I have been chasing oil leaks on our 1997 Honda Accord EX with 176K miles. I replaced the "O" ring and internal seal in the Hitachi Distributor. This stopped a major oil leak.

I notice oil leaking from the electrical connector on the Vtec solenoid. The solenoid appears to be working as you can feel the vtec kick in. Is there an internal "O" ring that is not shown in the parts breakdown. I know there are two seals in the system. One seals the solenoid to the vtec body. The other seal is between the body and the block. I hate the idea of spending over $100.00 for a new solenoid. I thought about pulling one at an auto salvage, however, I don't know if it may be leaking internally when I pull it.

Thank you in advance for your suggestions.

 

your existing vtec solenoid, take it off cyl head.
then take it apart and replace O-rings.
if u cant find the o rings at parts store go to dealer.
shouldn't be too much.

 

Thank you for your prompt reply. I saw one post (I don't remember the site at this point because I slept since I viewed the message) that indicates one must remove the thermostat housing to make room to remove the vtec bolts on the block. It is correct or is there a method of removing the vtec body without removing the thermostat housing first?

It might be wise to replace the thermostat and seal at this point while I am working in this location anyway.

Thanks again!

 

sure man, no problem
some guys say they can get it off without, so say it must be done. with the right tools it can be done.
let us know the outcome!

 

Theres two oring/filters, theyre about $17 for one and about about $6 for the other(Dealer only). You can remove the VTEC from the head without removing the thermostat. You will have to remove the air tube, and use a small 1/4" 10mm ratchet and the smallest 10mm box wrench(Not a ratchet wrench) as it will be too big. there's three bolts that attach the valve to the head, and three bolts that attach the solenoid to the valve. If you clean them off really good you can see which one is leaking. If it is just the solenoid leaking, that is the cheaper oring and, much easier to just remove the solenoid.