Article on replacing the thermostats

WOW that is a lot of work to change a thermostat!
 
I agree that is a quite a bit of work! It looks like they took a few pages out of the Ferrari service manual, for the Ferraris have a number of service tasks that also require removal of the rear bumper and associated garnish pieces.
 
Not entirely sure how the NSX got a reputation of having simple maintenance. About the only thing that was Civic-esque on the Gen 1 car was the oil change. While certainky doable in the car by any experienced technician, things like valve clearance adjustments and timing belts are absolutely a massive pain. Is it as bad as working on a Ferrari Testarossa or something? No. But it sure was a far cry from an accord.

The new NC1 is even less accessible. A simple oil change is realistically at least a 1.5, more like 2 hour affair. The labor time given in that TSB for the thermostat is laughable. It is more like a 7 hour job to do all that.
 
MasterNSXTech said:
Not entirely sure how the NSX got a reputation of having simple maintenance. About the only thing that was Civic-esque on the Gen 1 car was the oil change. While certainky doable in the car by any experienced technician, things like valve clearance adjustments and timing belts are absolutely a massive pain. Is it as bad as working on a Ferrari Testarossa or something? No. But it sure was a far cry from an accord.

The new NC1 is even less accessible. A simple oil change is realistically at least a 1.5, more like 2 hour affair. The labor time given in that TSB for the thermostat is laughable. It is more like a 7 hour job to do all that.
Click to expand...

How in the world is going to take 1.5 - 2 hours to change the oil on this car ?:mad: I am not a mechanic but the oil filter is right under the plastic/carbon fiber covers and so is the oil cap towards the right of the filter... is there 1 hour on reprograming the car after an oil changed :confused: please care to explain since there must be somthing else I dont know about.. :dejection:
 
MasterNSXTech said:
Not entirely sure how the NSX got a reputation of having simple maintenance. About the only thing that was Civic-esque on the Gen 1 car was the oil change. While certainky doable in the car by any experienced technician, things like valve clearance adjustments and timing belts are absolutely a massive pain. Is it as bad as working on a Ferrari Testarossa or something? No. But it sure was a far cry from an accord.

The new NC1 is even less accessible. A simple oil change is realistically at least a 1.5, more like 2 hour affair. The labor time given in that TSB for the thermostat is laughable. It is more like a 7 hour job to do all that.
Click to expand...

How in the world it takes a 1.5 - 2 hours to change the oil :confused: The oil filter is right under the plastic/carbon fiber covers and the oil cap is to the right of it... so is there an 1 - 1.5 of programing that we dont know about. :eek:
 
MasterNSXTech said:
Not entirely sure how the NSX got a reputation of having simple maintenance. About the only thing that was Civic-esque on the Gen 1 car was the oil change. While certainky doable in the car by any experienced technician, things like valve clearance adjustments and timing belts are absolutely a massive pain. Is it as bad as working on a Ferrari Testarossa or something? No. But it sure was a far cry from an accord.

The new NC1 is even less accessible. A simple oil change is realistically at least a 1.5, more like 2 hour affair. The labor time given in that TSB for the thermostat is laughable. It is more like a 7 hour job to do all that.
Click to expand...


ouch!
sounds like these NSX are going to be expensive to maintain once out of warranty
2 hour oil change is ...nuts
 
After reading the service bulletin, it looks like, at a minimum that they are covering this under warranty, but I did not see any indications that this would be a recall? It would be nice if this is the case as I'd like to avoid the drama of a thermostat failure on a 103 degree day in heavy traffic somewhere, stuck on the side of the road, waiting for a tow truck and the resultant inconvenience of finding a nearby accredited Acura dealer, dropping it off, and having to be picked up...... I suppose that we will all need to talk to our dealers about the situation.....

With regards to the oil change, I was told to expect about $250 for a dealer oil change. Certainly not the Grease Monkey $39.95 deal, but about 1/5th the cost of the "other guys"
supercar oil change cost......

