3.5 RL Swapped TL
Thread Starter
5th Gear
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 5
Likes: 1
3.5 RL Swapped TL
I thought some of you might be interested in this since in my research I could not see that it had been done before and if you need or want or need a new motor this can be a cheaper and newer motor not to mention a good bump in power and torque.
I bought a 96 3.2 tl a few weeks ago with a very blown head gasket for very cheap. I was familiar with the headgasket issues and the motor from a legend I had a few years ago that also had the typical 3.2 headgasket failure. I decided a new motor would be better than trying to save this one since my local salvage yards had good running 3.5 RL motors starting at $350. I ended up going for the cleanest motor I could find which was a 2000 RL motor with 54k miles for $500.
The swap is basically the exact same procedure as the Legend. The only differences from the legend swap were that you can use the RL injectors and coil packs with the TL harness and ECU. The EGR valve also had a different connector so I used the TL one instead of splicing it.
The rest of the swap is the same procedure as the legend as expected. Swap over the TL passenger side valve cover and the wiring harness, remove the plastic covers from the harness. I used the TL differential. CLT and fan switch are on opposite sides of the intake manifold and the IAT is moved to the back so all three of these wires must be lengthened. Oil pressure sending unit wire has to be lengthened. Swap over the hard vacuum lines that are on the passenger valve cover and the back of the motor instead of the RL hard lines and solenoids. The front passenger mount must be custom welded from two halves of each mount the same as the 93-95 legends. There is one bolt on the bell housing that does not line up due to the addition of balance shafts.
The car runs like new now with good power and many more years of life in it.
Old motor out
New motor
Temporary jig i made that swaps between the blocks to help to keep the mount position exact while mocking up the custom mount. There are also people that offer custom mounts for legends if you dont have welder access, the 93-95 version should work.
New mount mocked up, its held together by some angle iron scaps so I can take the cast alluminum to get TIG welded
Mount welded and installed
Completed Swap!
I bought a 96 3.2 tl a few weeks ago with a very blown head gasket for very cheap. I was familiar with the headgasket issues and the motor from a legend I had a few years ago that also had the typical 3.2 headgasket failure. I decided a new motor would be better than trying to save this one since my local salvage yards had good running 3.5 RL motors starting at $350. I ended up going for the cleanest motor I could find which was a 2000 RL motor with 54k miles for $500.
The swap is basically the exact same procedure as the Legend. The only differences from the legend swap were that you can use the RL injectors and coil packs with the TL harness and ECU. The EGR valve also had a different connector so I used the TL one instead of splicing it.
The rest of the swap is the same procedure as the legend as expected. Swap over the TL passenger side valve cover and the wiring harness, remove the plastic covers from the harness. I used the TL differential. CLT and fan switch are on opposite sides of the intake manifold and the IAT is moved to the back so all three of these wires must be lengthened. Oil pressure sending unit wire has to be lengthened. Swap over the hard vacuum lines that are on the passenger valve cover and the back of the motor instead of the RL hard lines and solenoids. The front passenger mount must be custom welded from two halves of each mount the same as the 93-95 legends. There is one bolt on the bell housing that does not line up due to the addition of balance shafts.
The car runs like new now with good power and many more years of life in it.
Old motor out
New motor
Temporary jig i made that swaps between the blocks to help to keep the mount position exact while mocking up the custom mount. There are also people that offer custom mounts for legends if you dont have welder access, the 93-95 version should work.
New mount mocked up, its held together by some angle iron scaps so I can take the cast alluminum to get TIG welded
Mount welded and installed
Completed Swap!
Thread Starter
5th Gear
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 5
Likes: 1
Is there a thread for his swap? I would love to see his too. I did not realise there were active TL members on any forums until I found this forum yesterday.
I would love to take more pics but the car is dirty from snowy weather out here and everything needs to be detailed. I was actually scanning craigslist for a legend with a blown head gasket I could fix up cheap since my girlfriend wanted a four door again and loved our old legend. I found this for 400 with a bad had headgasket and had to move fast to get it. Its got hail damage and a little honda rust in the quarters but the interior is very nice and its only got 117K on it. Its a pretty nice car for a beater price and a little work.
I would love to take more pics but the car is dirty from snowy weather out here and everything needs to be detailed. I was actually scanning craigslist for a legend with a blown head gasket I could fix up cheap since my girlfriend wanted a four door again and loved our old legend. I found this for 400 with a bad had headgasket and had to move fast to get it. Its got hail damage and a little honda rust in the quarters but the interior is very nice and its only got 117K on it. Its a pretty nice car for a beater price and a little work.
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Thread Starter
5th Gear
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 5
Likes: 1
Did it myself, I had my legend motor out twice before so I already new exactly how to dig in. I have done lots of other swaps for other cars too.
I had the swap complete three weeks after buying the car, there was not really that many hours into it though and I took my time. I pulled the motor the first weekend, maybe took 4 hours. Then I got the new motor that week and mocked up the mounts that next weekend, only about two hours. Then well the mount was getting welded I swapped over the tranny diff and all wiring that week, probably about three hours taking my time to figure out the best way to hook everything up right. Then the third weekend I had everything ready to throw it back in, maybe 5 or 6 hours taking my time.
I had the swap complete three weeks after buying the car, there was not really that many hours into it though and I took my time. I pulled the motor the first weekend, maybe took 4 hours. Then I got the new motor that week and mocked up the mounts that next weekend, only about two hours. Then well the mount was getting welded I swapped over the tranny diff and all wiring that week, probably about three hours taking my time to figure out the best way to hook everything up right. Then the third weekend I had everything ready to throw it back in, maybe 5 or 6 hours taking my time.
