sricke

99 Civic EX Sedan Auto 133,000 Miles

My friend is a mechanic and has been helping me witth this leak. There was oil drops under the car all the time. And when you looked underneath, there was a drip coming off a bracket / support from exhaust pipe to right by the oil pan. So we started with all visible leaks.......

So far replaced Rear Main Seal, Valve Cover Gasket, Oil Pump Seal / O-Ring, Cam Seal, Crank Seal, Dizzy O-Ring, Vtec Solenoid Gaskets, Oil Pressure Switch O-Ring (goes into vtec solenoid), Oil Pan Seal. Also replaced a leaking steering rack. All drips are gone, but you can still see oil from underneath. It just looks a little wet, and when you touch it you know that it is oil. It seems to end up by the tranny drain bolt. But you can't see where it is coming from up top. All of the visible leaks are gone after replacing a seal or gasket from where we knew it was leaking. But other componets seem to be blocking view from the top, or you just can't tell where the oil is coming from. We have not replaced the oil sending unit (is that near the oil filter?)

We have put dye in the oil now. Any thoughts? I really hope that it does not turn out to be a head gasket, but what ejse could it be? TIA! For any input.

worlds-slowest-EG

Distributor maybe? Pics would help a lot

hondamark35

i didn't see it in the list... did you replace/reseal the oil pressure sending unit? it's just above the oil filter, usually has a black rubber boot over it (if it hasn't been ripped off).

also be sure to wash the engine thoroughly to make any future leak hunting easy. you can just use brake parts cleaner and a fresh rag if you'd like.

sricke

No I have not replaced that yet. That will be next, but want to see what we find with the dye...... Afte all this it would be nice if it would be the oil pressure sending unit.

Everytime I replaced something, I cleaned the engine with brake cleaner. I always wanted a "clean start" to track from.

sricke

"Distributor maybe? Pics would help a lot"

Distributor O-Ring already replaced. It was leaking, but not now.

Pictures of what?

lovelove

What if it was the Oil Filter? Crazy statement but that could be one of the problems when you change a oil filter and the old gasket is still stuck on while you replace the oil filter with a new one. That can lead to a huge oil leak.

hondamark35

whenever i've seen that happen it pours out once the engine is on/pressure is up to normal. the car wouldn't go a mile down the road without the oil light coming on..

97twodoor

I know you said that you think it's oil, but it could possibly be an axle seal that is leaking.

dth0ng69

u could of easily done one of the gaskets and seals wrong. Like the rear main seal, if those arent done perfect than your gona have leaks.