CivicUtah

97 civic coupe dx
jdm sohc zc non-vtec 7,480 miles
dx transmission

Alright, I put this motor in about 2,500 miles ago, and yesterday i woke up to a puddle of oil under the car

There has also been a coolant leak which i haven't figured out yet, for about the last 2 weeks, which i have just been topping off

Leaks are my kryptonite.. I am possibly the worst person possible at diagnosing where they are coming from. my last motor blew up cause of problems like this

anyway, im hoping you guys can help me find out where these are coming from?

95ProjectEJ1

iTrader: (5)

I would say rear main seal. I had a similar leak from my vtec solenoid that ran down my trans/block and onto my shift linkage like your is.

Luserkid

Is there any oil up top or is it all on the bottom? If its all on the bottom then rear main seal is my guess as well.

ifIexplode

Id get some type of degreaser and clean EVERYTHING. then just watch. i mean thats alot.

ahron

i also think its your rear main seal

CivicUtah

Seems to be some oil coming from below the starter, but not that much.

there is some oil pretty much all around where the transmission attaches to the motor

what i thought was oil back on the shift linkage is actually coolant, not oil
more photos in a sec


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ifIexplode &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Id get some type of degreaser and clean EVERYTHING. then just watch. i mean thats alot. </TD></TR></TABLE>
will do.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Luserkid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Is there any oil up top or is it all on the bottom? If its all on the bottom then rear main seal is my guess as well. </TD></TR></TABLE>
by the starter there is some, and in the back of the motor its hard to tell which is dirty coolant and which is oil, im not quite sure

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 95ProjectEJ1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I would say rear main seal. I had a similar leak from my vtec solenoid that ran down my trans/block and onto my shift linkage like your is. </TD></TR></TABLE>
how would i know for sure it is the rear main seal? is that where tranny connects to motor? and also, it wouldnt be as simple as loose bolts somewhere would it?

CivicUtah

Is there anywhere else in particular i should attempt to take pics to better figure this out?

95ProjectEJ1

iTrader: (5)

Like the other person suggested, I would get some Simple Green and clean the area thoroughly that was you can see where the source of the leak is.

If its the rear main seal, the only way to know is to remove the trans

Schmidt

What about the drive shaft(s)?

CivicUtah

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Schmidt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What about the drive shaft(s)? </TD></TR></TABLE>

what exactly would those be? i dont know the names of alot of things unfortunately.. would that be where the cv axle connects to the transmission?

CivicUtah

alright, so i finally finished cleaning up most of the leaks.. (it seems to be coming mainly from where the tranny and motor connect, as well as above the driver side cv axle-to-transmission somewhere? not quite sure.

Anyway, so i guess i will just start it up and sit underneath it with a beer and watch for oil then?

B serious

iTrader: (1)

Dear god. It's like the exxon Valdez in your garage. How many dead seals? The ones you didn't club....

Anyway...do this:

Clean the motor. buy some degreaser, go to a carwash, jack up the car if nessacary, clean EVERYTHING so it's completely free from oil residue.

Drive home. Check the next morning for the leak. Find out how far UPWARDS the leak is present. That's probably where it's coming from. Fix that. Wipe off all the oil that spilled.

Monitor for more leaks. If more come up, just find the source. Oil goes downards because of gravity, and towards the back of the car because of wind.

Find the top most, and front most part that's wet. There's your leak.

Bejita

With any leak...Start from the top and work your way down. Could be your valve cover gasket. You never know.

CivicUtah

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by B serious &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Dear god. It's like the exxon Valdez in your garage. How many dead seals? The ones you didn't club....
</TD></TR></TABLE>

lmao..

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by B serious &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Anyway...do this:

Clean the motor. buy some degreaser, go to a carwash, jack up the car if nessacary, clean EVERYTHING so it's completely free from oil residue.

DID THIS NOW

Drive home. Check the next morning for the leak. Find out how far UPWARDS the leak is present. That's probably where it's coming from. Fix that. Wipe off all the oil that spilled.

Monitor for more leaks. If more come up, just find the source. Oil goes downards because of gravity, and towards the back of the car because of wind.

Find the top most, and front most part that's wet. There's your leak. </TD></TR></TABLE>




Ok, this is my first time using photoshop so bear with me :D

that is where i see oil starting to drop after having cleaned the car, then letting it run. So it is of course possible that the actual leak is starting upwards of that point, as stated here:
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bejita &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">With any leak...Start from the top and work your way down. Could be your valve cover gasket. You never know.</TD></TR></TABLE>

and i just cant see where its starting. Should i just start taking things apart to see where its at? like that downpipe/ the shield thingy between motor/tranny that is where the dripping is occuring, intake mani, etc?

any thoughts?

CivicUtah

where the WHITE pencil (not "OIL IS HERE" text, thats just for color code reference) is, is where oil is at/dripping.

CivicUtah

fmrprojects

it looks like your headgasket is leaking coolant and oil and dripping down to the bottom

CivicUtah

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fmrprojects &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">it looks like your headgasket is leaking coolant and oil and dripping down to the bottom</TD></TR></TABLE>

i will be sure to check that out in a minute,

Would a leak right below the Starter have to do with this? i just see a stream of oil ( or possibly dirty coolant?) by the starter..