2005 Acura TSX with 272k miles - 9k interval - Pennzoil Platinum Euro L 5W30

[Kris05TSX]

There is a possibility that the extended 9k OCI could be causing sludge
which is blocking oil passageways to the bearings and causing the high bearing wear
that the oil testing lab mentioned due to the high wear metals.

If it were my car I would do short oil change intervals,
and also have the valve covers removed to see if there is a sludge issue,
and do a valve adjustment at the same time.

Valve cover gaskets and seals replaced not too long ago and zero sludge… top end looked spotless

 

[Artem]

You are incorrect. This is what a UOA is for.
No engine anywhere throws this much bearing material and lives a long (er) life.
Especially a 4 cylinder.
Still amazed that there are so many here that don’t see this. There’s probably a lot of experienced guys that read these posts, smirk and laugh. They’re obviously smarter than me, and don’t bother to post…

We honestly don’t know jack squat about actual Lube Related engine failure on this forum because nobody has ran an engine into the ground on here and talked about it.

Let’s use my 98 Camry V6 as an example…. It’s been producing higher than normal Copper & Lead since the first sample I did 13 years ago with 190k miles on the engine. Blackstone CAUTIONED that it has bearing wear report after report FOR YEARS until they finally just said “I guess it’s normal for this engine to produce more metal and chalked it up as normal.

Well… 13 years later and it’s STILL driving just fine and now has OVER 360k miles on it.

Had I freaked out and ripped apart the block back in 2010 with 190k on it, what would I have found or gained from replacing even a single bearing??????

Again, we don’t know ANYTHING on this forum in regards to an actual engine failing. We only drool over FLAWLESS UOA reports and extended OCIs.

 

[KEVINK0000]

That’s great, I am glad you shared this.
Investigating further is not “freaking out “ in my mind. When you see bearing wear, more than zero or close to it, it should always be investigated if you want the engine to continue running. Period. Plain bearings never touch or shed unless something is wrong. Pulling an oil pan is easy work in most chassis and will tell you a lot. Pull one rod and one main, you will see much.
Your engine also trended down, ( which op’s still might) and never reached the ppm of this smaller engine with less bearing area.
For me, seeing this is like having your brake pedal go to the floor once, and since it hasn’t happened again, it must be ok now. You will find out that it’s not at some point. Best to understand why.

 

[Avery4]

As others said, your options are pretty much to run it until it blows up, starts knocking, etc or pull the oil pan or entire engine and disassemble for inspection.

The K24A2 is an engine I have experience with since I fully disassembled and rebuilt one before swapping it into my Civic back in 2020. You may be able to inspect the rod bearings with the engine in the car if you wish, but you will have to remove the chain driven oil pump/balance shaft unit and I'm not sure how easy that would be with the engine in the car and timing cover on, especially retiming it. If you go that far, you may as well check the balance shaft bearings too. Also, those rod bolts are torque to yield and ideally should be replaced if you remove them.

I very much doubt you would be able to service the main bearings without removing the engine because all 5 caps share a large girdle instead of being separate.

Feel free to try an Xw-40 oil if you want, but don't expect any miracles. Here's the oil recommendation page from a UKDM Honda Accord Type S (TSX).

Hope this helps, keep us posted with what you decide to do!

 

[KEVINK0000]

Avery thank you. I was hoping someone would chime in with actual experience with this engine’s internals.

 

[dkryan]

The 05 TSX doesn’t have an oil life monitor. The motor has been really well maintained for its entire life and runs great. These two UOA are about the longest OCI’s that it has seen. Average OCI over its life is about 7,500 miles using quality synthetic and oil filters. Also, for a K24, it burns very little oil which is why I was very surprised to see the lead and copper values, but I guess I shouldn’t be based on the mileage. I too think that it still has a way to go. I think what I’m going to do it cut the OCI’s down to 5k miles and switch to PP 5w40 and do a UOA every other OCI to monitor. Car is mint, so even if I need to rebuild the engine at some point in the near future, it will definitely be worth it.

Good plan!

And with 171k miles and twelve years between UOAs, you don’t know how long this bearing issue has been present.

Good luck!

 

[ScottyB]

i'd agree with Kevin that your results show something is wearing out of spec, period. how long it lasts is again, a bit up in the air BUT:
clean, manual TSX's are thin on the ground. they're one of Honda's best late model products and the K24 is a gem in and of itself - both are worth saving IMO. if you enjoy the car and plan to keep it, i'd start squirreling away some cash for a rod bearing/pump/chain refresh (might as well if you're in there) and find a quality Honda specialist to do it unless you're a DIY guy. then enjoy without issue for another 250k miles.

i run M1 0W-40 and currently QS 5W-40 in my K20Z3 (little bro to your K24) without issue, my UOAs have been great. i rarely see more than 1-2ppm of Lead per 5-7k mile change and that's an engine that sees 8200RPM daily.

 

[Kozman011]

Well, my 06' AT TSX was broadsided by a propane truck, rear-ended by other vehicles and backed into numerous "invisible" giant parking garage pillars by my wife. Last winter, she slid right into the rear end of a semi-truck wrecker. caved the front end in. I replaced AC/radiator, pried the fan back and continued driving. Owned since new. Currently sitting on 310K miles and hops on it when I floor it on the highway entrance ramp. Best car ever owned.