so quick details,
car is a 92 civic hatch vx
motor is a obd1 gsr

im having a leak coming from the bottom of my motor on the crank pulley side

ive already replaced the oil pan gasket with a fel-pro gasket and torqued the oil pan back down to specs.

now my other guess is that it could be the crank case seal or oil pump seal

now i know fel-pro isnt the best and i had heard of new gaskets from them failing right away.

so opinions?

also the oil has splattered a good amount under the car and wheel well area

 

While I don't know anything about that company in particular, the chances of it leaking in the same exact place as the old one are probably pretty low, no? You did give it a nice rub down with some sand paper or something before applying the new gasket, right?

It definitely sounds like it can be the crank case seal...I suppose it can just as easily be the oil pump seal but I've never replaced one (like, because it broke), so I wouldn't know there - I would point my suspicions at the crank case seal, though. Hope this helps you some, I know it's not a lot of useful info .

 

my guess is the oil pump/front main seal.

 

If oil is dripping from the weep hole at the bottom of the lower timing belt cover, then the front main crank seal and cam seal are the prime suspects.

 

yes i did clean and rough it up with sand paper. thanks for the info though!

cam seal too? ok well ill check them both out. any tips for testing it? or ideas for seeing where its cracked?

ya im starting to believe its the crankcase seals, thanks!

 

Oil leaking from the front main crank seal or cam seal would drip out of the weep hole located at the bottom of the lower timing belt cover. You may be able to see whether the cam seal is leaking by just removing the upper timing belt cover. Additional removal of the lower timing belt cover may be needed to check the crank seal.

 

so when the cover is removed just look for excessive oil? or can i see the tear from the seal externally?

 

Simply look for oil dripping from either the crank or cam seal.

 

lol ya i guess that is kinda self explanatory haha. thanks again!

 

Whoa, Youre back from the dead. haha

 

Fel Pro is a good company, they're actually part of Federal Mogul, an OEM supplier for Honda, Ford, Mazda, etc.
Also, Fel Pro carries two types of oil pan gaskets for some applications. Some are one piece silicone "perma dry" I believe they're called. And others are multi piece cork ones (old school). For the silicone ones, you have to make sure the surface is clean (scrape off old material, and wipe with acetone to remove oil/grease, and unless instructed, DON"T use RTV). I've never had an issue with a Federal Mogul part. This includes Moog ball joints, tie rods, Fel Pro oil pan gaskets, head gaskets, valve cover gaskets, front and rear main seals, National wheel bearings and Wagner brake pads and rotors. Lots of people like Sealed Power piston rings. Everyone has heard of Champion spark plugs and Anco wipers.

Most likely, the front main seal (what some people are calling the crank or oil pump seal) went. And it is possible to replace and have it fail. The crank must be marked for seal depth (or measured), seal removed carefully, and new seal installed straight and to the correct depth. A little grease on the crank, seal and oil pump helps to prevent scratching the seal and helps it slide on.