I got an oil leak and it drips from the bottom of the tranny next to the oil pan. I see the bottom flywheel wet and so is the oil pan next to it. I changed the oil pan gasket today and the leak persists. How do I diagnose if its a rear main seal?
By the way its a b16a

 

how much oil are you losing? those oil pan gaskets are a pain to keep from leaking. did you try tightening the oil pan bolts near the leak a bit?

 

Well I tried not to torque them too much even though I was tempted because the gasket was my first suspect. It leaked with the old gasket which didnt look damaged when I took it off. And now it leaks with the new gasket. So I'm looking elsewhere for the culprit. My friend said when I jacked up the left side of the car, the leak got heavier, but this was before I changed the gasket. So i'm thinking rear main seal now. Just want to know how to confirm my suspicion so I dont tear down the gearbox in vain.

 

I would estimate by the end of the week it might be a quart

 

well, jacking the car up on one side and the leak getting heavier could also be the oil pan. does it leak worse when the car sits? if you have the car sitting for a day or so, and it still leaks, it would most likely be the oil pan gasket. all of the oil would be in the pan, not the motor.

how many miles are on the engine? a quart a week is quite a bit of oil. im leaning towards the pan gasket. did you use plenty of honda-bond/silicone? torque the bolts to 11 ft./lbs.? i know there is a trick to putting those on. the honda techs at the dealership have a certain way of using the gasket.

 

when you changed the oil pan gasket did you make sure the 2 matel rings that was on the origional gasket was taken off, they are on rear main side. They usualy get left behind and will leak worst than before since it leaves a gap there. Was all the old material removed?you use hondabond where the rearmain plate meats the block...If the oil is high and flywheel if covered in it most likely rear main unless oil is coming higher than that.

 

just because the flywheel is covered in oil doesnt really tell us anything. it could have dripped out of the oil pan gasket and onto the flywheel as well. the oil pan gasket is the most likely, just from my personal experience and in my own opinion.

 

Well it leaked when there was honda bond on it. Then I cleaned all that off and used the gasket only. The two metal rings were still in the old gasket when I checked. It seems it only leaks while i'm driving and for a little after I park. I also saw oil like it was splashed on to the header (collector) and exhaust piping. I will check again for more evidence.

 

I have a theory. Currently the bracket that covers the flywheel is not connected. If I clean up the flywheel and install that bracket then I should be able to separate the leak and differentiate if its coming from the rear main seal of actually the oil pan. Is this theory workable?

 

that may work. if the oil is still getting to the flywheel after the cover is on it, the rear main seal could be your problem. i just dont see how the main seal could leak so much. the oil pan gasket is usually the culprit.

 

Thanks....I appreciate your input on this. I may have to try to get a new oil pan because the original gasket didn't seem damaged but I still replaced it. So there is a new one on it now and it still leaks.So if i confirm its coming from the oil pan then its either the oil pan or the block that's warped.

 

could be, but unless the block or oil pan took a heavy hit from the bottom, and i mean a really heavy hit, the oil pan and block should be ok. ive been through about 5 oil pan gaskets over the years because i could never quite get it to seal right. there wasnt anything wrong with the pan or the block, i just put the gasket on wrong.

the method that i was told to use is to put a bead of silicone on the actual pan, spread it evenly where the gasket should go, put the gasket on, use another bead of silicone around the gasket and spread it evenly. make sure you clean the surface of the block well, use a bit of paint thinner or acetone. let the oil pan and gasket sit for about 30 minutes, until the silicone is a bit sticky, and then bolt it to the block, starting at one bolt and all the way around the pan. i usually give each bolt a turn or two at a time, and then finish with the specified torque.

 

I've had a similar situation/head ache for the past 3 months. Finally got it all fixed, for the most part. I replaced the oil pan gasket 3 times (have to go with an OEM one). Still was dripping oil from some where. Checked all the bolts around the back of the block and the tranny, found a couple things sort of lose....but the big thing that was causing my leak was a loose oil pressure sensor. Oil was basically spraying out of it and dripping down around the oil pan making it look like my oil pan gasket was going bad or not sealing right.

 

Just changed my oil pan....same ****.

 

If you can, clean the whole area with brake clean. Clean it really well until no more oil is dripping from any suspicious areas. They have this stuff called "leak finder" that basically is white powder in an aerosol can.IES makes it. Kinda hard to find, but baby powder or any generic foot powder should work too. Spray the CLEAN area with the powder of your choice and start the car...
This will make it easier to diagnose the leak...BTW, how many miles on the engine? I think all the Honda RMS leaks have been on cars with over 100k miles...
Good luck.

 

After I changed the oil pan and poured the oil back in, I lowered the right hand side of the car first. No oil leaked out. Then I lowered the other side and took it around the block couple times. The I parked and checked....sure enough I saw a couple drops from the same location. I guess I'll try the powder thing and silicone again.

 

either rear main, dizzy o ring or ur cam seal

 

has the motor been recently rebuilt? my friend had a problem when he got his back from the machine shop, they didn't torque down the oil galley plug on the bellhousing side.

 

yes....oil galley plug?.....maybe we call it something else here in Jamaica...is that the proper name? thanks for the info

 

its the plug with the allen key. the torque spec is something ridiculously high, over 100 lb-ft.

 

Definately thinking its the rear main seal now. Followed the manual to and changed the oil pan gasket and oil pan. Jacked up the car and still saw the oil dripping from right between those two studs on the rear crank cover. It cant be from anywhere else. Thanks guys....I'll be dropping the gearbox next weekend.

 

OK. After all that troubleshooting I took of the gearbox and saw the rear seal in tact...it wasnt perfectly seated...Anyway i went ahead and changed the seal. It was then i notied two metal rings on the rear seal cover studs. It was actually the little rings from an old oil pan gasket that were left on the studs in the seal cover. I felt so dumb. I just went ahead and changed my clutch, pressure plate and release bearings not to feel so bad.