Oil leak

pyroskater6912pyroskater6912 Wagonist
in Engine & Drivetrain
so the wagon has an oil leak, found out today when my brother drove it to work and there was a nice little puddle where it was sitting. between his 2 shifts today i got a chance to look at it, i cant see where its coming from. its dripping down right by the oil pan/plug on the driver's side, but there is no real sign of where its coming from (well that i could see in the 5 minutes i looked at it). the only thing that looked out of place was near the distributer it looked like there was dried/burnt up oil there, but he claims that could be from when he had to put oil in it the other day (makes me question how long its been leaking)

any tips/pictures (i havent worked on anything other than a GM ecotec before, sorry for my noobishness) on where to look/what it might be?

thanks guys

Comments

  • CharbCharb Administrator
    Spend more than 5 minutes looking at it
  • pyroskater6912pyroskater6912 Wagonist
    ok now that i had more time it looks like its all around the head and there is oil in/around the plugs

    i'm thinking head gasket?
  • 1988rt1988rt Senior Wagonist
    Maybe try the valve cover or the dizzy O ring
  • pyroskater6912pyroskater6912 Wagonist
    what do i do to check the valve cover? and i'm assuming i can just pull the o-ring off and and replace it? is there somewhere i'll need to go in particular to pick one up?
  • 1988rt1988rt Senior Wagonist
    Honda would be my first guess, you can use the local auto parts store but they suck compared to honda
  • pyroskater6912pyroskater6912 Wagonist
    thats what i figured, and i guess it cant hurt to get it done, i found a quick write up on how to replace the valve cover gasket, is it the same on our cars as on a 6th gen?
  • 1988rt1988rt Senior Wagonist
    Im pretty sure
  • pyroskater6912pyroskater6912 Wagonist
    ugh, went to change the dizzy o-ring since it was only a few bucks from honda, looks like someone tried before and stripped the upper/top bolt. any suggestions on how to get it out of there?
  • pyroskater6912pyroskater6912 Wagonist
    well that certainly was where there was a leak, the o-ring on there turned into a solid piece of plastic, all cracked, and oil was everywhere.

    but after i filled it up with oil and took it out for a quick spin, less than a mile into the trip it started to overheat, and by the time i got it back it was smoking...
  • ppruepprue Wagonist
    Sounds like you've got other problems, i just changed my O ring because I was getting a sheen of oil leaking down on my tranny but never enough to make a puddle just a smell. When I removed the distributor the old ring was totally gone. I replaced it and cleaned it all back up-no sheen or smell since.
    Keep looking.
  • pyroskater6912pyroskater6912 Wagonist
    yeah, i'll keep looking tomorrow. anyone have any places they suggest i look?
  • hidenplanvewhidenplanvew Band Wagon
    Oil filter tight, oil pressure sender is tight (but dont over tighten.. Its right above the oil filter), You said theres oil on the top part of the plugs.. sounds like an valve cover gasket and the O rings around the spark plug holes.. 10 min fix just use honda bond in the corners cause the valve cover gaskets will leak there if not sealed. It should take you 20 min about to fix the valve cover gasket and O rings. Just dont TQ the valve cover bolts more then 7 ft lbs I thinks the specs for them but double check that one but they dont get super tight or they will break and you will have an oil leak and a pain tring to remove that. Next would be to check the PCV box on the back of the block (black box on the back of the block on the trans side of the block) make sure the hose isnt split and cracking or the box isnt split or something. It might be just the oil pan gasket leaking.. First thing to do would be to clean up the oil and take it for a short trip or jack it up and put on jack stands and let it run and see if you can see anything.
  • hidenplanvewhidenplanvew Band Wagon
    Oh and Napa gaskets are just fine and some of the better quality
  • pyroskater6912pyroskater6912 Wagonist
    well i just changed the oil today, as well as the valve cover gasket, flushed the radiator out and filled that up.

    things look a little better, not as much oil, and my overheating problem is gone.

    now i've just got a little drip of oil, and a little steam was coming from the radiator (but it stayed at normal operating temp.)

    once i find a window (dont have a driver's side window right now) i planned on washing it to get all the oil out from underneath it, then see if i can find the leak
  • hidenplanvewhidenplanvew Band Wagon
    Cool well let us know what you find, Try Jb weld on the rad or something it might work and might not.. You could always do the smaller rad swap to clean up the engine bay alittle and give you some more space. Just use an aftermarket 92-95 civic alum ones, have some one weld on a bottom rad support in. But hey if you can get a few pics of your oil leak maybe I can help you figure where its comming from. Remember oil most times flows down hill..
  • pyroskater6912pyroskater6912 Wagonist
    i'm not sure why i was getting steam from the rad, i dont seem to be leaking any coolant anywhere

    and i'll snap some pictures tomorrow once i can get it back up on jack stands, but most of the oil has been all over the oil pan and on the exhaust pipe

    thanks for the help so far guys
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