Car: 2000 b16a2 Civic Si em1, only AEM short ram and valve breather filter... no other mods... original 68k miles.


Hey guys, so ive noticed over the past few months that my car was using a lot of oil... i drive about 50 miles a day to school 5 days a week... i was putting in a quart of mobile 1 about every week and a half to two weeks... i thought this was a little more then normal. so recently i noticed a patch of oil on the side of the engine, looks to be the head, i was not sure if it was just a spill or if it was a leak... so i degreased the engine with gunk and hosed it down clean to monitor where the leak was coming from... i drove to work and back no leaks at all, staying low rpms... when this caused no leak , a few days later i drove to work hitting v-tec and some high rpms for only a few minutes... after getting to work i checked and there was more oil seepage from the same spot. does anyone have any clue as to what this is or what would need to be replaced and the cost?


this is not the actual engine , i just circled the general area of where it appears to be leaking... behind some hoses and stuff on the side of the actual engine...keep in mind it seems to be a slow leak , and leaves no pools of oil on the ground that i can see.



if anyone has any clues please respond, thanks so much...
Ryan

 

Could be the cam seal.

 

You circled the VTEC solenoid! When you engage VTEC the oil pressure in the solenoid goes up significantly which can cause it to leak only when VTEC engages. Replace the gasket and make sure the bolts are nice and snug.

 

is that a cheap job? if i bring it to honda are they going to rape me , i suppose it is the solenoid because it seems to occur only when in vtec

 

It's a pretty simply DIY for either the cam seal or the solenoid. If you don't feel up to it and want to take a ride to north Jersey, I'd be happy to help out.

 

okay, thanks so much for the input guys. i was hoping it wouldnt be somthing too crazy i dont have money for it while going to school

 

Cam seal is cake man, if you really need to I can do I tech article on it

 

is it the cam seal u think or the vtec solenoid?

 

more than likely the cam seal, always goes bad.

 

i would replace the cam seal and the vtec solenoid gasket

 

ok , thanks big help guys! sorry for being a noob lol

 

The VTEC solenoid gasket you can find for about $12 and is replaced by simply unbolting the solenoid, replacing it, and bolting it back up. The head plug is about $4 but is a little trickier because you'll have to remove the valve cover, cam caps (exhaust side), camshaft, and then put it back together with some liquid gasket and then double check your valve lash. By the way, the VTEC solenoid has to be removed to replace the plug so you might as well replace the VTEC solenoid gasket no matter what.

 

ive never had to take the cam out, or all the cam caps. just the valve cover and the last cam cap on the exhaust cam. sits right underneath that. slide in slide out.

 

yeah cam doesn't have to come out. Valve cover, oil rail, and the last cap that it sits under