94 accord lx; 299k miles.
Just purchased this car in Februrary. (18 y/o son's first car). We didn't notice any oil leaking before, at first. But there was one incident where the oil was unexpectedly low. So we filled it, decided to keep an eye on things. (knowing there's a laundry list of other things needing attention).

First thing we tackled was the TB, brakes, alternator and PS belts. (record said that TB was 100k miles overdue). This job went well, and while the timing-side of the engine had some oil on it, there was no sign of leakage at those seals.

Now it's a few weeks later, and we're seeing oil coming off the passenger-side of the engine, where the transaxle mates to the engine. Small drips. Does not seem to cause clutch engagement problems. Clutch seems to work fine).

(the whole transaxle is wet, and cruddy, so it's likely been leaking long before we got it - but the dripping seems recent).

Is my guess that the crankshaft seal is in need of replacement?

(I did this job on my VW when I changed my clutch. But maybe the previous mechanic who changed the clutch on this accord didn't do this - Is this a common maintenance item for a clutch-change job?)

Thanks

 

Crankshaft seal is on the drivers side.

It could be the:

1. Rear Main Seal

2. Distributor internal or outside seal. Open distributor cap and if there is oil on the cap inside the cap, it's the internal seal. If you mark the distributor, remove the distributor and check the outside seal.

3. Oil pressure sensor. If it's leaking from here, you will see oil coming from on top of the oil filter.

If I was you, I would first add dye in the oil and follow up with a dye light and glasses and see exactly where it's coming from.

 

Does sound like the rear main seal. I have an f23 (98 Odyssey) and it leaks pretty bad. It's my impression that these seals fail regularly.

 

Thank you;
Okay, I've never heard of oil dye, and I sure don't have a UV light and glasses. (I think that's what you're talking about) . . .

"Rear Main Seal" would be the motor's output shaft, (on the passenger side) that connects to the transmission, which I can expose (and change) when I remove the clutch, and flywheel (and gland nut) - correct? I can't seem to find this on any of the diagrams in the 1994 shop manual. (other than as "Crankshaft Oil Seal" on page 7-24)

I'll get a chance this Saturday to get a good look at the oil pressure and distributor, so I can confirm or rule those out.

 

Here ya go:

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...er=210225_0_0_

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...er=424631_0_0_



"Rear Main Seal" would be the motor's output shaft, (on the passenger side) that connects to the transmission, which I can expose (and change) when I remove the clutch, and flywheel (and gland nut) - correct? I can't seem to find this on any of the diagrams in the 1994 shop manual. (other than as "Crankshaft Oil Seal" on page 7-24)[/QUOTE]

Check here to get a general idea of the seal:

http://board.accordtuner.com/showthr...s-Oil-Leak-H22

 

Oh - thanks for the link to that picture.

It says it's a pain to replace:
But if you're in there, changing the clutch, I imagine the hard part is getting that gland-nut off (103 ft-lbs), then, it looks like that 5-bolt cover-plate, and the seal sits in that cover-plate.

I guess my assumptions have to be:
1. That I'm going to have clearance to get that cover-plate off without doing any other major disassembly. (since I'm already going to pretty much have the transmission out).

and
2. That when I remove the cover-plate to take out the old seal, and install the new seal, that the crankshaft will remain more or less in position, (that I don't need any special tools or anything to keep it from wobbling out of its journals or anything like that).

Is that about right?

I guess assumption 0, is that I can put my breaker-bar on the crankshaft pulley on the other-side of the car, in order to keep the crankshaft from turning when I try to remove (and re-torque) the gland-nut.


I "assume" that the crankshaft is not going to get out of alignment or anything like that when I take the cover-plate off, right? Or am I going to need to rig something to hold it in place?

 

make sure the PCV is also good, if that is not working you may see the seals such as the front and rear main, or the balance shaft seal begin to weep oil as pressure is relieved.

to get to the rear main you need to remove the transmission.
the torque converter will be removed as a part of the process.
once that is done you remove the flex plate which is held on by 12 point 17mm bolts, then you can either pry the rear main seal out and tap the new one in, or remove the cover plate and replace the seal on the bench.

the crankshaft is not help or supported by the cover plate, the cover plate only holds the seal.

 

Okay, I think I'm going to use dye.

He took a 500 mile drive yesterday, and didn't lose much measurable oil.

I got underneath it, and cleaned it all off with engine degreaser.

There is a weep-hole right at the bottom; underneath where the oil seal is, and this is BONE DRY. So I'm pretty certain that's not leaking. But most of the transaxle is pretty wet. This is strange - because, it's the PASSENGER side of the transaxle, that is wet. I'm not sure where that's coming from, but I've cleaned it off good, so we'll get a better idea after some driving.

There's also some significant leakage right around the oilpan gasket, along the back-edge. So I'm pretty sure that's where oil is being lost over-time. That's a lot easier to replace, I'm guessing, than the Rear Main seal.

But it's a mystery as to why the transmission, itself, is wet.

The oil sender is not leaking, the distributor is not leaking, the oil filter is not leaking.

 

Is the top most part of the transaxle also wet and cruddy but if not you are right that oil leak is coming from the rear crankshaft oil seal but if it is wet the leak probably coming from the distributor oil seal and check also the top cover gasket as well.

 

axle seals

 

I had the same problem with oil all over the top of the tranny and it ended up being the distributor o-ring. I think it was like $4 at the dealer for the part and took about 20 mins to change. When i pulled the old one out it was like plastic and snapped in pieces.

 

I can't really say what my conclusion is, here.

I know that the car is consuming oil. But I believe it's consuming a lot less oil than what my son thinks.

I cleaned up the oil-pan gasket, and after a week, I see no signs of leakage under the whole engine.

The Manual Transmission is another story.

I cleaned that off, and it's wet again. On the passenger side.
Seems it's coming out of the axle seal, like Hidenplanvew says.

I emptied the fluid. It's dark, and smelley. But there's no debris. It was just under 2-quarts, so it was a bit low.

I wonder if it's only been leaking recently.
And the reason why I wonder, is that there's a little tube sticking out of the top. I thought it was a dipstick tube, but that the dipstick was missing. Turns out it's a vent-tube. But what I did, about a month ago, is I put a vacuum-line cap on it, to keep dust out. I don't know if that was the right thing to do, or the wrong thing. Obviously, a vent tube has a purpose. Maybe covering it up, causes pressure to build-up inside the manual transmission, and overcome the axle seal?

Anyway, I've taken the cap off.

I got Honda MTF from the dealer, and that stuff is crystal-clear. It shifts a lot more smoothly now. I don't know if it's going to continue leaking - if I've blown out the seal, or if it was overpressure, or if the seal was just plain worn-out anyway. I'll report back in a couple of weeks, I guess.

 

It shouldnt be over pressurizing the tranny as there is a vent on the top of the tranny with a black cap and an anodized (spelling) pipe comming from the top of the tranny kind of to where the junction for the soft pipe to hard pipe on thetop of the tranny.

 

Manual trannys dont build pressure. They dont have a dipstick. There is a 17mm bolt on the side of the tranny above the drain and you just fill it untill oil spills out and it will do that at 2qts.