I fixed the coolant leak & turbo issues on the RDX (P2263, P0234)

Added: 2026-05-24

[00:00:02]I'm having issues with my turbo. That's my 2007 Acura RDX with an inline four 16 valve dual overhead camshaft 2.3 L iVTEC turbocharged engine, also known as the K23A1.

[00:00:17]I got these two codes popping up. P2263, the turbocharger boost system performance problem, and a P0234, the turbocharger overboost problem. So, definitely my turbo is boosting way too much. Either it's an electrical problem with a solenoid, there's an air leak somewhere, or the wastegate is stuck.

[00:00:37]And I already had problems with this turbo before. This is an aftermarket turbo that came with the car for parts.

[00:00:43]Now, there are three valves that control boost and exhaust flow in the RDX, two of which are in the turbo. This is the variable flow control valve. Almost every high mileage RDX has a problem with the eye bolt or pivot linkage pin failing on that lever. And this is the wastegate valve. This is the one I had issues with. It was stuck closed, and I sprayed a lot of PB Blaster and WD-40. I banged it a couple times and got it to unstick, and threw it back into the daily, and it worked up until now.

[00:01:11]So, I'm starting with this side. From the outside, this hose looks good. And this is actually the third valve that is used by the entire turbo system to regulate the boost and the exhaust flow pressure, but this one primarily focuses on the boost pressure. The hoses do look fine.

[00:01:26]The solenoid here is what powers it up.

[00:01:29]And see, I don't have a worry of this one being out or the solenoid being out because the whole purpose of this is to take the excess boost pressure and throw it back into the intake before the turbo. So, it serves as a pressure relief system for the engine. So, if this one were to be out, man, my engine would have already received a lot of damage with that overboost. And luckily, the car still drives fine. The only thing is that I cannot overboost it cuz as soon as I do, it does jitter it jitters, it shakes, and it just doesn't like it. So, I don't even over boost it.

[00:01:59]I'm probably traveling at most like 50 miles per hour.

[00:02:06]That looks pretty flushed to me.

[00:02:09]And that green paint we see there on the arm, these are already adjusted by factory.

[00:02:15]And since this actuator is in charge of the exhaust flow of the turbo, it's actually the other actuator that I'd probably mess with the arm just to release that excess boost pressure, but honestly, it would just be a temporary fix. There's something else that's the underlying cause of these two codes going on.

[00:02:32]Probably another stuck valve, who knows?

[00:03:05]There is no visible damage or anything physical going on with the lines that are connected to both of the actuators or both of the solenoids. So, everything is looking pretty good back there. The next thing I can do is add some pressure to the wastegate actuator that is down here, the one that's bolted to the front of the turbine housing. And there's this little specific black hose with the two white dots right there that run to the wastegate solenoid valve right over here.

[00:03:31]Because this one right in the front of that, that's the turbo boost solenoid valve, and that one runs to this actuator.

[00:03:37]So, instead of me having to go down there and add some pressure directly to the actuator, I can actually just pull out that hose and run the test from up here, and hopefully we can see that arm moving up and down.

[00:04:00]>> Cool. Now I have all the access that I need. I have disconnected the hose and now I'm going to set this up. All right.

[00:04:08]So the wastegate arm is that one right underneath this black hose and the wastegate's like right underneath it.

[00:04:17]I'd love to disconnect that hose, but that one has a lot of coolant in it, so it's just going to cause all the coolant to leak out.

[00:04:23]So from here, let's see if we could see it move.

[00:04:32]Yeah, we're already at almost 20 PSI and I don't see it moving.

[00:04:42]We're already at 25 PSI. Yeah, it's not moving.

[00:04:47]Oh, man.

[00:04:50]This is the OEM actuator that came from the previous setup where they had swapped out the eye bolt. So look what happens when I max it out in pressure.

[00:05:01]The arm goes down pretty smooth.

[00:05:03]And I believe these cap out between 15 to 20 PSI.

[00:05:08]It's looking like it's capping at 18 PSI.

[00:05:12]Okay, now I'm going to release it.

[00:05:15]Mhm. So this is actually a working actuator and so is both of the ones that are on the turbo right now. The only thing is is that that valve gate is closed shut again. You know, having the right diagnostic tools just helps you pinpoint the issues on your build so much faster and since I am lifting the RDX on this uneven ground floor, I have decided to bring out my portable jumper with tire inflator from the company called Wolf Box. That way I can check to see that all the tires have the same amount of air pressure and I can safely lift it up and continue with my work.

[00:05:45]Everything needed comes in the case.

