do you really have to take it to the dealer. Ive done several on other cars but the RL, this guy at a small shop told me he couldn't do it.

 

It's not that hard for an experienced shop. Find someone who specializes in hondas/acuras if you don't want to pay the dealership price.

 

I used to work at a shop that worked exclusively on Hondas. My buddy/former co-worker just did one last week, he said it was easy. Not as hard as v6 accords.

 

Some folks do not want to work on Honda crank bolts because they can be a serious pain to get out, but if you are a regular Honda guy then you probably have the special crank pulley socket and an extra long cheater bar to bust the crank bolt loose. I just crank up the shop air and break out the 3/4 inch impact, dont forget, the engine turns the wrong way to use the starter to bust the bolt loose like on most cars. The bolt is still left hand thread and still comes out CCW direction.