ZenDigital

Starting last week after topping off the oil because i was a quart low, I noticed some smoke coming out of the headlights. At first I thought maybe some dripped from the dipstick onto the exhaust mani when I was checking the levels. Over the next few day the smoke subsided and burned off so I figured no big deal.

Well this morning I drove home in kind of a hurry so I was around 6000-7000 rpm. I pull into my parking spot and start smelling the oil again. After popping the hood I find it's smoking even worse than before. There's fresh oil on the usual spots but in addition to that there's oil covering a good half of the front of the block under the exhaust mani nearest to the tranny. So I pull my car out of the parking space to find this:



It really not much but it's enough to worry me, the reason the area is so wide is because I think it all leaked from the undertray.

I took my car to spay the engine clean so i could maybe figure out where it was leaking, after driving home there was only a drop of fresh oil in the usual spot. It doesn't appear to be leaking from the cam seal, distro, or the vtec solenoid.



Green: The new spot of oil

Red: Where I think the leak may be coming from.

Yellow: Area where the oil was before I cleaned it off.


Any thoughts? I hoping its something normal, or atleast easy to fix.

hatmanafro

Looks likr itsbcoming from where the head meets the block.

ZenDigital

Yeah but that would indicate a blown head gasket wouldn't it? Aside from the oil leak the car is running normally, no smoke coming out of the exhaust or anything. The only smoke I get is from the oil getting onto the exhaust manifold down by the oil pan.

sik96teg

check around where your distributor seal is to make sure the oil isnt coming from around there. That looks like too much oil for a blown head gasket.

racebum

those mls gaskets don't "blow" they seep. the vtec solenoid and distributor are suspect. if the HG is leaking...which is odd you'll be pulling the motor down. if you have a high mile motor that burns a lot of oil it's possible you have a warped deck and or warped head allowing this to happen. the blocks always distort with a lot of hard driving

hatmanafro

Thats alot of seeping. Lol

wtf_is_jdm

I have the same issue as him, but on the other side.... I know I need to retorque the headbolts..... But yeah. I could see the headgasket leaking in that form. Just because you dont see the usual white smoke and what not does not mean that it isnt starting to fail..... just throwing that out there.

ZenDigital

I took a second look tonight after driving to work, It looks like either the distributor or the cam seal. I'll find out for sure Tues or Wed when I'll have access to my friend's garage to do a proper diagnosis.

wtf_is_jdm

Better than a head gasket......lol

RICKSAUTOMOTIVE

mr. racebum here has a good point. everytime i do these headgaskets i check the cylinder head deck as well as send the head for a complete valve job (with new valve guides). also, always use brand new head bolts. but you should do a compression test and also a block test if you can (you can get the block test tool from autozone). the block test tool may detect slight amounts of combustion gasses in the coolant system (possibly from the head gasket seeping) which may not be noticed in the compression variances of the cylinder compression readings of each cylinder. ....however, i'm not so sure "re-torquing" the head bolts is a fix to the problem. LOL i have to keep that one around for one of the new guys

wtf_is_jdm

I have ARP head bolts. And re-torquing is part of the process with aftermarket headbolts. that wasn't a suggestion for him because we all know that oem head bolts are basically one shot wonders.

racebum

you didn't use anerobic sealer when you installed them and or didn't check the deck and head for warpage. the last engine i blew up used used these and leaked zero.

http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CB8Q8wIwAA#

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

I say go ahead and replace all those top-end gaskets and o-rings: valve cover, cam end plug, distributor shaft o-ring, VTEC solenoid gaskets and filters (there are 2 gaskets), and the spark plug tube gaskets. Then give it a wash-down and see if it's still leaking anything.

TotalKhaos24

I would buy some engine die, get a black light or a leak check kit, which I think comes with everythin from the store. Then clean the engine. Let it idle and check for the leak it will be clearly visible. It may not be a leak just residue from you spraying the engine off.

vtaker

x2

9/10 its one of those. people are quick to think it's the head gasket.

danielblushtein

bro, I had the same problem like yours.

check out my posting a while back

https://honda-tech.com/forums/acura-integra-6/engine-oil-leak-plz-help-2521882/

ZenDigital

Update. Replaced the cam seal Sunday night which eased most of the leaking, at least onto the front of the block anyway. But oil is still leaking onto the exhaust mani which creates a good amount of smoke a op temp. After parking it, I noticed the oil puddle appears to have leaked onto the bumper's splash guard before hitting the ground. I checked the splash guard and it seems to be leaking onto it slightly to the right of the exhaust mani. As for the exhaust mani itself, the oil is hitting it right at the bend where it goes under the oil pan. Oil pan gasket maybe?

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

Could be. Get under the car and look around at the bottom and sides of the oil pan. It will appear wet in some areas if the pan gasket is leaking.

I also had this problem, which I fixed by replacing the gasket. But then after that the OEM oil cooler plate on the block sprung a leak and dripped onto the manifold under the oil pan. Replaced the o-ring on that and now it's all good. But your 2001 doesn't have an oil cooler I don't believe, so no o-ring to leak at that location (where the oil filter is mounted).

zrickety

iTrader: (1)

i had the same oil spot on my head gasket, was the vtec solenoid gaskets. i have a 1st gen B16 and had bought the wrong gaskets, needed them from a 91 NSX

danielblushtein

dude post some more pictures. Its hard to guess without seeing

ZenDigital

Got the car on jacks today, it's the oil pan, leaking towards the front just above where the exhaust passes under. Looks like the oil pan is warped because the gasket still looks new. Thanks to everyone for trying to help me out, I really appreciate it.

@PatrickGSR94, thanks for all the info, I think I'm gonna go ahead and replace all the top end gaskets as recommended just in case.

danielblushtein

good luck man last time it took me 40 min to take off the oil pan gasket cuz it was like rock hard

ZenDigital

I feel ya, good thing for me is that the gasket, according to my mechanic, is still pretty new, I've had the car for less than a year. My only worry is with the exhaust which is gonna be a bitch to get out of the way.

lostforawhile

you might be able to save the pan, you have to flatten the flange with some wood under it and a narrow block of wood.