tune up suggestions..

[613lx]

i just received a 91 accord lx for free.. its a 2dr 5spd.. has 372k KM's on the odometer.. ill post a few pics of the engine bay in a sec.. im new to honda engines and was wondering if anyone could make a few suggestions on how to get this engine back up to par... very rusty and original clutch .. oil leak on the back side of the engine (firewall side) that i can locate buy cant find the EXACT leak point.. leaks near what looks like a rad hose.. there is also fluid leaking from the exhaust.. cant tell what it is by smelling of looking at it.. and when i turn on the engine it idles a little high till its warmed up (about 1k at cold start and goes down gradualy to about 650 / 700)

[613lx]

http://www.angelfire.com/ct3/mo/Picture_029.jpg
gonnah have to save target as or open new window and paste... angelfire bad hosting.... if ne one knows better place to upload pics plz let me kno

[mrhonda]

The oil leak on the back-side of the engine is coming from the cam seal. Since Accord motors are tilted slightly to the rear, the cam seal leaks oil onto the waterpump boss and drips down the back of the block. The only way to fix this is to remove the drive belts, timing covers, timing belt, and cam gear to replace this seal. With that many kms, the timing belt and waterpump should probably be replaced anyway, especially if the belt is contaminated with oil. Other than that, I'd give it a good tune-up; flush all fluids, new spark plugs, wires, cap & rotor, PCV valve, and reset the igntion timing. It should run very well after all this is done. Also, since you mentioned that you are not very familiar with Honda motors here are a few common problem areas to look for....oil in the spark plug tubes, oil leaking from distributor, coolant leak at radiator, broken motor mounts etc. These are great cars and near-bullet proof engines as long as you take care of them.

[evol90accord]

I just went through about 99 percent of that. Also check your motor mounts, cv joints, oil pan gasket. After all of those seals you could start running synthetic if your not already

[613lx]

thanks for the advice.. i just went out and got a haynes for this car.. should tell me how to do all this

[Blk EX Coupe]

The oil leak on the back-side of the engine is coming from the cam seal. Since Accord motors are tilted slightly to the rear, the cam seal leaks oil onto the waterpump boss and drips down the back of the block. The only way to fix this is to remove the drive belts, timing covers, timing belt, and cam gear to replace this seal. With that many kms, the timing belt and waterpump should probably be replaced anyway, especially if the belt is contaminated with oil. Other than that, I'd give it a good tune-up; flush all fluids, new spark plugs, wires, cap & rotor, PCV valve, and reset the igntion timing. It should run very well after all this is done. Also, since you mentioned that you are not very familiar with Honda motors here are a few common problem areas to look for....oil in the spark plug tubes, oil leaking from distributor, coolant leak at radiator, broken motor mounts etc. These are great cars and near-bullet proof engines as long as you take care of them.

what side of the motor would the oil be leaking on? I started to notice oil leaking out of the backside of my motor recently and have had trouble locating it. Can you recommend anything else I should change as a precaution when I do my timing belt next week?

[mrhonda]

what side of the motor would the oil be leaking on? I started to notice oil leaking out of the backside of my motor recently and have had trouble locating it. Can you recommend anything else I should change as a precaution when I do my timing belt next week?

If you're under the car looking at the back of the block....if you see oil on the left side next to the timing cover then its the cam seal thats leaking.

Timing belt replacement parts list....t-belt, balancer belt, waterpump, cam seal, crank seal, front balancer seal, front balancer seal retainer plate, rear balancer gear-drive o-ring, valve cover gasket kit, coolant, and drive belts.

Use ONLY OEM parts for everything, except maybe the outer drive belts and valve cover gasket kit....it doesn't really matter what brand you use for those.

[91hybridaccord]

Fluid leaking from the exhaust????? Sounds kinda like a head gasket....not too sure though....also change out the fuel filter...another good tune up item.

[Masamune]

Do a compression test on the cylinders, (optional)
Check air filter of course
Do an EGR clean out. Chances are, they've never been cleaned. I'll link it to you. Click the smiley ---->

Also, and this is a cool trick, wipe the oil off the block completely. Then get some spray on foot powder and spray the back of the block. This will turn the back of it white and make it TERRIBLY easy to locate the leak point.

[Blk EX Coupe]

If you're under the car looking at the back of the block....if you see oil on the left side next to the timing cover then its the cam seal thats leaking.

Timing belt replacement parts list....t-belt, balancer belt, waterpump, cam seal, crank seal, front balancer seal, front balancer seal retainer plate, rear balancer gear-drive o-ring, valve cover gasket kit, coolant, and drive belts.

Use ONLY OEM parts for everything, except maybe the outer drive belts and valve cover gasket kit....it doesn't really matter what brand you use for those.

thats where i'd figure the oil would be coming from...but it's on the back passenger side, so it's time to continue looking for the leak.

[mrhonda]

thats where i'd figure the oil would be coming from...but it's on the back passenger side, so it's time to continue looking for the leak.

Also check the distributor seal, as well as the oil pressure sending unit....these are the only other places it can leak from.

[squig808]

thats where i'd figure the oil would be coming from...but it's on the back passenger side, so it's time to continue looking for the leak.

If it's the distributor seal you should see oil pooling on the top of your transmission housing (happened to me). It's only 3 bolts to take of the cap and check for any oil in there.
Could it be the valve cover gasket leaking?

[lowrider]

tune up is your best bet....get down and dirty.....however do not run full synthetic bc if u have a oil leak problem now then full synthetic will make it worse. part synthetic is fine. trust me on this one