Oil leak..... but from where???? HELP!

[Vex]

I currently have an oil leak that I can not find..

At first, the oil would drip down my oil pan, onto my drainage bolt and then drip from there. I took a close look and it was my gasket, the gasket was pretty much outside of the gasket and was not good anymore. Ordered some honda bond, and oem oil pan gasket. Took the time to do it this last weekend, I cleaned both the surface of the block and the oil pan before applying honda bond on the areas that are needed. Bolted back up and did a new oil change.

I took the car around the block and and drove it till it was at normal temperature. Came back to check for any oil drip and none. Next day, goes to work, comes home. Boom, oil leaking again! I raised the car to find that after the gasket gets heated it'll expand, thus needing to be tightened more. Did so and leaking went away again, for a day. NO I DID NOT OVER TIGHTEN!

This time the leak isn't from the gasket, it seems to be coming from above the oil pan and then streaming down to my drainage bolt and then from there to the ground.

What other plugs, gaskets, are on the LEFT SIDE (If laying under car, RIGHT SIDE, if looking at engine from up top.) should I look for? Are there any at all on that side of the engine?

[Fleetw00d]

Two likely culprits. The oil pressure switch is threaded into the block above the oil filter; sometimes it leaks past the threads, other times through the switch itself. Other source is the oil filter, particularly if you have an EX which has an oil cooler mounted to the block onto which the oil filter is installed.

[Vex]

Will check those locations again. And I do have an EX, however I remember the old filter was dry when I took it off. The area around it as well, but double checking wouldn't hurt.

[Jarrett]

It sounded like you were saying the side and not the back. But anyway, there's a chance that rear main seal is leaking or the distributor o-ring.

[F20A CB7]

Two likely culprits. The oil pressure switch is threaded into the block above the oil filter; sometimes it leaks past the threads, other times through the switch itself. Other source is the oil filter, particularly if you have an EX which has an oil cooler mounted to the block onto which the oil filter is installed.

Oil cooler on ex? Auto or 5 speed. I havnt seen a cooler back there b4.
I found this diagram.





Helpful I think so u can see images> http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...Number=2086188

[badfish82]

Your oil pan it self could be bad as well. Mine was warped, no matter how many pan gaskets i tried it would leak a day or two after. I changed the pan and pressure switch and no more leak.

[Vex]

I forgot to mention that the oil pan had residue all over the location of where the gasket lays upon. It seems the last owner used super glue to hold it down so it wont fall off when bolting it back up. The oil pan had no dents or cracks though.

The residue was hard to get off so we just did what we can. I can take it off and maybe sand it? Or better off with just a new oil pan?

[badfish82]

I paid 50 for a brand new one on e bay, its worth the peice of mind too replace. They take alot of stress when doing timing belts or clutches, well mine did at least i leave a floor jack and a 2x4 under it too support the engine.

[badfish82]

You can purchase dyes too put in your oil too find leaks as well, shows up under a black light. Ive done it multiple times too make sure im replacing the correct part instead of just guessing.

[Accrdwgnguy]

I forgot to mention that the oil pan had residue all over the location of where the gasket lays upon. It seems the last owner used super glue to hold it down so it wont fall off when bolting it back up. The oil pan had no dents or cracks though.

The residue was hard to get off so we just did what we can. I can take it off and maybe sand it? Or better off with just a new oil pan?

Use a drill with a wire wheel in it, that'll clean it right up

[Vex]

S

Use a drill with a wire wheel in it, that'll clean it right up

Wouldnt that make scratches on the oil pan? Therefore leading to small gaps?

[badfish82]

No the wire wheel wont hurt anything, clean it up real nice!

[Vex]

I think i'm going to just take this weekend to jack up the car and give the underside a good wash and then see where the leak is coming from.

I'll go ahead and redo the pan just in case it was my fault.

[Vex]

Alright guys, I went to buy some engine degreaser today and washed out the underside of my car. Everything looks a lot cleaner and I wiped it down dry.

I then started the car, let it warm up and drove it around the block and went on the highway then came back. The oil seems to be coming between the block and the timing belt? I will upload a picture soon.

Dao said it might be my Cam Cap, however I have no clue what that is or what it looks like. Thing is, the head and everything on top of the engine is clean and dry.

[ON_N20]

Most likely the seals on the front (timing) side of the engine.

I just replaced mine the other day while I had the timing belt off. The leak could be originating from the camshaft seal, crankshaft seal, front balance shaft seal, and also less likely from the oil dipstick tube, or rear balance shaft o-ring seal underneath the gearset cover.

I had many oil leaks, and the first day I replaced my oil pan gasket and valve cover gasket. The next day when I worked on the car again, I had oil all over exactly the way you stated it. Wet around the front cover, around the front engine side to oil filter side at oil pan, finally dripping off the tip of the drain plug. That day I replaced my timing and balance shaft belts with water pump, and the cam, crank, and balance shaft seal.

There is a retainer kit available for the front balance shaft seal as well, they have a history of potentially popping out of the oil pump housing, causing a really fast oil leak.

If you find you must replace these seals, they can be replaced fairly easily once you gain access to them. I simply inserted a u shaped hook (like a small pick) in behind the seal (carefull not to scratch the camshaft, crankshaft etc.) then pull from the backside of the seal to pop it out. Then just press or tap in the new seal. Getting to the seals is the hard part

Also it is possible that although the top side of the engine is clean, that the valve cover gasket could be seeping and leaking downward. They are prone to seepage at the 4 "corners" where the u-shape of the gasket goes over the camshaft. Sealant must be used on those 4 corners along with the valve cover gasket.

If you can, pop off the top timing belt cover, and peek in downward while the engine is running. You may be able to spot where the oil is seeping from then.

There is also a 12 mm bolt located on the engine block near oil pump housing for setting the rear balance shaft position, and a larger plug with a 10mm inverted hex on the oil pump housing that plugs off the oil pressure supply. Make sure you have no leaks from there as well, as they are near the front cover area.
Good luck. And yes if you can post that picture, it will be very helpfull to verify your leak!