What's the best way to find an oil leak? Is there any specific test I can ask for at a garage or do I have to clean the spot and then check to see where the oil is coming from?

Thing is, the oil is at the bottom of my tranny. I have a 97SH and its not tranny fluid otherwise it would be red/pink no? It's a major pain to get under the car to clean that area so I cannot tell where the oil is coming from.

Any suggestions on how to find this leak? Would pics help cause I can bring those up later when I get home. Thanks guys

 

i thought the same ****, could be axle seal

 

You could try narrowing it down by figuring exactly what the fluid is first, try putting some of it on a white piece of paper to determine colour. Touch it also, see if it feels like a lubricant.
- Engine Oil - usually black
- ATF - usually red (but can turn dark brown/black, especially when exposed to the environment)
- PS - usually red (same as above)
- Don't rule out windshield washer or anti-freeze, these can come in any colour, but can also get dirty.

You can also check all the dip sticks and reservoirs, (ie: motor oil, PS, Brake Fluid, Transmission, etc)... it might just be as easy as finding the one that's lower than it should be!

Otherwise, you probably will have to clean the engine bay (help yourself to some engine bay cleanser), so that you eliminate any oil, and can track the leak as it forms again.

There are also dyes which can be added to your motor oil that react to UV light, this helps track it down much faster!

 

If you have access to a lift, pressure wash the engine, then start it up and see if you can find where the run starts

 

Ah, also read somewhere about another funny method instead of the dye...

After washing the engine bay, you can "powder" it with foot powder (or baby talc?). This won't damage anything, but will very clearly show any new leaks. Go for a short drive on a dry/clean road, or just let the engine run, and see if oil appears.

Can't say I've tried this myself... but hey... desperate times call for desperate measures.

 

Awesome guys, thanks for the replies.

Oh I just did an oil change and tried some Mobile1 Synthetic (5w30) so maybe that will show me where the leak is. I hear that synthetic will leak out of places that regular oil wouldn't as its too thick?

I don't have access to a lift but I might be able to talk a garage into using one maybe. Im pretty sure the leak is oil as its brown/black but I haven't tried using cloth on it to really find out. I had no time for pics last night but I'll try and provide some tonight.

There is no type of "pressure test" that can be done to find engine leaks?

 

UPDATE:

Any idea to where this leak might be coming from? It's dry up top so it's not the valve cover. Here is a couple pics from the bottom of the car at the tranny:






Here is a pic from the top of the motor:
Is this the crank seal? What gasket is that, seems to be coming from there but its so damn tight in here and its hard to spot.



Any suggestions would be great. I don't want to have to take this to Honda to find out where the leak is. Knowing them they will order a head gasket to replace the spark plugs...I hate Honda shops

 

Looks like an axle seal leak. Clean the area off with some brake clean and see if you can narrow down the leak. They do make a fluid dye to help pinpoint leaks and might be worth a try if you are still having difficulties.

Ive seen a few of the SH ludes leak at the axle seal on the ATTS unit side. hth

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CAN97SH &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I don't want to have to take this to Honda to find out where the leak is. Knowing them they will order a head gasket to replace the spark plugs...I hate Honda shops </TD></TR></TABLE>

Dont hate on us too much. Some of us actually DO know what we're doing.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Cory man &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Looks like an axle seal leak. Clean the area off with some brake clean and see if you can narrow down the leak. They do make a fluid dye to help pinpoint leaks and might be worth a try if you are still having difficulties.

Ive seen a few of the SH ludes leak at the axle seal on the ATTS unit side. hth

Dont hate on us too much. Some of us actually DO know what we're doing. </TD></TR></TABLE>

eheh, well I don't hate all Honda shops....just the one closest to my home as they don't know how to order parts which keeps my car down for that much longer. So yeah, sorry I should have made an example rather than just slandering them I do own a Honda and love my car so I don't hate Honda, just the parts dept

Okay, I've used some engine degreaser to clean most of the crap off but my jack is not tall enough for me to get right under the car and clean it all so we'll have to wait until I get a new jack which wont be too long. But after spraying with the engine degreaser, I went to a car wash and used an under carriage sprayer and tried to clean most of the crap off but that didn't work too well I also don't notice too much oil on the ground in the mornings but there is some, maybe the size of a quarter and its dry, not a mound of oil or anything.

I'm going to call Honda and see what they charge to check this out for me if I can't figure this out. I'll look into the fluid dye thing also.

Thanks for the help and I'll keep ya updated.

 

1.) Put a big piece of cardboard underneath your car at night, when you wake up - you'll see where exactly it's dripping from and how much. Mine currently drips from the Oil Cooler gasket and causes whitish smoke to rise from underneath, doesn't smell to good either. Good luck on your problem fix.

2.) Jack up the car, lay underneath it, clean the block and the tranny with a towel. When you're ready - start the car, and go back under the car. Let the car warm up and examine. I did this and found out my problem leak. Hope that helps.

 

and let nice hot oil drip on your face<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by street_ride14 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

2.) Jack up the car, lay underneath it, clean the block and the tranny with a towel. When you're ready - start the car, and go back under the car. Let the car warm up and examine. I did this and found out my problem leak. Hope that helps.</TD></TR></TABLE>

haha, im trying to solve this problem too
my whole engine is a mess and i drip so i think i have multiple problems
trying to fix pcv and maybe valve cover gasket and maybe oil pan plug/gasket

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dafuzzbudd &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">and let nice hot oil drip on your face

haha, im trying to solve this problem too
my whole engine is a mess and i drip so i think i have multiple problems
trying to fix pcv and maybe valve cover gasket and maybe oil pan plug/gasket</TD></TR></TABLE>


yeah I still cant find the leak I have either. I've cleaned it, a shop has cleaned the spots where there is oil but cant see where the leak is coming from. I gave up already It's not that bad so I'm just going to wait till I have some spare time to take it in to a shop again. If I could get my car jacked up high enough I would do this but I can't cause I don't have a high enough jack to maneuver around down there

I know what I'm asking for xmas

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by street_ride14 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">1.) Put a big piece of cardboard underneath your car at night, when you wake up - you'll see where exactly it's dripping from and how much. Mine currently drips from the Oil Cooler gasket and causes whitish smoke to rise from underneath, doesn't smell to good either. Good luck on your problem fix.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

That took me all of 20 mins to fix once Honda knew what f'n gasket I wanted... and mine poured out about a 2 quarts in 45 mins of driving...