Thanks again for all the advice. Much more productive than the guys over on Azine.
I think I'm going to continue with the Restore/Conventional oil route since my mechanic can't get me in until October 9th. That shop is in high demand most of the time. They have a pretty good reputation. I haven't had to go much since I haven't had any major problems since my 2004 Altima (which had all sorts of problems). Since I've gone Honda I literally haven't had anything but routine maintenance, timing belts and valve adjustments which I can handle.
I'm certainly concerned about the Restore causing increased wear. Having microparticles of heavy metals like lead doesn't sound appeasing. However, I don't have much to lose. And it has pretty good reviews from a lot of folks. Also, I've noticed this week, as I've been keeping an eye on that cylinder, that it has reduced carbon buildup on the piston head. I can see some of the head surface now (mostly the peripheral edges, and I've only been able to get it to knock once. I wasn't able to get it to knock at all yesterday and I intentionally kept in in a low gear with the AC on up a pretty long hill going home to heat it up really good. We'll see if that holds.
I know trading in the car might be a good option but I really like this car, and the rest of it is in great condition. The exterior and interior are in really good shape considering the mileage, the AC is ice cold and the transmission is perfect. The transmission is the biggie on these. There are frequent complaints with tach hunting and shudder with this generation of TL and having one with no problems really motivates me to keep it.
And yeah, it might seem surprising to have the short blocks on order for Acura's but the big reason is that 3.7 engine. Acura tried going with a siliconized aluminum liner on that engine, which a lot of other auto manufacturers successfully have, in order to reduce friction. However, apparently they botched it because it seems to have increased wear, either with the rings or liners, which eventually leads to oil consumption. There are guys on Azine that have had their engine replaced once or even twice under warranty and the problem resurfaces 20K miles later or so. That same engine is also in some of the MDX's. It's no wonder they did away with it for the TLX. They didn't use those liners for the 3.5L. But ironically, mine starts burning oil. Go figure. Different issue though. It's not across all cylinders like the 3.7. Just one from faulty rings or something stupid I did without knowing.
I think I'm going to continue with the Restore/Conventional oil route since my mechanic can't get me in until October 9th. That shop is in high demand most of the time. They have a pretty good reputation. I haven't had to go much since I haven't had any major problems since my 2004 Altima (which had all sorts of problems). Since I've gone Honda I literally haven't had anything but routine maintenance, timing belts and valve adjustments which I can handle.
I'm certainly concerned about the Restore causing increased wear. Having microparticles of heavy metals like lead doesn't sound appeasing. However, I don't have much to lose. And it has pretty good reviews from a lot of folks. Also, I've noticed this week, as I've been keeping an eye on that cylinder, that it has reduced carbon buildup on the piston head. I can see some of the head surface now (mostly the peripheral edges, and I've only been able to get it to knock once. I wasn't able to get it to knock at all yesterday and I intentionally kept in in a low gear with the AC on up a pretty long hill going home to heat it up really good. We'll see if that holds.
I know trading in the car might be a good option but I really like this car, and the rest of it is in great condition. The exterior and interior are in really good shape considering the mileage, the AC is ice cold and the transmission is perfect. The transmission is the biggie on these. There are frequent complaints with tach hunting and shudder with this generation of TL and having one with no problems really motivates me to keep it.
And yeah, it might seem surprising to have the short blocks on order for Acura's but the big reason is that 3.7 engine. Acura tried going with a siliconized aluminum liner on that engine, which a lot of other auto manufacturers successfully have, in order to reduce friction. However, apparently they botched it because it seems to have increased wear, either with the rings or liners, which eventually leads to oil consumption. There are guys on Azine that have had their engine replaced once or even twice under warranty and the problem resurfaces 20K miles later or so. That same engine is also in some of the MDX's. It's no wonder they did away with it for the TLX. They didn't use those liners for the 3.5L. But ironically, mine starts burning oil. Go figure. Different issue though. It's not across all cylinders like the 3.7. Just one from faulty rings or something stupid I did without knowing.
