After doing a headgasket replacement on my brother's '96 Civic EX sedan, oil pours down the back of the engine and onto the driverside inner axles and makes decent size pool underneath, and down onto the tranny. I noticed oil pooled up quick where the VTEC solenoid bolts up to the head. I hope that is it. I did not remove the solenoid either, and it started pouring out as soon as the car starts up. I really hope it's not the headgasket as it is brand new. It doesn't overheat or anything after the replacement, just the oil leak. It was yesterday and no Honda dealers would be open, so I told him to check his oil each time he drives.

I properly detorque and followed the torque in sequence given by All Data:

1st step: (1) - (10) 20 Nm (2.0 kgs.cm, 14 ft.lbs.)
2nd step: (1) - (10) Nm (5.0 kgs.cm, 36 ft.lbs.)
3rd step: (1) - (10) Nm (6.8 kgs.cm, 49 ft.lbs.)
4th step: (1), (2) Nm (6.8 kgs.cm, 49 ft.lbs.)

Anybody have this happen to them before?

 

Did you put the HG on upside down ? yes it's possible I did it once had a HUGE leak lost 70% of my oil in the first couple mins of start up. was a B18C1 tho. did you seriously tell/let him drive with an oil leak like that it will leak even more when the car is driving vs idleing coolant loss with cause the car to overheat(vissably via the temp gauge) have you seen a car run dry from oil loss no real indication if it's a leak and all pours out. if i had driven with my leak i'd be dry before i got 2km's down the road

 

Thats his only car, and he has to get to work early in the morning, so he has no choice. It drips constantly but not to where it rushes down like a stream. I told him to get like three quarts of oil on hand and top it off each time he drives it and to look out for the low oil pressure indicator. He lives 30 mins away and so far no problem yet.

And no, I did not put the headgasket upside down. I made sure it goes on the same as the old HG. All the oil galley and coolant passages match up to the new HG as well.

Going there after my appt to replace that VTEC solenoid gasket.

 

why was the HG changed did the car overheat orginaly and cause the HG to blow, if so head/block could be warped from overheating thus causing them to not sit flush.

 

Yeah, he overheated. The coolant resevoir was milky as fudge and keeps loosing coolant. I noticed that coolant has been going into the combustion chamber cause some part of the top of pistons were white. Same with the valve faces.

 

sounds like the head or block could be warped. did you check them(at least the head) before you replaced the HG i know it's his DD but if the HG is on the right way and you TQ the head to spec there shouldn't be oil leaking did you replace/do anything else that could cause a leak or just the HG

 

Just the headgasket. Didn't check the head or block for warpage, so I didn't have a straight edge to measure it.

Then the VTEC solnoid started pouring out. So I'm gonna replace that tonight.

 

Dowel (sp) pins not re-installed? if yesm I would pull the head and hope it is not warped

 

I believe I got it fixed.

We bought a VTEC solenoid filter screen o-ring and thought it was that, but it's not just as I figured it was gonna be the middle o-ring that's sandwich between the upper and lower solenoid. Thats where it was pouring out of. Honda does not show them selling it by itself as you have to get the whole VTEC assembly. But Honda sells them o-ring separately for the 95 and lower Civic which he does not have in stock. So I hit up my brother-in-law to see if he's got one laying around; since, I know he modifies Civic left to right. And sure enough, he does. Has a D16z6 long block chilling outside. I grabbed that VTEC Solenoid and used it on my bro's D16Y8 and no more leaking.

My local Honda has those middle o-ring in stock tomorrow, so I'll be sure to grab them for his car.

Dowel pins were both removed from the head and put back onto the block, so it can keep the new HG aligned.

Thank for all the replies.

 

if its a severe leak i would count on it being a rear main seal... do u smell oil burning on the exhaust whe u drive it?

 

the z6 vtec solenoid does not fit a y8 head they are a totally different bolt pattern and would leak like a siv

 

dear lord....thats why i dont let friends or people work on my car who cant give me a receipt or warranty! good luck to your friend !lol

 

No, it's not. It was gushing out from the VTEC solenoid. Slapped the one from the Z6, and no more leaks.

Don't know, but it fit and does not leak whatsoever. Lol. The Y8 filter gasket even fits onto that solenoid no problem, and it even lines up against the Y8 head. So, I guess it's a good thing. We're going to put his old Y8 solenoid back on when the o-ring in between gets here tomorrow, so no worries. As long as it's not leaking anymore, he'll be fine. It's not his VTAK warrior, so he'll be ok. Lol.

What do you mean? The VTEC solenoid bolts up fine and does not leak. Like I said before, the new Y8 filter screen even goes on fine with the solenoid we picked up. As long as it doesn't leak til the new o-ring gets here, we're gonna slap his old one back on. Just so he can get to and back from work. Like I said, it's not his VTAK warrior.

 

had too be a y8 motor ..... ive seen various y7 and y8 swaps in 92-95 civics its common.....you figure most cars with that kind of age have had a swap

 

Couldn't agree more. That coupe was modified as well, so it has to be. I can always double check when I go back there. Good thing it isn't a z6 when we went to go pick it up then. Lol. Would've been a waste of time.

EDIT: Just confirmed with my in-law that it is indeed a z6 block, but it has y8 head swap. Now it all make sense.

 

I've got 227k on my'99 EX and need to replace the distributor o-ring & vtec solenoid gasket too. Just picked it up used. I'm guessing they were overdue before I bought it. Appreciate the info here. I paid my mechanic to diagnose it & now I get to fix it. So much for a Sunday off.

 

Never put a Honda head back on without a resurface...it won't last long. It only takes 3-4 thousandths on a honda to be out of tolerance. Best of luck w/that. What the hell is VTAK, yo?