Need information on replacement Acura 3.7L block

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

MajorCavalry

Joined
Aug 7, 2011
Messages
394
Location
CT USA
I have been trying to research factory replacement blocks for the 3.7L TL engine.

Mine is being replaced by Acura for excessive oil use. What has been done by Acura to insure that the replacement block will not suffer the same problem?

As far a I can see, one of three problems exist (certainly could be more)
1. Cylinder walls were improperly prepared.
2. Rings were improperly installed with gaps lining up
3. Rings and cylinder walls were incompatible resulting in excessive wear.

Does anyone have information on what modifications, if any, have been done?


Thanks
 
Are you getting a new block or a new short block? As in, will the dealer(?) move crank, rods etc from your old engine over; or will they just drop in a new/rebuilt engine?

If they do a teardown I would hope they could pinpoint why.

Has anyone online torn down one of these engines and inspected? Assuming there is a widespread issue that is--sorry, I don't follow Acura.
 
With a quart every 1.5k I wouldn't be worried about the engine, just top it up.... I'd be worried about the catalytic convertors which will be the more expensive repair.

I wouldn't mind adding oil every so often, would be fun.
 
an acura engine consuming oil from acura? something isnt being said . i never heard of an out of acura engine leaving or consuming oil! what did he or she do ? put bio gas in it (20%) the accura book probably tell the customer not to put that in the engine ,since my nissan book is one of the thing it mention .real gas only no bio
 
Subaru had similar problems in the same time period. It was generally blamed on the piston ring supplier. This was in the period following Fukushima, when parts pipelines dried up.

That said.....Who knows if it is a design problem? Probably only the engineers working on the problem.

If it were me, I would let them install the new engine, and drive it harder, not easier. Pressure and heat are your allies, when seating rings.
 
Originally Posted By: supton
Are you getting a new block or a new short block? As in, will the dealer(?) move crank, rods etc from your old engine over; or will they just drop in a new/rebuilt engine?

If they do a teardown I would hope they could pinpoint why.

Has anyone online torn down one of these engines and inspected? Assuming there is a widespread issue that is--sorry, I don't follow Acura.


I think you misunderstand the difference between a long and short block. Both have crank and pistons, but the short block has no heads.

Since Acura is paying for it and its an oil consumption issue, the only thing that makes sense is a long block. Acura will have to warranty the new engine also, they obviously do not want to pay for another engine after this one.
 
Originally Posted By: yvon_la
an acura engine consuming oil from acura? something isnt being said . i never heard of an out of acura engine leaving or consuming oil! what did he or she do ? put bio gas in it (20%) the accura book probably tell the customer not to put that in the engine ,since my nissan book is one of the thing it mention .real gas only no bio


There were lots of Acura V6s that had oil consumption issues caused by variable cylinder management issues. Enough, iirc, to result in a class-action lawsuit and victory. Don't know if this has anything to do with the OP's issue, but oil-burning Hondas and Acuras are hardly unheard of. And usually not the fault of the owner/victim.
 
Originally Posted By: MajorCavalry
I have been trying to research factory replacement blocks for the 3.7L TL engine.

Mine is being replaced by Acura for excessive oil use. What has been done by Acura to insure that the replacement block will not suffer the same problem?

As far a I can see, one of three problems exist (certainly could be more)
1. Cylinder walls were improperly prepared.
2. Rings were improperly installed with gaps lining up
3. Rings and cylinder walls were incompatible resulting in excessive wear.

Does anyone have information on what modifications, if any, have been done?


Thanks


Where did you get this list from? I would assume Acura has torn an engine (or two) down and knows the problem. They are not going to toss in a lot of new engines without understanding the issue.

Valve stem seals can cause the issue, gummed up oil control ring, the bearings squirting too much oil at the cylinder wall.

First guess would be oil control ring.
 
This particular engine series does not have variable cylinder management. That was a problem with 2008- Honda 3.5L engines.

The 3.7L Acura engine in question has hypereutectic silicon aluminum alloy cylinder liners. No press fit iron liners like the 3.5L Acura engine in the FWD model. The silicon crystals precipitate out of the aluminum and provide the barrier that the rings rub against. Some kind of cylinder preparation has to be done to remove a thin layer of aluminum and leave the silicon crystals protruding from the surface. I am sure this is a gross oversimplification, but it is how I understand the process.

This one engine family seems to have a hit or miss reputation. Some are quite oil tight and some use quite a bit. It is a well known problem. Runs very well otherwise.

Also, the short block contains all the internal parts. The heads, with new valve seals, will be reused.
 
