3rd Gen Acura TL

By: Garlon Guerin

Getting The Car

I had just sold my 2002 Ford Ranger and was looking for something sporty with decent gas mileage and FWD to handle the snow in Colorado.

Although the Ranger was a lot of fun I just needed something better. So my friend and I traveled down to Lubbock Texas to get my TL.

Fixing Minor Issues

When I finally got the car home it had a bunch of electrical issues like window actuators, lock actuator,and the radio was also broken. Another problem I had was the headlight ballast and igniters were bad on the driver side so I decided to replace every part in the headlight. The process for taking the headlights out on this vehicle was kind of a pain because you have to take the entire front bumper off. But once it was done they looked much better and I haven’t had a problem since.

Audio System

The next project I decided to tackle was the audio system. This is by far my longest project, I bought 4 skar speakers, a 5 channel amp as well as a skar shallow mount subwoofer. But due to Acura’s configuration of their wiring to their amp you have to purchase multiple bypasses and plugs to make the process much easier. I am still having trouble with this system because it is my first time installing an audio system but I am learning as I go.

Tires

My next step in my build was to get some tires. I purchased some cheap hankooks because I plan on getting new wheels and tires in the summer. For the price of the tires I think they do a pretty good job in the snow and handle pretty well.

Water Pump & Timing Belt

Afterwards I noticed a leak. At first it wasn’t that big so I didn’t think much of it. But as I was working on my audio system I noticed a puddle and it was antifreeze. So I investigated the puddle and saw that the radiator and hoses were all in good condition. So that left really only one other way for it to leak that much. The water pump, so I purchased a new water pump as well as a timing belt because you mine as well replace both. I got the parts in and began to disassemble the old timing belt and pump. This job took me about 20 hours and I can now say I never want to do that again. It was awful because you can’t get a direct ratchet on it so everything is at a weird angle. It was a good skill to learn but I would rather pay someone then go through that again.

Ceramic Tint

Once I got my tires on I decided to remove all the factory tint and buy new ceramic tint. Right now I’m struggling to get the rear windshield tint off because I don’t wanna break my defroster. My tint came in this week and I’m deciding if I should take it into a shop or if I should do it myself.

Exhaust

Next on the list is an exhaust, I decided to go with an exhaust switch from the resonator. It turned out pretty good although my welding could be better for sure. I can switch it from loud to quiet with a click of a button. 10 out of 10 recommend.