Bad_dude

Hi guys,
I have a 1990 Honda Accord. It has a small fluid leak in front of the car and more to the right side of the car. The fluid color appears to be motor oil. I check all fluids regularly and nothing is ever low in between oil changes. I am concern b/c if the fluid is not going low in between oil changes and it is still leaking, I am afraid that there's some other fluid that I don't know about is leaking. The fluids that I check regularly are engine oil, transmission oil, brake fluid, power steering, and antifreeze. Could this leak be cause by a bad rear reeming seal?
I don't think this car has a pan for the transmission, am I correct?
The only fluid that I cannot really check is the differential. What color is the differential fluid? The guy who changed my transmission fluid says that it uses the same fluid as the transmission and it does not have a separate compartment for the differential fluid. So when you change the transmission fluid, the differential fluid is thus changed also. I am wondering if this is correct?
The car drives fine and shifting is smooth as in any Honda. Though it does not shift as smooth as my 1999 Corolla but it is working fine.
The transmission is automatic 4 speed. It's an LX model 4 door.

Please help me find the problem.

Thanks.

Modified by Bad_dude at 5:56 PM 5/22/2008


Modified by Bad_dude at 9:18 AM 5/24/2008

wed3k

same compartment and same color as most motor oils. wait, atf or manual?

right side as in passenger side of the vehicle?

professorman

Wipe it off, and then see if it comes back. Is it dripping to the ground? or does it just look wet where you suspect the leak is? Sometimes motor oil runs down to the side of the engine on mine from oil change or other fluid change and dirt splashes up and sticks to it, and it just stay looking damp for a long time.

How much fluid do you see leaking after a night or a weekend? Do you have your own parking space or do you live in apartment with multiple parkings spaces where the leak could be from another car? How long now have you noticed it leaking out?

Bad_dude

I have my own parking space so the leak is mine. I had the car for about 6 months now. The leak was there when I got the car used. It has only 122k miles on it and it's now 125k miles and I had changed the oil out last week.
The leak on the ground looks wet. It's not actively leaking when the car is running but after the cool down. The spots look wet and about 2 inches in diameter. Touching it has a brown motor oil color.
My most concern here is the differential oil. I would like to know for sure what color is the differential oil?
If I can be certain that the leak is motor oil then I feel better b/c I check the level regularly and it's not going down at all.

My next question is, if I want to change the transmission oil and the differential, are they 2 separate compartments? According to the guy who last changed my transmission oil at 122k when I got the car, he said the transmission and the differential use the same oil and I just have to change the transmission oil and the differential is also changed. If this mechanic is 100% correct, then the leak is not red, hence it's not differential or transmission.

Thanks for the help guys.

Adro01982

Not Sure about your leak however, in most front wheel drive cars the transmission and differential is the same unit (housed together) and thus use the same fluid. In rear wheel drive cars the transmission is up front and the differential is in the rear.

91h22cb7lx

the best thing you can do is try and catch the fluid on paper towl or in a drip pan, figure out what color it is for sure, if its trans fluid it will be red, oil is amber to black depending on how often the oil is changed

91h22cb7lx

cover a big enough area and you can get a pretty acurate idea where it is leaking from, could be an axle seal or even a valve cover gasket thats leaking onto the trans, than dripping off that onto the ground

Bad_dude

Wouldn't the axle leak lower the power steering fluid? The PS fluid is the same since I bought it. The valve cover seal has been changed. I just changed the oil last week. The color of the leak is definitely motor oil. It's for sure not red and my transmission oil was just changed not too long ago.
Thanks.

91h22cb7lx

your axle is what attaches your transmission to your wheel, it in no way has anything to do with power steering fluid. If you are so sure its oil than check your distributor and your valve cover gasket.(even if its new someone coulda [freak]ed it up when the put it in) you might also wanna check your drain plug, make sure the pan isnt stripped out and the gasket is still sealing

Bad_dude

I know it's not the valve cover gasket b/c I put it in myself. I also changed the oil myself. The drain plug is dry, the valve cover gasket shows no leak.
You said distributor, could you elaborate more on the posible leak at this location and how can I check it? I'll probably take it to a mechanic to jack it up to determine more. The guy that changed my transmission oil was certain that it was motor oil and the rear reaming seal was the culprit. He wanted $330 to change the seal to stop the leak. If that is the case, I am not loosing any oil or not much when I check, I'll just wait a little more.
As for the axle leak, do I just go under to check for that?

Thanks.

91h22cb7lx

if its a crank seal it would be leaking out where the trans and the engine meet, but there really isnt anywhere to have it leak from, mine used to leak right where the distributor meets the head, it had a bad oring on the distributor shaft, it ran down the head, onto the top of the trans than dripped on the ground sometimes, as for an axle leak, go under the car, you should see a part of the trans that kicks out in the back, your axle is sticking into it on one side, and the other has the halfshaft. it will drip right off the axle, toher than that idk

professorman

Or you could just do an engine wash and then wait a little and look where it is leaking from. lol