I was about to buy a valve cover gasket kit and replace the plug tube seals but thought I might just get some opinions first to make sure I am fixing a possible source of the problem.

Oil can be found dripped on cylinders 2,3 of the plugs and a compression test showed uniform pressure. I'm not seeing any smoke and relatively little oil consuption between changes. The car throws a check engine light for the O2 sensor about every 500-1000 miles which is know to be a problem on these engines that the dealer would fix (had it started happening before 150k miles as covered under the warranty).

It's hard to tell where the oil originates when I pull the plugs (on top or on the bottom electrode side) as I can't see any down the hole before removing them and there is about 2-3 drops that looks like clean oil by the time I pull them out. Is it possible this is from the valve stem seals or is it far more likely the spark tube seals or pcv valve based on the symptoms or lack of.

Sidenote, I can't find the pcv valves on the back of the block. Any ideas where exactly they are?

 

yeah, the seals are/should be broken.. buy that kit.. i think honda sells it for around $40.

 

based on the other thread, I assume you trying to figure out if it's the upper tube seals that are bad or if it's the lower o-rings. Now correct me if I'm wrong but even if the lower o-rings were bad the oil will still leak into the spark plug tube, not into the cylinders like you seem to be asking.

the PCV valve is located on the valve cover. *see diagram below*


#1 is the PCV Valve
#6 is the PCV Valve Grommet

 

If the copression was correct, the problem is "upper". First, try changing out the "plug donut" seals that come in a kit with the cover-seal. I HAVE had this problem before with my 1994, with some oil in the plugs (happens especially in very HOT climates, the seals "bake" and get hard, then leak.) The oil tends to show on the sides of the plug, instead of at the electrode.

If that doesn't solve the problem, you are looking at the valve-stem seals and/or guides. My guess is "NO", due to the fact this type leakage WILL burn some oil.

BUT, the F22 blocks are famous for not so great valve guides/seals, so you could still be burning a slight amount of oil between changes- keep a close eye on the oil height and quality. I have a very strong (some upgrades) F22B2, and it burns a very small amount of oil between changes (about 1/8 qt.), usually in hot weather.

The F22B2 engine is BRUTAL on oil (all SOHC engines are)- keep the oil clean, clean, clean. The point to change it is when it starts to darken, in hard driving conditions at about 3K miles. Keep it VERY clean and the engine will burn less oil. You will notice the color will start to change just when the oil height starts dropping on the dip-stick. The oil at this point is getting thinned, change it!

Also, keep the valves adjusted. When out of lash, the engine will burn slightly more oil. This engine is HARD on the cam/valves, due to the SOHC/non-vtec design. Keep the valves adjusted to the tight side of the specs.

As per the diagram posted, the PCV valve is on top of the valve-cover. Wrenchy

 

i think its the seals check em all

 

yeh its those rubber ring seals.
I had this issue b4, mine were the top seals and also the lower seals by the rocker arms

 

Thanks everyone. You all know the frustration of fixing one thing only to find it wasn't the source, but based on all your experiences, I'm going to yield to other's experience and change those seals. TouringAccord, thanks for the diagrams, I can't tell you how much that helps compared to trying to explain locations.

Anyone switch to a thicker viscosity oil to try to slow any leakage through valve guides/seals? 20W-50 for example in the summer?

And since I'm throwing the check engine for the O2 sensor (a month before emissions). Is there anyway to isolate the cause. Faulty sensor needing cleaning? Oil being burned out exhaust? Faulty Cat? EGR valve?


Modified by scott1ct at 6:18 AM 7/11/2007

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by scott1ct &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">TouringAccord, thanks for the diagrams, I can't tell you how much that helps compared to trying to explain locations.</TD></TR></TABLE>

no problem
all those diagram from the other thread and this one were pulled from SLHonda.com It's the same diagrams as on Majestic Honda's website but better quality.

 

CEL depends on OBD-1 or OBD-2. What year is the car??

 

OBDII code. I posted about it but got no response. it is the P0420 "Catalyst System Efficiency Below Efficiency"


https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=2039194

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lilwes &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i think its the seals check em all </TD></TR></TABLE>

yep