airikkCRX

I have a 98 civic ex and the vtec solenoid started to leak. I bought a new gasket and put it on and now the leak is worse than before. It's like it won't seal with the gasket. Any ideas please help

NotAJDMFanBoy

Are you sure it's leaking from the sealing surface? There's a top portion and lower portion to the solenoid. And leaking from the distributor or valve cover gasket isn't uncommon either.

To get a good seal on any surface with a new gasket, always make sure you CAREFULLY scrape any old gasket residue off with a single edge razor blade (or utility knife blade). Wipe with paint thinner, mineral spirits, etc to get any oil off. Then put the gasket and part on and torque the bolts to spec. For the solenoid, it's probably around 5-8 ft lbs...just snug with a 3/8" rachet.

airikkCRX

I changed the distributor o ring I'm pretty sure it's the solenoid where's the upper part

airikkCRX

The stock gasket has a built in screen in the middle but the oem replacement the screen is separate. So I put the screen in the middle and put the gasket over it the gasket pokes out more in the middle because of the flange on the screen.. Am I doing this correct. It seems that's why I can get the solenoid to seal.
Please help

07gsxr

hondabond

010

I had the same issue, tried all suggestions offered here and replaced the rear gasket several times; each time it leaked more. I finally called a dealership who told me if a new gasket leaks it's time to replace the solenoid itself. Did that and no more leaks.

DakkOday

Know this is very old thread but was having same issues. I think why an entire $ new solenoid works when the new gaskets alone don’t fully seal is the bolts are crushing the actual solenoid ever so slightly. Why this is important is the bottom and top bolts on passenger side have no stop, you can thread them as tight as you want. However the bolt on the adjacent side has a stop against the block. So no mater how careful you are in tightening equal revolutions the 2 with no stop make the mount uneven. Simple fix for me was to add a washer to the side with a stop so I could get a slight more threads as tight as I was getting the two on the other side. Look at your old solenoid and see if the area the bolt tightened to looks compressed in like a smash washer and you will see what I’m babbling about.