of Acura now, so I imagine he's a bit busy to come out into a parking lot and sign a car. But hey, if Carroll Shelby can do it, why not the designer of the TL?
The J pipe by itself sounds really good. For me, it added the perfect amount of noise.
I bought an RV6 one because it looks sick..and because their HQ is on my way home lol
I'd do that first and see if you feel you need more.
For paint correction....you may already know most of this.
The method I used was first cleaning the car and then touching up each individual paint chip with touch up paint and 2K clear (with an artist's brush set). I then wet sanded each repair down. Then paint corrected.
I would advise not totally flattening or "glassing" the paint during your correction. Thats for show cars. You want to leave a good amount of clear coat, so you'll still have some orange peel and maybe even be able to see some deep scratches. Don't go after deep imperfections by trying to cut them off.
Then I used Adams graphene coating for the ceramic.
You'll then become a prisoner to proper washing. 3 buckets. Foam cannon. Microfiber mitts and towels which you never drop (or throw away if you do drop), and just generally good wash habits.
It would be a waste to ceramic coat a car which you don't plan to wash and store properly.
Thanks for the info! I'm bookmarking this. I still have a lot to learn regarding paint correction and care. I keep it in a garage, but it'll have to be handwashing throughout the winter.
A J-pipe is probably the best place for me to start. I could still add the cat back later.
See post #14 in this thread for the paint correction.
Acura paint is soft. You can just use an intermediate pad, DA polisher, and polishing compound for almost the entire car. Rubbing compound first, only on the worst areas.
Post #36, for J pipe info and decent (not great) photos of overall paint condition
03-12-2024, 09:10 AM
