whoisx3ro

Help! This damn car is giving me rage and making me depressed!!

My wife's 2001 Civic EX has developed a damn oil leak that I can't seem to figure out or solve for the life of me. Car has 181k miles or so.

Just a week ago I had some work done on it, as there was an oil leak from the driver's side of the motor. Had timing belt, water pump, drive belt, valve cover gasket, etc.. Done. The leak on the driver's side was apparently a leaking cam seal. Mechanic replaced that while he was in there. Also replaced the cam plug on the passenger side (that stupid little black plug), as the guy called and said he thought that was leaking a bit too. It was cheap, so I was cool with it.

Now there's a leak I can't seem to track down/figure out even though I think I know what it is. My wife took the car to a family friend that's a mechanic, and he said it looked like it was the V-TEC solenoid gasket. Fine. I went to Honda, got a new gasket after spending $25 on the damn thing, and replaced it myself (I'm fairly handy, but don't like/don't have the tools for things like timing belt changes and whatnot). The oil is leaking down the back of the motor where the engine and trans meet, and also down the front where they meet. It's a fairly significant amount, too. So we went to another mechanic (the father of my wife's son), and he took it all apart again, and tightened it all back up, and we ran the engine for about 15 minutes. No oil leak then. But when we got back home (fairly decent drive, about 30-40 miles), there it was again. Oil all down the front and back again.

So could it still be this damn VTEC solenoid gasket? It's the one that goes between the head and solenoid body. Not the little triangular one up top. That one shows no signs of leaking.

HELP me before I go crazy and drive this damn car into a brick wall!!

toyomatt84

iTrader: (1)

Was the valve cover ever removed? Because it sounds as if they didn't use any Honda-bond on the corners of the valve cover, and its seeping through there.

whoisx3ro

I haven't seen any indication of oil leaking out of the valve cover. Its nice and dry.

norcalem2

harmonic balancer crank seal?

D-West

Start at the valve cover, and work your way down checking to see at what level the leak starts and travels down.

That should narrow the results down.

Did the tech use any sealant when he put the valve cover back on? You should be able to see it squeezed out a little around sharp corners the gasket makes.

motegicivic

I am not familiar with the vtec solenoid on d17's do they look like d16y8's, can you take a quick pic of it? I had a similar problem, wanted to see if it looks similar.

whoisx3ro

Yes, there's some sealant that squeezed out of the valvecover once it was replaced. The valve cover is not leaking.

It seems to be concentrated around the v-tec solenoid. See my next post for more info:

whoisx3ro

I'm so at a loss here.

Pulled off the resonator and stuff, got the car up to temp. Gave it a couple 3k Revs and nothing. Sat in the car and held the gas around 3k with some revs up to 4k. Nothing.

Closed the hood, went less than a quarter mile and came back, and oil down the front and back. Still couldn't pinpoint ****. Gad the wife come out and take it slowly up to 3k. Took a bright light and couldn't see oil from anywhere. Had her take it up to 4k and hold it. Still couldn't see anything.

I have no f'ing idea. Putting my fingers as best as I could around the vtec solenoid I found oil but it was way hot in there and hard to pinpoint if it was from that.

Should I pull the damn solenoid and use some hondabond or ultra grey around it?

I'm so lost

I'm putting about a quart or so a day (she drives 60+ miles a day all highway)

I'm so damn frustrated right now.

toyomatt84

iTrader: (1)

I'd re-seal the VTEC solenoid. It sounds as if it only really leaks under driving conditions, as well.

whoisx3ro

From looking around and trying to find a pic for you, it seems as though the d16y8 and d17a2 use the same gasket for the v-tec solenoid.

What was your problem, and what was the fix?

Thanks for your post!

whoisx3ro

Seal it with what? Currently it's just the OEM gasket. I bought one brand new from the freaking dealer for $25, and it still leaked. Even had a real mechanic re-do it for me, and it's STILL leaking. And yes, I can't get it to leak sitting still.

