I assume this is the head gasket leaking, but I am no mechanic so I took pictures and am asking for your suggestions and thoughts.

the oil is leaking around the block and around a few bolts on top of the block. This to me is the "head" seemingly meaning the gasket to seal it is leaking.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1Uz...it?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1Uz...it?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1Uz...it?usp=sharing
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https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1Uz...it?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1Uz...it?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1Uz...it?usp=sharing

I tried circling areas with oil leaking, none of the oil is coming frm the plugs, just on the block around them.

The tranny has oil on it but, I think this is drizzle coming down from the block, but if I do recall my old honda always had oil on the tranny.

 

That's the valve cover. Are those bolts loose? Looks like you have gaskets missing or failing.

 

Those bolts are tight. replacing a valve cover gasket easy?

 

very easy. pick up a helms or similar manual for the car to help you out if youve never done this work before.

 

Yep, got the manual out right away, ordering the seals kit, new wires plugs, distributor cap.

Thanks for the heads up!

 

After you fix the valve cover leak, get some can of break cleaner from any parts store(autozone) and spray/clean everything down(Engine off)
The leak you have is totally that valve cover gasket. But sometimes the vtec-solenoid leaks too.

 

Engine cleaner should work? I was looking into cleaning up the mess all over everything from the leak.

 

yeah it does, take more time tho. really up to you

 

So got the new Clutch installed, got the front wheel bearings replaced.

Got the car back, replaced the valve cover seal, new plugs (which were a little longer?), new wires, new distributor cap and rotor. Cleaned up all the oil mess, but now the engine misfires.

It was real subtle at first (<100miles) then today it kicked a few times, telling me it's more than one cylinder.

Question, is the distributor shot when oil get into the cap? the tiniest residue of oil was around the bottom of the old Dist.cap. Should I just replace it and see if that my problem with misfires.

In the past I've had a distributor go while the car sat in place for a month for repairs. Do these electronics go that easy? Car was offline for two weeks, misfires upon re-introduction to my 100-200 miles per day.

So if it isn't my distributor, should I even bother asking for someplace to do a compression test?

Seems to be the popular answer around misfires.

Being that my valve cover seal was leaking, is it logical to assume the head gasket needs replaced?

 

A comp test can be done you'r self pick up a tester for 30 bucks(there's a diy on here)

no the VC gasket has nothing to do with you'r HG is there white smoke coming out of you'r exhaust and a milky ressidue around you'r oil cap ?

 

What did you use to clean the engine? Before you start changing parts take a look at the plug wires and plug wells.

You have a misfire after removing the plug wires and cleaning the engine. Could be poorly seated wires, water in the plug wells.

And no a leaking valve cover does not indicate a bad head gasket.

 

I used Brake cleaner, and cleaned the cover while it was off the car. waited for it to dry entirely and then put oil on the inside of the cover to check for residue from brake cleaner.

If any of the brake cleaner was in the oil, wouldn't the ratio overrule it?

I did an oil change after I changed the valve cover seal / spark plug well seals / cover bolt seals.

The plug wells are dry as a bone, the wires are tighter than the stock ones.

I was worried about the spark plugs, they were longer, like nearly an inch, this is not an issue I now assume?

 

don't worry about a little cleaner in you'r oil that's not going to do anything.


as for the plug are they the recomened one's for you'r engine ?

 

They were NGK premium . Should I just order oem?

 

No smoke, no residue on cap.

 

If the distributor seems to be leaking then maybe you need to change the o-rings. And it sounds like you may have ordered the wrong plugs or you gapped them wrong. NGK premium doesn't tell me anything.

 

Your new plugs should not be longer than the old ones, unless what was in there was the incorrect plug. This could cause misfires.

 

It says what type of plugs are required/reccomended on the side of you uppper timing belt cover. agree with grumble on the Dizzy O-rings needing to be replaced.

 

The o ring on the dizzy cap is new, came with the new NGK cap


NGK-LZTR6AIX13 plugs

I'll pick up "OEM" plugs and get back to you. Thanks for the input guys its been a real lifesaver so far.

 

Not the O-ring we're talking about.

 

I figured

The shorter plugs are working great. No Misfires plus I had not adjusted the plug arch distance for NY Honda either. Lucky me the valves(?) barely tapped the plugs.

 

The O-Ring he's talking about fits around the dizzy shaft where it connects to the camshaft. Don't bother with trying to guesstimate sizes from an auto parts store--the damn things are either too fat or too thin. Snag one from Honda for like $1.50 and fix dat leak! ^^

 

I agree with this guy^^^ for O-rings just pick them up from a Honda dealership and save yourself the headache. Make sure to mark your distributor when you take it off so that you don't throw your timing off.. I replaced that O-ring on my car not too long ago because it was leaking...

 

I will grab one of those rings for future issues.

Added four plugs of the right length, no misfires

Video of after new plugs.
http://goo.gl/lu3Ow


Some of the plugs had little nic's on the threads, I assume those were my valves?

That should be a fun day, for now, it's running great, all my HP is back, no more crawling around.

I appreciate all the help here on the forums.

1600 spent on repairs after one year, hopefully it will hold off on breaking for a while.

 

I just went through all these same leaks with my Y7. NAPA has a fairly priced top end gasket kit for a reasonable price, I keep an extra kit nearby they're handy to have