Our 96 accord thats got 266k on it has a leak at the distributor similar to the one I just repaired on our 2000 Accord SE, but on that one I replaced the housing rather than just the just the seal. I did see this thread on how to do this but had a few questions.

https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-accord-1990-2002-2/how-replace-internal-seal-distributor-internal-oil-leak-2214402/

Where step 2 says..
"Then take the snap ring off and the pin will fall out. This allows the shaft to slide right out."

Where is the snap ring exactly?

Also on a 96 accord LX 4cyl is the process the same?

 

Should be that ring bottom left. Unless that's an o-ring, then somehow u didn't have one. I know on some, the pin is in there so tight that it won't come out. You need to punch it out. That may be the case with yours.

 

Looks like you found the problem ... but if not ... I posted a note on replacing the Dist Seal for a 2000 Honda Accord LX 2.3L Vtec motor. I included part numbers and so on for the seal, but as of writing this post, I have not yet posted the 15-20 pictures that I have showing how to do it.

If your distributor in the 1996 is the same as in the 2000, then yes, you have to punch out the pin, and punch it back in when putting it back together. There is no snap ring. That is the only really hard part of the job. The rest is just being careful not to damage parts or the new seal.

 

Yeah, in the end I replaced with a new distributor housing on the 2000, but the 1996 Accord distributor did have that snap ring so I did as the other thread instructed and all went well. Getting that seal off was a pain it was so baked on. I tried not to gouge it out to make indention's in the housing, but in the end there were a few scratches, not super deep though. I scrubbed with steel wool and hoped for the best.