I'm in a battle to stop every leak with my B16, so one of the suspected culprits was the VTEC Solenoid O-Ring.

That's #14 in the picture below:

Part # 36172-P08-015

So, I ordered the gasket from Majestic. However, the gasket that arrived was different from the gasket that was already in there.

The size and shape is identical. However, the gasket that I received has no screen, and it's a little bit thinner than the gasket I already had.

I was a little skeptical replacing it, so I kept the old one just in case. Sure enough, I got a CEL. VTEC Solenoid malfunction.
Swapped the original gasket back in, and no more CEL.

So what does this mean? Did the previous owner of my B16 swap a different VTEC solenoid on or something? For kicks I checked the Del Sol's part #, and it uses the same gasket that I received (without the screen).

-a

 

 

Bump for WTF

 

Bumped fo du WTF. Actually, I need to do this as well (never been changed). Does the one that was already in the car have a screen on half and the other half no screen? That's what mine looks like that I got from Honda.

-Shane

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nighttrain33 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Bumped fo du WTF. Actually, I need to do this as well (never been changed). Does the one that was already in the car have a screen on half and the other half no screen? That's what mine looks like that I got from Honda.

-Shane</TD></TR></TABLE>

Correct, the one that was on my car has the screen on the small, round section of the O-ring.

-a

 

So maybe the one you got is defective. Did you call them. It really wouldn't make sense to not have any screen in there at all, don't you think. I would get in touch with them and let them know (unless someone on here as something different to add).

-Shane

 

i dont think the screen is defective. i think when you put the solenoid back on the pressure pin on the bottom of the solenoid was not seated right. its round with a little hole in it. ( sorry hard to explain) it needs to be seated correclty for oil to flow through. also take carb cleaner to the screen. common point for loss of oil in vtec. also typical oil leak in that area comes from cam seal or the vtec solenoid housing gasket which also has a screen thats more oval shape.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by postman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i dont think the screen is defective. i think when you put the solenoid back on the pressure pin on the bottom of the solenoid was not seated right. its round with a little hole in it. ( sorry hard to explain) it needs to be seated correclty for oil to flow through. also take carb cleaner to the screen. common point for loss of oil in vtec. also typical oil leak in that area comes from cam seal or the vtec solenoid housing gasket which also has a screen thats more oval shape.</TD></TR></TABLE>

He is saying that the gasket that he got from Majestic does not have a screen, while the one that was originally in the car does, as does mine.

-Shane

 

As a sanity check, I also checked the part number for the GSR and Type-R. It is the same, 36172-P08-015.

I found another thread where someone was talking about the same thing (sort of).

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1236025

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Just to follow up... I have the parts... and the difference between the 005 and 015 (the smaller upper gasket) ones are that in the small hole one has a screen and the other doesnt... I pulled off my vtec solenoid and mine did not have the screen one on it...the screen one will not fit on this... not sure if its something specific based on the type of head or not... (i have a 96 b18c head on a b20b block) ....</TD></TR></TABLE>

I can find the 005 part when searching for it, but I can't find the part when browsing ... hmmm maybe it was discontinued?

-a

 

I had the same problem but the other way around. My gasket #14 was leaking, so I ordered a new one from majestic. I went to take the solenoid apart and the original gasket didn't have a screen but the new one did. This was on a 95 gsr motor. I replaced the gasket and go no cel's.

 

Those 2 part numbers I listed off in my thread... One has a screen in the small circular part and the other does not.

The unfortunate thing is... I don't remember which is which.

 

I sent an email to Majestic, and not surprizingly, have not heard back from them all day.

-a

 

dont known if someone already said this .... cause i dont want to read all ... but yes you are defanitly supposed to have a screen i have a 99 civic si and i have a screen...

 

This problem is common in the 99-00 Si. There are two gasket seals that's located in the VTEC solenoid. I bought mine at the dealer and replaced them in like 15mins. Its pretty inexpensive and easy to install. Dealer, go to the dealer.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RudeBwaiSi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">This problem is common in the 99-00 Si. There are two gasket seals that's located in the VTEC solenoid. I bought mine at the dealer and replaced them in like 15mins. Its pretty inexpensive and easy to install. Dealer, go to the dealer.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's too long. I only spent 9 minutes 32 seconds on mine. I know because my GF timed me because she didn't believe me when I told her I'd only spend 10 minutes working on my car that night

-a

 

Still no response from Majestic