Originally Posted By: Danh
Originally Posted By: yvon_la
an acura engine consuming oil from acura? something isnt being said . i never heard of an out of acura engine leaving or consuming oil! what did he or she do ? put bio gas in it (20%) the accura book probably tell the customer not to put that in the engine ,since my nissan book is one of the thing it mention .real gas only no bio


There were lots of Acura V6s that had oil consumption issues caused by variable cylinder management issues. Enough, iirc, to result in a class-action lawsuit and victory. Don't know if this has anything to do with the OP's issue, but oil-burning Hondas and Acuras are hardly unheard of. And usually not the fault of the owner/victim.


having followed the racing scene of acura and honda small engine, i maintain my statement .first thing acura or honda should do if such a thing happen is ask for a sample of the gas . its just not possible. i owned honda they are bulletproof . they are so bulletproof it is the brand of choice when people want to go nuclear on the engine . they only thing that changed is the gas at the pump .they added the bio part witch is a nono in a japanese engine . my nissan book even say so and i am sure honda book also say so. but since most dont read i bet they didnt bother and just put first thing that was cheap .in canada if gas is cheap you get ethanol you dont have a choice ,and only very specific brand sell non ethanol gas . bothom line .make sure you gas as no ethanol
 
Originally Posted By: yvon_la
Originally Posted By: Danh
Originally Posted By: yvon_la
an acura engine consuming oil from acura? something isnt being said . i never heard of an out of acura engine leaving or consuming oil! what did he or she do ? put bio gas in it (20%) the accura book probably tell the customer not to put that in the engine ,since my nissan book is one of the thing it mention .real gas only no bio


There were lots of Acura V6s that had oil consumption issues caused by variable cylinder management issues. Enough, iirc, to result in a class-action lawsuit and victory. Don't know if this has anything to do with the OP's issue, but oil-burning Hondas and Acuras are hardly unheard of. And usually not the fault of the owner/victim.


No can do in Connecticut. ALL gas has ethanol.
having followed the racing scene of acura and honda small engine, i maintain my statement .first thing acura or honda should do if such a thing happen is ask for a sample of the gas . its just not possible. i owned honda they are bulletproof . they are so bulletproof it is the brand of choice when people want to go nuclear on the engine . they only thing that changed is the gas at the pump .they added the bio part witch is a nono in a japanese engine . my nissan book even say so and i am sure honda book also say so. but since most dont read i bet they didnt bother and just put first thing that was cheap .in canada if gas is cheap you get ethanol you dont have a choice ,and only very specific brand sell non ethanol gas . bothom line .make sure you gas as no ethanol
 
Originally Posted By: MajorCavalry
The 3.7L Acura engine in question has hypereutectic silicon aluminum alloy cylinder liners. No press fit iron liners like the 3.5L Acura engine in the FWD model. The silicon crystals precipitate out of the aluminum and provide the barrier that the rings rub against. Some kind of cylinder preparation has to be done to remove a thin layer of aluminum and leave the silicon crystals protruding from the surface.

Isn't this the same process as BMW used in one of their problem engines. Seems to me the problem at that time was the amount of sulfur in North American gasoline, which resulted in erosion of the bore. As I recall they (BMW) had to replace a lot of those blocks.

Weak or misaligned rings could be a new issue of course.
 
I'll be thankful no topping on a 2007 mdx with 3.7 and 145k miles. Use 5w30 conventional since 80k if that matters.

Oci is the OLM (5k to 8k)
 
Originally Posted By: ecotourist
Originally Posted By: MajorCavalry
The 3.7L Acura engine in question has hypereutectic silicon aluminum alloy cylinder liners. No press fit iron liners like the 3.5L Acura engine in the FWD model. The silicon crystals precipitate out of the aluminum and provide the barrier that the rings rub against. Some kind of cylinder preparation has to be done to remove a thin layer of aluminum and leave the silicon crystals protruding from the surface.

Isn't this the same process as BMW used in one of their problem engines. Seems to me the problem at that time was the amount of sulfur in North American gasoline, which resulted in erosion of the bore. As I recall they (BMW) had to replace a lot of those blocks.


Weak or misaligned rings could be a new issue of course.


That was Nikasil which was replaced with Alumasil (which was massively better). They didn't have any real issues with the alumasil engines, the Nikasil ones responded poorly to sulfur in the fuel, which caused the lining to degrade or something to that effect.
 
Originally Posted By: yvon_la
its just not possible. i owned honda they are bulletproof .


That's ridiculous. Honda has made many excellent engines (other than their ridiculous adherence to timing them with rubber-bands instead of chains), but its never "impossible" for a manufacturer to blow it, especially in the age we live where things have to be pushed out the door earlier than engineers would prefer in order to meet ever tightening regulations. And EVERY single manufacturer has examples of such screw-ups, including Honda (just ask anyone whose repeatedly replaced an Odyssey or Accord automatic transmission in the early/mid 2000s model years).
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

M
  • Locked
Detailed 2012 Acura TL powertrain information
Replies
7
Views
2K
artificialist
M
  • Locked
Acura 3.7L engine oil consumption..another thought
Replies
15
Views
19K
MajorCavalry
M
  • Locked
Update on Acura 3.7L Block replacement
2
Replies
32
Views
15K
Hokiefyd
M
  • Locked
Acura 3.7L block replaced
2
Replies
21
Views
3K
MajorCavalry
M
  • Locked
Acura offers customer new engine
Replies
9
Views
3K
Silverado12
Back
Top Bottom