It remains to be seen how maintenance costs add u for this car over time? If driven only 2500 miles per year like I'd expect, it may be a non issue. To a large degree it may depend on how hard those 2500 miles are? Certainly the car was designed to be run hard, but hard to know now how much maintenance will be required over the long haul.
Regardless, it has to be cheaper than the Ferrari, McLaren, etc.?
 
amgeater said:
How in the world it takes a 1.5 - 2 hours to change the oil :confused: The oil filter is right under the plastic/carbon fiber covers and the oil cap is to the right of it... so is there an 1 - 1.5 of programing that we dont know about. :eek:
Click to expand...

For one, dry sump engines have multiple drain locations. And with the new NSX, it's all hidden away behind a not-insubstantial panel. (I believe there are some further complications even, but am not confident enough about my familiarity with the process to speculate about them.)
 
After reading the thermostat Acura service bulletin, it looks like this is considered or expected to be a repair covered under warranty. I didn't see anything that led me to believe it was a recall. It would be nice if it was so that one could get it repaired before it failed on a 103 degree day, in heavy traffic, having left you stranded, waiting for a tow truck, and having to be picked up at an Acura dealer ........

Elistan, are you a Gen 2 NSX owner?? I live nearby.
 
With respect to the dry sump system. Typically dry sumps serve two major functions in a high performance or racing car. 1) to insure that under hard cornering, the oil pickup is not uncovered, allowing the pickup to suck air. At 1G, the oil will be thrown to the side at a 45 degree angle, and 2) the shallower depth of the dry sump oil pan allows the engine to be placed lower in the chassis, thus lowering center of gravity and increasing cornering performance. Usually, there is an external gear driven pump that scavenges oil from the sump and sends it to the oil tank where it is de-aerated, and the pump also has a pressure side that pumps oil into the block. There is usually an oil cooler in the system, and it is usually placed between the scavenge side of the pump and the oil reservoir, so you're cooling the oil when it's at it's hottest after absorbing heat in the engine..... I raced vintage formula cars for many years, and dry sump systems are standard equipment........ But basically a fairly simple straightforward system....... and yes, you'd think they would be simple to drain and replace the oil. The only difficult part might be if you had to empty the oil 100% and had to drain each of the hoses as well. This is typically done when there is an engine failure and you think there might be metal in the oil. When finished replacing the oil it always helps to prime the oil pump, especially on the pressure side from the oil tank to the pump.......
 
nsx878 said:
Elistan, are you a Gen 2 NSX owner?? I live nearby.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately not. :) It came in a fair bit beyond my budget, but I still like following its development because I’m interested in what Honda might end up doing for a replacement for my S2000 which I still have after 18 years.
 
Honestly guys,
This isn't surprising it's actually not that bad for a super car, (and as mentioned above the only straight forward thing on a old NSX is the oil-change).

We're talking Supercars here not civic's, changing similar parts on a Ferrari would take as long, a oil change also on those would take similar due to the dry-slump system require multiple drain locations and a specific filing and measuring.
A Gallardo/LP560/Huracan is worse and i'm not even starting about the thermostat, which sits on the WP pressed against a frame rail and bulkhead.

As here at the shop we pretty much only deal with supercars (NSX, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati etc etc) a NSX is technically more advanced/complicated but less maintenance needy.
That said, WP/TB on a old NSX is a lot more work than i'd would be on a 575 Ferrari.

Whilst i was over at NSXPO Sebring talking with the engineers and inspecting the stripped down NC1 they we're going to run at Pikes Peak it's relativity straight forward.
And there has been some though put in to accessibility in terms of maintenance, something the Italians and British can be very bad at.
 
In defense of the gen1 NSX: a few procedures are easy to do as a home mechanic, not just the oil change.

Air and gas filters are simple to change. Transmission fluid change is easy. Coolant change takes more time than on most cars but nothing about it is difficult. Spark plugs take a little time because you have to take the coil packs off but none of the plugs are a real pain to get to. I've had a couple V-engine cars where obstructions made spark plug changing less pleasant than on an NSX.

I agree though about the valve adjustment. I have the tools to do it but every time it's needed I look at what it entails, say 'this is what money is for', and hire a shop to do it.
 
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