[00:05:47]Terminal clamps and air hose, multiple tip adapters, instructions, all in one box. Can you believe that this thing can go up to 160 PSI? Let's check out how fast it inflates my tire from 0 to 35 PSI. So, not only does it pump fast on SUVs, but it can do heavy-duty trucks, motorcycles, sedans, pedal bikes, even sports balls. It has different parameters for air pressure, it has different light modes, it has a USB-C charger so you can even charge your phone. Yeah, I do not leave my house unless this thing is charged and in my trunk because I never know what could happen on the road and if I'm going to need to pump up one of my tires or if there's an issue with my battery.

[00:06:41]I drained the rest of the oil. I'm going to remove this axle nut. I already loosened these two up, but before I could bring this down, I'm going to pop this out, remove that ABS sensor, and then move over this brake line.

[00:06:54]Before I can access the turbo and disconnect all the other lines that are in this area, I'm going to remove this heat shield. There's only three bolts.

[00:07:00]This one further right here, there's one in the back, and then there's one right here on the side. That can be reached from the bottom, but a little bit easier to get them from the top.

[00:07:13]Okay, I'm going to remove There's a total of four three bolts here and one nut here.

[00:07:19]And then there's two bolts down here, and then there's one nut further down there. It's also a very common issue on these RDXs where it leaks from here.

[00:07:30]And there's like residue all over the turbo right now, and I had cleaned it before putting it back, so there might be an O-ring here.

[00:07:40]I'm going to get these from Acura. So, yeah, I'm definitely going to replace these. We'll do those last.

[00:08:27]There we go.

[00:08:29]Oh, yeah.

[00:08:30]Huh.

[00:08:33]Huh.

[00:08:40]Oh, yeah.

[00:08:41]Oh, yeah.

[00:08:44]This is the culprit. This is where the leak is coming from.

[00:08:49]I pulled out the secondary cat, and there is a primary cat that conjoins to the turbo charger right there. And then there's this bracket that holds this axle in place with 1 2 3 bolts. And there's actually one further down. It's a lot easier to get this out the way, or at least move it out the way, so it gives me more access for that bolt. Now, I can finally remove these, and then bring out the axle. Probably wouldn't hurt to add a just a little bit of PB Blaster here, even though it's not that seized. It's already coming out of the hub, which is good.

[00:09:21]That bolt right there.

[00:09:25]My cat is looking not too bad. Mhm.

[00:09:29]Not too shabby. Okay, so there's a hard line right here, which I already unbolted it from the top. But, there is one right there.

[00:09:39]I can get the camera to focus, we could see it properly right there.

[00:09:43]So, there's that.

[00:09:45]And then there is also a bracket that holds the compressor housing of the turbo to the block, and it's like right on top of that.

[00:09:54]If I can move this around, we can probably see it through.

[00:10:00]Definitely could see it better on this side since it's like on this side of the turbo.

[00:10:05]But, it's very hard to focus my camera in such a space. Now, I do have clear access to the oil hard line and the coolant hard line that's right there.

[00:10:14]So, I could remove those, and then there's that bracket.

[00:10:17]So, I have access to remove all of these down here and bring up the turbo. That is the only thing that is preventing the turbo from coming up is these lines, that bracket, and the hard feed line that's right down below.

[00:10:42]I'm going to change out these gaskets, too. Now I have proper space to access that hard line.

[00:10:52]It's being held on by that stud on the exhaust manifold.

[00:10:56]After battling that K23, I finally got the turbo out. Now, we already found one issue, the stuck valve. But, where is that P2263 code coming from? Well, after inspecting this turbo, I found that the linkage pivot pin is warped.

[00:11:18]And since I have that Rotomaster's turbo for parts with a destroyed shaft, but a perfectly good compressor housing, I decided, "Well, why don't I just swap out the housing?"

[00:11:28]It is the exact same fit to the turbine housing.

[00:11:35]Acura has the O-ring for the cooling pipe in stock, but everything else is a special order.

[00:11:51]I'm so excited for my daily. The more that I read up on it, the more potential I see, and I cannot wait to run it. Now, I have to put about 100 mi on it to activate all of the systems and just make sure that everything is operating in order before I decide to just, you know, have some fun with it and enjoy it. I mean, I got some new tires.

[00:12:10]And I'll give you guys an update on the next vlog because yeah, it's going to be a a little while from now. I don't even drive 100 mi in like a couple days, so I'll tell you guys what happened with it and yeah, so far everything's a success, and I can't wait to give it a try. All right, guys. Don't forget to click the Wolfbox link down below, and I'll catch you guys next time. Stay tuned for more, and be safe out there. Bye.