I'm a long time lurker but finally registered just to get some opinions on my issue. There's a ton of good info on here I've used in the past so thank you in advance for the knowledge.
I have a 2012 Acura TL with 126K miles. I've owned it since 58K and it's always run like a top. I've owned two other vehicles with the J-Series Honda V6 and have never had a problem. This includes my 2009 Honda Pilot which now has 210K on it and doesn't burn/leak a drop of oil. I've typically used Mobil 1 EP with a Mobil filter and stuck with the viscosity recommended by the manufacturer (usually 0W-20 or 5W-20 depending on the vehicle). Always change around 6-8K or so even though Mobil 1 EP can supposedly be run for 15K. Pretty textbook with what I've done with all my cars.
My current issue is the TL. It began burning oil, just out of the blue, about 6 weeks ago. If I got above about 2500RPM I could visibly see smoke in the rear view along with a whole lot of sooty buildup on the tailpipes. I checked all the spark plugs and found that the plug in cylinder 5 is fouled. Badly. All others are fine. Took it to 2 different shops and they came to the same conclusion - oil rings. The valve seals appear to be fine. No puff of smoke on startup and the leak down test confirmed air was escaping out the PCV. Burning about 1 quart every 300-500 miles. I have no idea how this happened. The current oil was about 3000 miles, 3 months old. No over-revving. Just dumb luck I suppose.
So I moved up to 5W-30 Mobil 1 which helped a little but not a ton. My mechanic recommended I use Restore along with conventional oil and see if that worked. I refilled with Pennzoil 5W-30 HM conventional and added a 6-cylinder bottle of Restore. I didn't let it go very long before I got impatient with it continuing to burn, even though I had to get to higher RPM before there was any visible smoke. Drained and refilled with 10W-40 Pennzoil HM and put in an 8-cylinder bottle of Restore. Currently has about 500 miles on that round. It seems to be better in terms of smoke. I have to nearly hit redline before I see anything visible. Consumption is down but certainly still there. About 1 qt. in the last 400 miles or so.
Oh, and to add to the fun, the engine has begun to spark knock, presumably from carbon buildup. Using a boroscope, I can see a whole lot of buildup on the exhaust valves and piston head. The valves on that cylinder have also begun making noise, again, presumably from carbon buildup. They're in spec when I opened the valve cover to do an adjustment. Oh, and when I did that I saw that the heads are super clean. No sludge, uniform color - light brown. Very clean as expected.
So I'd like to hear how you'd proceed at this point. I've gotten a few bids on an engine rebuild/replacement. I currently have a bid for about $4000 for a replacement using a 30K engine. That would include the normal replacement components (full timing set, seals, spark plugs, oil pan, etc.) that's standard when engines are replaced, as well as the engine itself and labor. However, I would much rather mitigate the issue, even if it still burns a little, rather than pouring $4000 into the car. I also got a bid for around $2000 which would be nothing more than tearing down the engine, replacing the rings on just that one cylinder, then putting it back together. I'm a DIY'er but that's above my pay grade.
I do plan on keeping it for a while. I've pushed all my Honda's past 200K miles and still sold them running well after that.
My current plan is to keep on with the current 10W-40 and 8-Cylinder Restore and see what happens. I'll add oil as needed. Any opinions are welcome
I have a 2012 Acura TL with 126K miles. I've owned it since 58K and it's always run like a top. I've owned two other vehicles with the J-Series Honda V6 and have never had a problem. This includes my 2009 Honda Pilot which now has 210K on it and doesn't burn/leak a drop of oil. I've typically used Mobil 1 EP with a Mobil filter and stuck with the viscosity recommended by the manufacturer (usually 0W-20 or 5W-20 depending on the vehicle). Always change around 6-8K or so even though Mobil 1 EP can supposedly be run for 15K. Pretty textbook with what I've done with all my cars.
My current issue is the TL. It began burning oil, just out of the blue, about 6 weeks ago. If I got above about 2500RPM I could visibly see smoke in the rear view along with a whole lot of sooty buildup on the tailpipes. I checked all the spark plugs and found that the plug in cylinder 5 is fouled. Badly. All others are fine. Took it to 2 different shops and they came to the same conclusion - oil rings. The valve seals appear to be fine. No puff of smoke on startup and the leak down test confirmed air was escaping out the PCV. Burning about 1 quart every 300-500 miles. I have no idea how this happened. The current oil was about 3000 miles, 3 months old. No over-revving. Just dumb luck I suppose.
So I moved up to 5W-30 Mobil 1 which helped a little but not a ton. My mechanic recommended I use Restore along with conventional oil and see if that worked. I refilled with Pennzoil 5W-30 HM conventional and added a 6-cylinder bottle of Restore. I didn't let it go very long before I got impatient with it continuing to burn, even though I had to get to higher RPM before there was any visible smoke. Drained and refilled with 10W-40 Pennzoil HM and put in an 8-cylinder bottle of Restore. Currently has about 500 miles on that round. It seems to be better in terms of smoke. I have to nearly hit redline before I see anything visible. Consumption is down but certainly still there. About 1 qt. in the last 400 miles or so.
Oh, and to add to the fun, the engine has begun to spark knock, presumably from carbon buildup. Using a boroscope, I can see a whole lot of buildup on the exhaust valves and piston head. The valves on that cylinder have also begun making noise, again, presumably from carbon buildup. They're in spec when I opened the valve cover to do an adjustment. Oh, and when I did that I saw that the heads are super clean. No sludge, uniform color - light brown. Very clean as expected.
So I'd like to hear how you'd proceed at this point. I've gotten a few bids on an engine rebuild/replacement. I currently have a bid for about $4000 for a replacement using a 30K engine. That would include the normal replacement components (full timing set, seals, spark plugs, oil pan, etc.) that's standard when engines are replaced, as well as the engine itself and labor. However, I would much rather mitigate the issue, even if it still burns a little, rather than pouring $4000 into the car. I also got a bid for around $2000 which would be nothing more than tearing down the engine, replacing the rings on just that one cylinder, then putting it back together. I'm a DIY'er but that's above my pay grade.
I do plan on keeping it for a while. I've pushed all my Honda's past 200K miles and still sold them running well after that.
My current plan is to keep on with the current 10W-40 and 8-Cylinder Restore and see what happens. I'll add oil as needed. Any opinions are welcome