Three Wheelin'
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 1,452
Likes: 90
From: New Orleans, LA
Last edited by main70072; Dec 14, 2010 at 02:19 PM.
Thread Starter
5th Gear
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 5
Likes: 1
I was active on a-l a few years ago when I had my legend, I actually helped quite a bit with researching the ecu and made a rom editor for it. I was never actually that interested in actually modding my legend over my other cars though so when it kept giving trouble I lost interest.
Go90go, I am just curious which diff did you use? When I briefly researched the swap using outdated legend threads it sounded like I would have likely had to use the TL diff which I did just because it was sure to work. But now after its done and looking into it more it sounds like the alluminum RL diff might have worked after all.
Go90go, I am just curious which diff did you use? When I briefly researched the swap using outdated legend threads it sounded like I would have likely had to use the TL diff which I did just because it was sure to work. But now after its done and looking into it more it sounds like the alluminum RL diff might have worked after all.
大日本帝国
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 5,321
Likes: 36
From: Double Standard Land
At the moment, I'm using a Legend diff. When I grenaded my tranny, I had switched diffs to see if it wasn't the diff that had gone bad. When it turned out to be the tranny, I left the diff in.
I don't remember the exact issue, but IIRC, I didn't use the RL diff because the splines on the output shaft of the tranny wouldn't line up.
~Cheers~
I don't remember the exact issue, but IIRC, I didn't use the RL diff because the splines on the output shaft of the tranny wouldn't line up.
~Cheers~
大日本帝国
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 5,321
Likes: 36
From: Double Standard Land
No, I didn't. It was, and still is, a back-burner project. I did get the Type II stuff in, as you know, but I haven't done anything else performance wise. Even the manifold took about 6 months before we finally got around to installing it, haha.
I wish I had the time to take the car apart and send out some stuff to be worked on while I'm gone! Oh, well.
~Cheers~
I wish I had the time to take the car apart and send out some stuff to be worked on while I'm gone! Oh, well.
~Cheers~
Thread Starter
5th Gear
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 5
Likes: 1
That is correct. I would like to try a RL ecu but I would like to try and find one a little cheaper than what the local salvage yards have them for since I am not 100 percent sure how well it will work. I have not researched it much, but does anybody know if it will work well with the TL tranny since the RL tranny is a bit differnet? You would assume so but I would hate to mess something up cause the solenoids are not operated the same or something.
The bigger concern I have is this line I came accross in the TL service manual
"When substituting a known-good PCM, immobilizer code must be rewritten using Honda PGM tester, or engine will not start."
If thats true then getting it rewritten might be a pain or possibly impossible if the RL TL codes do not interchange.
For now the TL ecu seems to work just fine, the car runs like stock. Mine is rarely ever driven hard enough to leave closed loop anyways and I doubt the timing maps are too different. Better shift points might be nice.
Senior Moderator
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 45,641
Likes: 2,335
From: Better Neighborhood, Arizona
No they're not. Legends (even the coupes) were about 100 pounds heavier than a UA3 according to Acura's press releases/spec sheets.
More legroom, less road noise and more electronics
More legroom, less road noise and more electronics
Last edited by Ken1997TL; Dec 30, 2010 at 11:22 AM.
Reppin' the T-Dot!!
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 1,347
Likes: 2
From: Toronto, Ontario
Good to see this being done more. That's the swap Iwish I had done instead of the Type II prob could have found a better motoro with less miles and would still have the TL. Miss that car.. Lucky sob that got it got a steal with all the parts he got for next to nothin. Nice swap, good work. I still have a Type II ECU if anyone's interested.
Three Wheelin'
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,896
Likes: 2
From: The Hella part of Cali
Senior Moderator
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 45,641
Likes: 2,335
From: Better Neighborhood, Arizona
DawgWitDa1stGen98TL3.2
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 223
Likes: 28
From: Little Rock, AR
IT'S... ABOUT... TO... GO... DOWN... 1st Gen TL & RL Frankenstein!!! A 1998 TL 3.2 with a 2000 RL 3.5 engine and 1994 Legend Type II Cams and Intake Manifold!!!! The ultimate C series Engine. Getting tired of these J series engines having all the fun. They all for get about us C series and I have to remind them. Hell, the NSX is a C series engine. LOL. This may take a week or two... or maybe three.
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2000 Acura RL 3.5
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1994 Acura Legend with Type II Manifold and Cams
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My 1998 Acura TL 3.2
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2000 Acura RL 3.5
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1994 Acura Legend with Type II Manifold and Cams
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My 1998 Acura TL 3.2
Last edited by omega1911; May 13, 2013 at 01:51 AM.
DawgWitDa1stGen98TL3.2
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 223
Likes: 28
From: Little Rock, AR
Day 2: Took the engine apart... All this gunk and slug is stuck all in the inside of the engine. I didn't know where to start. Bought some wire brushes, Purple Power, Carb Cleaning spray, and rubber disposable gloves and went to scrubbing. For hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours etc etc etc. Went thru 2 walmart shirts and a nice pair of Jeans. That gunk/slug gets everywhere like a damn ninja.
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Day 4: I scrub as much as I could with Purple Power. I got all the tight spots and corners with the carb cleaning, and power washed it under water pressure hose. Now, I sent it off to the machine shop to get a chemical dip.
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Apparently, the prior owner didn't like getting oil changes, but loved to just add oil.
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Day 4: I scrub as much as I could with Purple Power. I got all the tight spots and corners with the carb cleaning, and power washed it under water pressure hose. Now, I sent it off to the machine shop to get a chemical dip.
---------------
Apparently, the prior owner didn't like getting oil changes, but loved to just add oil.