I know there was an earlier thread about this, but I could not find it. So I was just wondering, if there is oil in my spark plug chamber does it effect the car in any way? My car does seem to be running fine. No odd noises or any weird engine problems.

Also one more question, will getting and after-market intake system help my car use less gas because it is sucking in more clean air than usual?

 

The oil present in the spark plug tubes won't cause problems short term, but you should have them addressed when you can get some $$$ together.
Over a long period, the oil could bake itself to the spark plug body and afford an easier path to ground for the spark energy (skip). It can also be problamatic as it can trap and collect dust, dirt and road debris which would fall into the combustion chamber during a spark plug change. (bad)

Intake systems / fuel savings? Theoretically possible (I guess), but doesn't work out that way in real world stuff. Most guys loose gas milage because their foot is in it more because of the 'nifty' noise it makes.
you'd probably get the same effect by installing a low restriction replacement air filter element (K&N ect).

P

 

Sounds like your ring gaskets are leaking...Which is a simple fix, just buy a valve cover gasket set from Discount. Make sure its the full set, with the 4 ring gaskets and the actual VC gasket. That should fix it.

And no, if you get an after market intake you will get worse gas mileage. Think about it, Honda INC. didn't spend millions of dollars creating the stock intake for it to have bad gas mileage. If you want to have cleaner air and better gas mileage, buy a K&N filter and purchase a new fuel filter. Also, you can get rid of all the resonance chambers on the stock intake, they are just for noise reduction and by doing this, you will get a nice honda-growl as i like to call it, and SOMEWHAT better throttle response-but don't expect anything amazing.

-Doug

 

What would you recommend me buying to repair the leak?

 

dammit P, beat me to it again!

 

I would also suggest replacing the four lower O'Ring seals which reside on the bottom of the spark plug tubes, under the camshaft support assembly. They are often the reason for a re-do.
They are located here:




P

 

P Adams, how difficult is it to do the lower seals? And is it only accords that have these lower seals? I have mentioned them before and been flamed for being stupid. People claim they "don't exist."

 

Here's how it goes:
1990-1997 F22 SOHC Non-Vtec
You will notice #19 in the illustration.....



A full reseal will require:
(1) Valve Cover Gasket set 12030-PT0-000
(4) O'Ring seals 91301-PT0-003

1990-1997 F22 SOHC VTec
You will notice there is NO #19. The Spark plug tubes are incorporated directly with the head rather than thru the Cam Retainer Housing



F22B SOHC non-vtec requires the additional 4
F22A SOHC Vtec does not.

P

 

oh well that is a lame design lol. I don't want to take out my valvetrain haha. when i did my top ones, my kit came with a VC gasket, a set of 4 thin rings, and 4 thick rings (each with 3 notches). The ones in my valve cover were press fitted with the thick rings with 3 notches so i replaced those with the new ones i had. Do I use the four thin rings for the lower ring seals or are they supposed to be the same style as the top ones? I'm going to have have to redo my timing aren't i....

 

Not particularly.
I take some mechanics wire and bind the timing chain to the sprocket so that it can't move. I also secure the tail end of the cam so that it doesn't lift out of it's bearing bores while I remove the retainer housing. This way, the timing can't change when you reassemble everything.
Thin one's on the bottom I believe.
You're going to have to reconfirm your valve lash however (just to be sure)

P

 

hmmm this is very interesting P. I've never known to change the lower 0-ring seals, just the ones directly under the VC, not messing with the valve train.... Is this a f-series thing or do b-series have this too?

 

Well, I can speak of the 1996 B16....
B16 SOHC Non-Vtec



No lower seals here.

P

 

what about a DOHC

 

no, the cam caps don't go over the spark plug tubes so there is only the seal/gasket that is located between the head and valve cover.

 

what tools do i need to adjust for valve lash? I'm currently searching.

 

not the thread for this question but...

-10mm socket and ratchet*
-pliers*
-10mm open/box combination wrench
-small flat head screw driver
-set of feeler gauges
-torque wrench**
-19mm socket with a ratchet***

* tools to remove valve cover
** I always torque the jam nut after setting the gap, then recheck gap after torquing, adjust again if needed
*** to turn the crank

 

Hi guys,
I have a 1990 Accord LX, many mechanics told me there are no lower seals, is this true?
Thanks.

 

If you've an LX, you've got lower seals (Sorry)
Here's the page directly out of the Genuine Honda Parts Catalog for the '90 Accord LX :
http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...=CYLINDER+HEAD

P

 

Hi guys,
I have a 1990 honda Accord LX. I bought it about a year ago with 127k miles, it's now 132k. There was oil on the plug chambers. So I change the upper 4 tube seals and the valve cover. I bought the kit from Ebay. So now, there's no more oil in the chambers. However, there is minor leaks on the back of the valve cover this past weeks. I want to change them again.
When I first changed it, a year ago, I torque the 4 corn nuts on the valve cover at 10 ft. lbs. I thought I saw an online manual to torque them at 7.8 ft. lbs. Which figure is correct? I wonder if I torque them too much at 10 ft. lbs and cause the minor leak.
Thanks,

 

7.8 is the correct spec, or at least 7.x I cant recall exactly, but 10 shouldn't have caused a problem I don't think

 

The Accords use a belt and there are no cam bearings, only journals.

No need to mess with the t-belt, as the cam will stay in place with force from the belt on one side, and the dizzy on the other. After countless repairs of rocker seals in the past, I have never had an issue. Toughest part of the repair is reinstalling the rocker assembly properly.

Don't forget to lube the seals with oil or assembly lube to reduce friction on install. Don't forget to use Hondabond on the cam end caps. And don't forget to adjust the valves.

These seals are overlooked far too often.

Another long term problem with leaky rocker seals, is the oil will cause the spark plug wires to swell, and needing replacement. I'd rather not buy new wires, and I'm sure most don't either

 

I am too chicken to adjust the valves as it looks pretty hard. I got the feeler gauge and everything. How often do you need to adjust the valves?

 

Hi. This is a great thread because I have been trying to fix my oil in the spark plug chamber problem. I have a 1991 Honda Accord EX two door which is the F22A4 engine and replaced the main gasket and the four
upper gromets a couple months back and realized that there was still oil seaping into the spark plug chamber. I did realize that my kit came with two smaller gromets and didn't think they applied to my engine. However after picking up another set and even some black silicone sealant, thinking that my problem was I needed to apply some sealant around the upper gromets I figured I'd check and see if the lower smaller gromets actually did apply and now I do.

My question now is can you give me detailed information on exactly how to replace the smaller o-rings? I know that I'm gonna have to undo some of the bolts and take off the rocker arm assembly, but the Chilton I have doesn't do me any justice in just exactly how to take it off without damaging something as it's not really detailed. I'm not too experienced but I'm not awful either. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Could anyone tell me where to buy these o-rings as it did not come with my kit...

 

Hi,
The valve cover gasket has been on the car for about a year now with 5k on it, do you think if I take it back out and reseat it and retorque it to the lower 7.8, would that fix the minor leak? Would the reseat with lower torque causes it to leak more? Or should I change out a whole new kit and torque it to 7.8?
Thanks.