cstone

the leak seems to occur whether the car is running or not which would suggest its somewhere in the bottom end to me but i just discovered that there is seemingly fresh oil around what i believe to be the vtec solenoid. its at the back of the engine on the passenger side, it has a triangular base with 3 bolts (one on each point of the triangle) and there is a small cylinder on top of the trianglar base. could a leak from this location cause there to be a small puddle of oil directly under my oil drain plug every morning? i work 6 days a week so i have limited time to look for leaks but will try to do so when i have a chance.

anyone know where i can purchase oil dye? i believe dye would greatly help in locating any additional leaks. and to use the dye should i change my oil since mine is starting to get a little dark? i am right in the middle of oil changes (at about 1500 miles since the last one but could pull the money to do it early if necessary)

Genesis Accord

I dont know about oil dye but i'd suggest to check most or all of your gaskets on your spare time. I remember i had a oil leak and could not for the life of me figure out where it was coming from, A few mechanics told me the rear main seal and so on...A very trusted friend/mechanic of mine took one look at it and said replace the vavle cover gasket, and the gasket in behind the distributor. I did as he said and i havent had a leak since. I think most hondas over 60,000 usually get oil pan gasket leaks so i'd check that as well. Who knows it may even be a loose oil filter?

cstone

i know it isnt the rear main. i have seen that go before on my sisters first car (it was a 91 prelude) its way too slow of a leak and in the wrong location i got to spend all summer working on that on my spare time to have the engine blow the day we got it running, but thats a different story.

i checked my oil drain plug and filter yesterday, they were both snug. i was hoping that would be it

after work this week i will try to clean it up a bit so that i can see where the oil is coming from. anyone got a recomendation for a good degreaser thats safe on plastics?

i know it is loosing some oil either from the valve cover near the vtec solenoid or from the solenoid itself. so i guess that is where i will focus to start. but i am sceptical as to that being the main problem because it is leaking while it isn't running. after dealing with the leak on the top end i will replace the oil pan gasket unless i can locate the bottom end leak somewhere else in the mean time.

thanks for the help i will keep you posted.

dafang

I had similar leak, it was the "oil pressure sender", which is located directly above the oil filter. It is also easy to replace and the part is less than $10.

cstone

so it looks like that is right below the valve cover and in the middle of the engine? i will check that out when i get off work in about 5 hours and i'll post what i find out. thanks for the info.

Marcg611

Had this exact leak, was leaking very slowly and trickled down everywhere making it hard to detect. all I could figure was something near the oil pump and that sensor was hidden from top or bottom view by either the intake manifold or the water pump solid tube. one day it went from slow to streaming, thus making it distinguishable and a $10 dollar oil sensor fixed it!

nus_dogg

The VTEC solenoid is also a common leak as well. I had to replace mine awhile back when I still had the F22.

cstone

so i just jacked up the passenger side of it so i could crawl under it. i wiped up most of the oil that i could reach.

around the oil filter was compleatly clean leaving me to believe that the oil pressure sender is not the culprit and neither is the oil filter.

i believe the lower leak is from the drain plug because the oil pan gasket does not appear to be leaking and i could see all the way around it. maybe it was over tightened? i have heard that is a pretty common issue with these cars as there is no nut welded in the oil pan leaving too few threads to deal with high torque. maybe i will have one of my mechanic friends do that if i find that to be the problem. can it just be welded on with a MIG because my uncle has one of those and could do it in no time for free.

i noticed a bit of oil on the bell housing of the tranny but the flywheel cover is off and the flywheel appears clean. i started the car could not see oil coming out anywhere. so the highest place i can see oil coming from is the vtec solenoid so that is still my focus. it is deffinatly leaking.

do you guys think it is a good idea to replace the solenoid and the o ring at the same time or do you think that is overkill and that the o ring is good enough to start with? the money is not a big deal as both parts are pretty inexpensive and i just got paid and have no bills until the end of october when i pay insurrance.

i will be posting again in about an hour after i go back out and see if any fresh oil has accumulated.

sorry about so many questions and thanks again for your help you guys. i am really glad to join the community.

cstone

i took a couple pics of what i believe to be the vtec solenoid because i cannot seem to manage to find a place to buy one anywhere online. i have checked NAPA, Schucks, and the Honda estore along with various google searches.

the oil is coming from the base of that cylinder. can someone varify that this is the vtec solenoid and maybe tell me where i can buy one along with the o ring that goes with it. also is there an alternate name for it?





oh btw i crawled back under the car and the other leak is from the oil drain plug so i will deal with that when i change my oil in a couple hundred miles. i think the other leak is leaking more right now

cstone

Well i just ordered the solenoid assembly from a local shop. It was about $160, OUCH. I really hope this fixes my leak. I paid about $5 more than from the dealer but will save close to that in gas and i would rather support a small local shop with a good reputation than the @55 holes at the dealership that tried to over charge me for it until i called them out on it. Should have it tomorrow or the next day... Will post again once i put the solenoid on.

Any info on welding a nut in the oil pan for the drain plug would be greatly appreciated still. If i am going to do that i want to do it when i change my oil which will be in a 2-3 weeks. Do i need a new oil pan to do it or just put a nut in the one i have. I know i will need a gasket since i would have to take the pan off.

I wonder if there is a product that i could use as a temporary fix. Something like silicone that could deal with the high temperatures of being put around the drain plug and could be cut with a rasor blade when the time comes for a permanent fix. Any ideas?

hopecombs1978

I had the same issue. I used a fram oil filter and it did not fit as snug as it should...so my car leaked oil a tad. As a woman, with OCD...LOL...of course you know I had to find it. It did end up being the oil filter. I commend you for mentioning that because I stressed for weeks and it was as simple as that.

cstone

that was the second thing i checked. right after the drain plug. i wish my fix was that cheap. i got my new vtec solenoid and o ring today. so i will probably be puting that on tonight as it seems to be leaking more today when it is running than it has been

HonBeer

Just replace the gasket. Not the solenoid. Heck of alot cheaper.

cstone

i already bought the gasket and the solenoid. i actually just got home from puting it on. idk if its just my imagination but it seems like it accelerates faster once the rpms get higher (like above 4500). maybe my vtec is working better? i guess the real test is to wait over night with cardboard under it and see if it still drips. i'll post again tomorrow.

cstone

so its been a couple days now. and it seems like the is compleatly fixed. it is obviously still leaking from the drain plug a little bit but it isnt bad enough to worry alot about it. anyone have any ideas about why it might seem like it has more power?