Finding Your Acura Engine

By Author: Peter Jones
Total Articles: 231
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Did your Acura engine finally give up on you? These cars are made to be luxurious, sporty and reliable, but all good things must eventually come to an end, now matter how well maintained. Which means that now you are on the hunt to find yourself another Acura engine for your beloved vehicle. Of course, you could let the shop handle that detail for you, but that would mean waiting for the shop to get around to trying to source an Acura engine, then waiting for it to get shipped, and then installed, and some folks simply can't be out of a car for that long. No, it's much quicker to find your own Acura engine instead, and most shops are perfectly okay with you doing just that. Check with the shop before you begin your search, but you'll find that most of them are happy to let you do some of the work. Here's some tips on finding a good Acura engine that will hopefully give you as many, if not more mileage than the last one!

Acura or Honda?

Before you even start looking at engines, used or new, find out what other vehicles your car is compatible with. ...
... Wikipedia can be an excellent reference for this. For instance, if you own a 2002 Acura TL, simply look up "Acura TL", find your year model, and look to the right for a list of the engines used in that vehicle, along with their corresponding codes. A 3.2 liter engine will sometimes be depicted as a 3200 on the engine itself, but, beyond that, even if you don't have this information, it's usually boldly printed right there on the top of the motor when you pop the hood. If the car is already at the shop, you can ask them, as well. Keep in mind, although these engines may be interchangeable, some shops shy away from doing this since there is often other work that will need to be done, such as wiring and transmission work. Now that you have your engine code, you can look up the Honda equivalent. In case you weren't aware, Acura is Honda's luxury division, and there are many parts shared between the two labels. For instance, if your engine is the J25A, you can again search Wikipedia for J25A and find that it was also used in the Honda Inspire and Honda Saber. Further research shows that those vehicles were not sold in the same areas as the Acura TL, though, so you're still stuck with looking for engines for an Acura TL, but you get idea. Keep in mind, there is zero difference between the Honda and the Acura engines. As long as they have the same code, they are the same thing, completely interchangeable.

New or Used?

Many people assume that new is better than used, but for those, I like to ask this question - if you had a new TV in a box sitting beside the TV you watch every night, which would you rather put money on to power right up? I'm guessing you picked your trusty used TV. Engines are no different. As long as any wearable parts have been changed, or the engine has been fully rebuilt, a used engine is sometimes even better than a new one. With proper maintenance, you're likely to get just as many miles, and for a whole lot less money.

About: However, Honda likes to keep their engines similar, so you may be able to get an upgrade in performance by going "new" without the need to rewire the car's electronics. Again, be sure to check with the shop to make sure they're comfortable doing that swap to a newer used Acura engine before you make the purchase.