why not early acura MDX? adventure/tow rig/daily or challenge car?

I've recently been looking at Acura MDXs on the local craigs. LOTS of running/driving examples less than 2k, and some less than 1k. Reminder - the early (like 02-05) MDX has the 250 HP/ 250 ftlb 3.5l motor with forged internals and CL/TL type S heads. Apparently it also has a spacer under the intake that moves the power band down in RPM (increases torque and reduces HP), and this spacer is easy to remove. The MDX also has all wheel drive (automatic trans only). 

These have an odd tow rating of 4500lbs (boat)/3500lbs (trailer) - no idea why a bigger boat would be ok but anything else isn't.

So how much weight could be quickly removed from an MDX's sorta-hefty starting point of about 4500lbs? It is a 3 row full leather interior... Also would need lowering. 

Ok, ok, so I know the transmission is a known weakspot. But I think many of them have been recalled and updated. And sheesh. At $1k, just drive the car till the trans goes and then part out a few things to make your money back and get another. And keep the now-free j35. 

OR - what would you swap the entire drivetrain into? 106ish inch wheelbase, 66ish inch track width. See here for more J-info. https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/honda-j-series-thread-tech-info/111289/page1/

My dad drove a 2005 from new until about 2 years ago, when a spark plug broke off and destroyed the engine. He sold it to a tech for $700 who replaced the engine/trans (which worked well, but apparently the tech found it was on the way out too) and is probably enjoying a really nice luxury car. He put 180k on it with no problems, and routine maintenance. Gas mileage wasn't great, but it towed well enough (project cars on tow dolly, or a smallish boat) and was extremely comfortable. 

If you want more adventure rig in this $2k range, I'd be looking at the best Isuzu or Montero you could find.  

Quick found samples:

Trooper

Rodeo that might be 2wd

Montero Limited

Another Montero limited 

transmissions are weak.  I wouldn't even THINK about towing with an 02-05. I'd run the trans and p/s coolers as a daily but those weren't what one would call reliable. The rears suspension doesn;t have enough travel and with any weight in the car (say, 3 people and luggage) will have it on the bumpstops and running forty billion degrees of negative camber wearing the rear tires fast. The interiors weren't exactly the epitome of luxury or quiet. I remember getting a loaner to take to Toledo for training. It was an 02 with about 40k miles. It had more rattles, squeaks and thumps than the wifes 2001 Grand Vitara with 60k miles. 

I got nothing good to say about these. There are good honda's/Acuras, but these aren't one of them IMO. 

I like them ok at a cheap enough price but i have to agree that unless you're going to do something that takes advantage of the j series engine (severe weight reduction, manual swap, etc) you'd be better off with with a Trooper or 
Montero for towing and adventure. 

so no go on tow-rig/adventure. 

BUT - I just noticed a couple interesting vehicles that share a similar wheelbase and width:

RX8 and Chrysler crossfire... so AWD v6 honda-powered crossfire anyone?

Robbie said:

so no go on tow-rig/adventure. 

BUT - I just noticed a couple interesting vehicles that share a similar wheelbase and width:

RX8 and Chrysler crossfire... so AWD v6 honda-powered crossfire anyone?

J-serie swapped RX8 would be nice

Same Honda 3.5L was offered in '04-07 Saturn Vue too if your looking for a cheap JY version or a cheap full car for swap. 

Note: Vue also shared the same problematic automatic. 

In reply to fanfoy :

Maybe you could call these guys to see if you could get the adapter separate. And then some work with miata transmissions might get you close to bolt in. http://www.superfastmiatas.com/JV6%20Miata%20Kit.html

a j-series rx-8 would basically be the mazda 350z. 

EDIT - but I'm weird and think I would rather have the transverse v6 setup and AWD from the MDX under the RX8 skin. That would be a heck of a lot of work but I think quite cool. 

As a EX honda tech, We avoided early MDX like the plague. 

re:weight loss

the '14 OneLap MDX was in the 3100# 'curb weight' range for competition, iirc.  But it was fwd, stripped significantly, lexan windows, and had a significant cage.

In reply to sleepyhead :

Different platform

but still, looks like a stock 2014 MDX is 4000-4350 or so, so being able to pull out 1k+ lbs while adding a significant cage is great!

In reply to Robbie :

I can tell you the carpet and seats in those (all 3 rows) are HEAVY. We had to replace a bunch of bad carpets (poorly cut from the factory) which meant that everything had to come out. I wouldn't be surprised to see that the seats, carpets, console and lower dash assembly were north of 500lbs. I want to say the carpet alone was over 60lbs. 

bobzilla said:

transmissions are weak.  I wouldn't even THINK about towing with an 02-05. I'd run the trans and p/s coolers as a daily but those weren't what one would call reliable. 

I came here to say the same thing.  I wish I had a nickel for every sub-100k MDX with the 3-shaft auto that our shop rebuilt.  Transmissions are super junk. 

Vigo said:

I like them ok at a cheap enough price but i have to agree that unless you're going to do something that takes advantage of the j series engine (severe weight reduction, manual swap, etc) you'd be better off with with a TrooperSNIP

Or the Trooper's twin, an Acura SLX. Towed my race car with a '96 for a number of years. Except for badging, everything from a Trooper is the same.

Curtis said:

bobzilla said:

transmissions are weak.  I wouldn't even THINK about towing with an 02-05. I'd run the trans and p/s coolers as a daily but those weren't what one would call reliable. 

I came here to say the same thing.  I wish I had a nickel for every sub-100k MDX with the 3-shaft auto that our shop rebuilt.  Transmissions are super junk. 

Isn't that the case with every Honda V6 auto transmission from that time period? 

In reply to Andy Neuman :

Yes, but with more weight to lug around and then Honda thought that they'd say it could tow even more weight. So they took their weak trans design, added weight, gave it a towing capacity and 3 rows of seats and then expected it to magically be fine. 

I had a friend buy one a couple of years ago.  Was showing me the great deal he got.  I said it was a good deal till the trans goes south.  The trans last a month or so.