Oil Leak

[capncrunk]

The restoration of my Craigslist-scored H22-swapped CB7 is underway, I'm currently in the middle (literally) of taking off the chopped ricer springs that came on it and installing Koni STR.T and Neuspeed sport springs, which unfortunately I've found may be the least of my worries, because...

It looks like there's a pretty bad oil leak. When I got the thing, the valve cover was leaking even worse and the plugs were submerged in oil, so I replaced the valve cover gasket and all the seals for the spark plug chambers, and all the valve cover studs and nuts as they were all stripped (7 bucks per stud from the dealership. ouch!). The leak slowed down and the plugs are dry, but I'm still adding about a quart a week (as opposed to it dropping it as fast as you could put it in basically). I see oil collecting in areas on top of the block, so I'm pretty sure it's on the head somewhere. The guy that owned it before me had it boosted, but took off the turbo and just replaced it with some 'Meh'gan header because, he said, "It was too much. Ha ha"... I'm worried he stressed it out too much.

My question I guess is that if I just get a complete head gasket set and replace every seal I can on the head, will that pretty much guarantee that any possible leaks will stop? Assuming there isn't a crack anywhere or something... What on the block could leak?

Could the head gasket itself cause an oil leak? I'm pretty sure it needs to be replaced anyway because I'm seeing some moisture in the oil, but could that leak oil too? I've read mixed opinions on that around the internet.

Would it even be worth all the hassle, and would it just be cheaper/easier to find a new H22 to throw in there? What would be a fair price to have someone rebuild the engine?

Sorry about the idiot questions, I've never taken an engine apart beyond a valve cover.

[deevergote]

It's good to see that you're actually looking to do things the right way! So many newcomers just want the cheap way out... Doing things right, and presenting your problems clearly (as you did) will take you far on this forum!

Anyway, I'll work backwards.

It's difficult to say what a fair price for a rebuild would be, since there are many factors involved... You can "rebuild" without replacing every little part, or you can do a complete overhaul... The parts chosen will affect the cost greatly. As for how much the labor would cost... you'd need to determine who you're going to (be it an established shop, off-duty mechanic doing work on the side, or an experienced hobbyist.) If you have a shop doing it, charging somethng like $80... it's going to cost quite a bit!

Do you have another car, or is this what you rely on to get yourself to work/school/whatever? If you need this car to be a daily driver, then I say pick up a good H22 (or even an F22) and toss it in... then SLOWLY work at rebuilding the engine you have now. Take your time, get quality parts, and you'll end up with a good engine and lots of useful experience. If you don't need this car right away, then get crackin' on a rebuild as it is.

A blown head gasket USUALLY results in the oil and coolant mixing, rather than the oil leaking on the outside of the block. However, it's not impossible for that to happen. If this H22 was boosted (and based on the suspension, I assume it was boosted by a moron...) it may have LOTS of things wrong with it!
If you can be sure that the leak is coming from the head, or between the head and block, then pulling the head, freshening it up with replacement parts, and making sure it's completely straight (it may need machining...) will most likely fix that problem.
Of course, if it was boosted, the pistons probably took a beating as well. Still, if you rebuild the head now, and find you have to rebuild the block later, the only thing you'd really need to change again during the block rebuild is the head gasket (I wouldn't suggest reusing a gasket, even if it's only a few months old by that time!)

[dailydriVen]

is it coming from the area around the distributer if so it could be the o-ring on the bottom of the dist assembly...if thats the prob oil will usually collect on top of the trans and would appear to be coming from the head

[capncrunk]

@deevergote - Thanks for the great reply! I'm leaning towards getting a 'new' h22 to throw in there while I fix and build out this one. I see a couple reasonably priced ones on craigslist right now that would do the job.

An F22 would be cheaper for sure, but figuring out what all the little pieces I need to swap it back and getting them all sounds like a hassle (mounts, etc). It's already set up to take an H22 so I might as well stick with it. Besides I think I would miss the extra pull the H has if I went back.

@dailydriVen - The oil is mostly collecting on the opposite corner of the engine from the dizzy, and under the intake on the back. Also the oil pan is completely wet. There are definitely multiple sources of the leak. But it's hard to tell where it's all coming from, because pretty much everything is wet. =/

[EJX_Michael]

@deevergote - Thanks for the great reply! I'm leaning towards getting a 'new' h22 to throw in there while I fix and build out this one. I see a couple reasonably priced ones on craigslist right now that would do the job.

An F22 would be cheaper for sure, but figuring out what all the little pieces I need to swap it back and getting them all sounds like a hassle (mounts, etc). It's already set up to take an H22 so I might as well stick with it. Besides I think I would miss the extra pull the H has if I went back.

@dailydriVen - The oil is mostly collecting on the opposite corner of the engine from the dizzy, and under the intake on the back. Also the oil pan is completely wet. There are definitely multiple sources of the leak. But it's hard to tell where it's all coming from, because pretty much everything is wet. =/

Go to autozone an pick yourself up a can of engine degreaser. Spray the engine down wherever the oil is and follow the rest of the instructions on the can. This should get your motor nice and clean and help you find that leak!

Is most of the oil you find leaking out to the ground? It may be possible that a ring is blown from the crappy turbo, this would cause a bit of oil loss. From what I have read, it is completely normal for an H to burn about a quart of oil ~ 3,000 miles.

[4GAccordH22]

The leak at the back of the block under the intake COULD BE the oil cooler o-ring. I'm pretty sure mine is bad, but I'm too lazy to repair it.