Another forum gave me the idea to put the front on jackstands, and put it in gear and fake a road test to try and spot the leak. I'm 95% sure it IS from the v-tec solenoid, but it's so hard to track down. It gets so hot in the area to touch and try to feel if that's where the oil is coming from, not to mention that I can't see **** back there, even with a light. UGh!!

Anyone of you guys in DFW and want to help out???

dpetro1

can you post some pics of the area that is leaking?

whoisx3ro

I would, but it's quite hard to get good pictures of the area.

I haven't 100% nailed it down, but I'm fairly sure it's the vtec solenoid leaking somehow, still. Even with a new gasket.

I'm not quite sure what to do yet.

dpetro1

maybe check the o-ring on the vtec switch itself? it screws into the solenoid

whoisx3ro

I'm about 95% sure its the vtec solenoid now.

It won't leak unless I drive it.

What should I do?

I already installed a new gasket, but still have a leak.

whoisx3ro

Anyone?

Rick hybrid

Make sure the surfaces are clean and dry. Is the surface on that solenoid perfectly flat?
no warpage? i would get another gasket or make one yourself out of gasket material.
Try using some new gasket sealer.

joec44

I think that car has a PCV valve in back of moter (firewallside) that goes into a black box if it does and it is pluged the moter will push oil out any ware it can At least call the dealer and see if thay can sell you one and give you a copy of it's home. At least it will not cost much

Sleepy_Red_hatch

thin layer of hondabond on the honda gasket may fix this, also it's possible that the vtec pressure sensor is leaking as well, not necessarily out of the threads but possibly through the sensor it's self. also if it's leaking on the front of the engine (pretty sure you said it was also leaking there) it could be that the guy who installed the ca==black cam plug skinned the o-ring during installation, happens.

whoisx3ro

I've been meaning to update this thread, was just waiting on a few drives to make sure I was successful.

Seems as though I've fixed the problem. Once again, I pulled off the vtec solenoid. Cleaned all the oil off the engine and solenoid, and checked very well for cracks. Nothing.

So I pulled the actual solenoid off the valve body, and what do you know? The gasket has a crack completely through it. Seemed like a hard plastic gasket, rather than a rubber gasket. I thought that was weird.

Anyways, the crack in the gasket was along the side of the solenoid that would be up against the head. So the oil seemed to be leaking out of there, and then down the side, making it look like the oil was leaking from the valve where it meets the head.

I got some permatex ultra grey, and put nice thin coats on both sides of the gasket, and filled in the crack as best as i could, and a thin coat on the thin ring of metal where the valve body and solenoid meet.

Went out of town after the fix. When I came back, it had been 24 hours since the gasket was set. So I took it for a decent, spirited drive. Came back home, pulled off the intake baffle and pipe, and checked. No oil at all from where it was leaking before.

Wife has been driving it all week with no leakage. So I guess the ultra grey took care of it

Cary Price

I have had a smiliar oil leak problem, only seems to leak under driving conditions. The oil leaks down the front and back of the block but seems to be coming from under neath where the egr housing is. IT is driving me NUTz
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...11419729_n.jpg

rydeyz

I know this is an old post, but for historical purposes, the main gasket that goes b/w the engine block and the vtec solenoid is PN 15825-P2M-005 for our 7th Gen cars.

What I have yet to find is a verified PN for the gasket that goes b/w the top and bottom halves of the vtec solenoid itself. If you know it, please post it here.

sdaidoji

scrap yard, get the solenoid. i think part is not sold separate

Former User

Call the Honda dealer. They may be able to help you.

bradlrob

This o-ring listed for older years civics and other Hondas 36172-P08-015 will work on the d17 upper vtec solenoid gasket. Bought and installed and worked. Honda was trying to sell me the complete solenoid because they do not carry a o-ring gasket for 2001-2005 civic.