hometheaterman

This is on a 1996 Honda Accord EX so it's the 2.2L Vtec motor. I'm hoping to be able to get help fairly quickly as I would like to get this thing back on the road. It started getting hot tonight according to the gauge and steam was coming out near the back of the motor. When looking it was anitfreeze coming out of this spot in this hose. The hose doesn't exactly look like it's a split it looks more like it was made like that but I'm assuming it's not am I correct? Do I just need to replace this hose or is there something else I need to do? What exactly in involved and whats the hose called? Any tips? Does this look like my problem? Here are pictures of the hose it was coming out of.
It's behind the dist sort of at the back of the motor.

You can see circled in red here where the hole in the hose is. It's really hard to see being night so I assume it's part of the hose still as it looked like it.


You can see the hole better here.


Here are some more pictures. You can see the hole if you look closely.






Thanks guys. Any help is greatly appreciated.

2accrds

Looks like the heater hose. Oil is leaking from the distributor and or the valve cover and the soaked the hose weakening it. You will want to fix the leak and then replace the hose.

hometheaterman

If it's from the distributer is there just a gasket or o-ring to replace or do you have to replace the whole thing? I'm going to try and replace the hose and clean it up to see where oil is leaking if I can. I've never messed with a distributer other than changing the cap and rotor.

ControlledVortex

Your distributor o-ring is likely shot. While you have the distributor out for o-ring replacement, change your leaky hose, its much easier to get to. Trust me, you will be glad that distributor is out of the way. Do a search on here for the o-ring replacement, plenty of info. Probably should do the valve cover gasket too. Good luck!

2accrds

On the distributor there is an oring and a internal oil seal. You can tell by where the oil is leaking from. If it is leaking around where the distributor body meets the head then its the oring. If it is leaking from the inside it might be hard to see since there is a small hole on the side facing the fire wall that allows the oil to leak out before it soaks the inside. There is a write up I did on the internal seal.

hometheaterman

If I pull the dist to change that stuff wont I have to have the timing readjusted when I put it back together?

Do you have to take a whole bunch of stuff off to get to the hose? It looked like a tight fit but Alldata didn't have instructions.

JimBlake

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hometheaterman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If I pull the dist to change that stuff wont I have to have the timing readjusted when I put it back together?</TD></TR></TABLE>
YES. But if you mark it real good you can probably put it back into the exact same position.

Big black sharpie marker, then scribe a fine line with a knife or something??

hometheaterman

Well, I'm hoping to not have to get into it that much right now. I just want to fix the hose so I can drive it. Any tips for getting the hose off? I just can't get the clamp and the head off because of the way it's angled. I don't have pliers that I can reach under the dist with to unclip it. Thats the way the clamp is angled so the things you pull together with the pliers are facing under the dist. Any tips?

hometheaterman

Ok I went down to mess with it again today. I tried a time or two getting that hose off then I finally said forget it and just went ahead and pulled the distributer off. It was then fairly easy to get to easy enough I could get to it with hose clamp pliers and I got it off. I then took the coolant sensor out and went down to Napa.

Anyway I got a new sensor and hose and clamps from napa and had it backtogether in no time. I ended up snapping a screw off that holds the dist cap on so after a litte playing with it and finally getting it out I decided rather than just putting a new screw in there I should just go ahead and do a cap and rotor again. So I did that and put it all back together and so far it runs great now. I want to do the valve cover gasket too just not planning on it today.

As for the dist I was afraid I would mess up the timing and other told me I would have to adjust it after taking if off but after talking to a local mechanic at a local Honda shop he told me as long as I don't mess with the engine I can pull the dist off and put it back on and it wont throw off the timing because the dist. will only go back in one way.

He was right it only went in one way and it runs perfect just like before so I'm assuming it's correct.

JimBlake

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hometheaterman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">... as long as I don't mess with the engine I can pull the dist off and put it back on and it wont throw off the timing because the dist. will only go back in one way.
</TD></TR></TABLE>
The blade on the distributor shaft is offset, so in a way that's almost true. You can't put the distributor completely (180 degrees) out of phase. (Actually, with a big enough hammer, you CAN put it in backwards but then it won't run at all.)

The timing adjustment we're talking about is within the range of the slotted mounting holes. I assumed that was still the case in 1996. On the 1998 that I owned, the mounting holes were not slotted, so the distributor could not be adjusted. And even if they were, in '98 the timing was controlled by the TDC sensor down at the crankshaft pulley.

If your distributor mounting holes are slotted, you should find a timing light and adjust the timing.

hometheaterman

What do you mean the holes slotted? It seemed to go back in normally. If the timing was off wouldn't I see it? I mean it runs perfect just like before wouldn't it run like crap if the timing was off?

JimBlake

OK I did a little checking (parts drawings at hondaautomotiveparts.com) & now I'm not even sure of the answer. Here's the story.



According to parts drawings it looks like the mounting tabs of the distributor have slotted holes for the bolts. You loosen the 3 mounting bolts & then you can spin the distributor 10 degrees or so back & forth. That's how you would adjust your spark timing. Or so I thought...

It also looks like your TDC sensor is located down at the crankshaft pulley. So when you spin the distributor it doesn't actually change the timing.

IF your timing is adjustable (I'm not sure if it is) then you probably put it together in about the right position. Close enough so it runs good. Perhaps not close enough to pass your next smog test.

hometheaterman

We don't have smog tests here. Will it do an harm to not mess with it again? Or am I safe since it runs good? The shop told me that pulling the distributer off and putting it back on wouldn't adjust the timing as long as I didn't mess with the engine but I don't know. Do I need to worry about it causing damage to something or since it runs fine is it okay to leave alone?

JimBlake

If the timing is advanced too far, you may get into some knocking. Over time, spark knock that is not really audible can do some damage over long-term.

But I'm gonna guess that your engine has a knock sensor to protect itself from that anyway.

If you can borrow a timing light, it's really pretty easy to check your spark timing.
- Warm up the engine completely
- Jumper the SCS connector, like you're reading CEL error codes
- Hook up the timing light to your #1 spark plug wire
- Shine the light at the crankshaft pulley
You want to verify that the little pointer (moulded into the plastic lower timing cover) lines up with the middle of a group of 3 notches in the edge of the crankshaft pulley. If it's not there, loosen the distributor & spin it a little bit to adjust.

Bird333

On a 96 I don't think you can adjust the distributor timing. At least you can't on my LX, the mount holes aren't slotted.

disastar

I'm not convinced that the oil is from a leaking distributor. It might be from the VTEC solenoid, which is between the valve cover and the firewall, directly above that heater hose. With the car running, watch to see if there are any drips from the VTEC solenoid. If there are, replace the gasket.

hometheaterman

When I checked after it had been run for a little bit I didn't see any oil that had leaked on the hose or anything so I think it's a super slow leak. Right now it runs so thats all I really care about. I figure it will buy me some time until I find and fix the leak.

disastar

I understand. I have a 94 EX and went through a similar ordeal. First, my upper radiator hose started leaking and that was an easy fix. Then, the very same heater hose as you started leaking and that wasn't such an easy fix. Next, my radiator developed a crack in the plastic casing but that was an easy fix. Finally, my vtec solenoid developed a fast oil leak and I replaced that and the valve cover gasket and everything seems fine. It ain't easy owning a 14 year old car but I can't justify getting rid of her, since she's never really done me wrong and still gets around just fine.