I have a problem with a leaky oil pan gasket and I have tried every combo under the sun and it still leaks. I have it to the point where I can live with it. It leaks from the exact same point every time. right up front by the crank shaft pulley. My question is this, could it be oil pressure? I start cold at 80psi but even warmed up the lowest it'll go is 20psi. I want to say it mostly hovers between 40-60psi. This is an approximation where it will not stop leaking from.

 

Oh also it doesn't leak while at idle and short drives not in boost. Only after I "get into it" does it start to leak.

 

What is your crankcase ventilation setup?

Also, have you pulled the pan and checked for any surface imperfections on either the aluminum or the steel pan in that area?

 

I have no crank case ventilation set up just running stock. The pan is in good shape not warped at all and mating surfaces are good.

 

What is your engine setup? What kind of power are you making?

 

B18B turbo with PTE 4831B i am currently making 254whp and will be getting a re tune shortly to hopefully break the 300whp.

 

looks like ur bolt is loose??

 

You don't have a line running to the PCV valve or valve cover port from charge piping or the intake manifold do you?

 

Yes I do. Here is what I have now, sorry for the crappy cell pic.

 

When I build motors, we normally tend to make sure the 4 points in which the rear main and oil pump meet the block are cleaned, and free of gunk, we do put some hondabond in these area's and torque the pan down evenly in recommended oem specs, if your gasket is upside down, or the pan is improperly torqued, it'll squeeze the gasket out in the corners first and this will happen.

Make sure your cam seals or corners of your VC aren't leaking as well.

I recommend all corners getting a smooth, light coat of hondabond on the block side ONLY, not on the pan.

 

Bolts are fine the pic is mostly to show area. I am not even running the gasket in the pic. The gasket in the pic is from myhondahabit.com the ridged one they sell that actually was one of the worse gaskets that I tried lol. I have got my best results with either a Felpro or a cheapo $7.00 that I got off ebay.

 

Well IF your PCV valve is operating properly it should be closed with positive pressure but it could be the valve is leaking and you are pressurizing the crankcase. Try blocking that line and see what happens. Even if the valve is working properly the VC breather may not be enough to vent the crankcase pressure. Is the dipstick tight fitting? Does it ever pop out?

 

I hate to sound arrogant but I have done all of that. I have even gone as far as taking the oilpan into a machine shop and had it hot tanked to make sure there is not any oil on it. I used a brand new gasket and used simple green, than scraped the block by hand very lightly with a razor to get the film off than used break clean on a cloth to make double sure. I wore latex gloves and changed them a half dozen times in the process. Used Honda Bond at the suggested points, hand tighten the bolts 1-6 as per the manual than in a clock wise effort in 3 steps with a torque wrench tighten all the nuts. Waited 24+ hours for Honda Bond to cure than put oil back in the car. Still doing it the utmost **** way it STILL will leak as I described in original post. I have tried probably 10 different gaskets from new OEM to myhondhabit and everything in between. I have used Honda Bond and not used it. I have torqued it every way you can, from OEM way to crossing back and forth to by hand, with and without torque wrench. I can get it to not leak but just not from the spot in the pic.

I have taken the oil pump off and replaced the oil pump seal and applied gasket sealant per the manual as well as torque everything to spec. Now I have checked the other areas you said and they are fine. After it starts leaking you can see it seeping out of that exact place.

 

Interesting, never tried that, I will buy a new PCV and see if that helps. I can see the logic in that. My oil dipstick is perfect, real snug.

 

No Worries. Very possible you're getting blow back but I don't know if I've seen that of this situation lol..

I'd suggest installing a catch can setup to see if this fixes the issue, and report back, the corners seeping seems to be an issue most commonly found with improper tightening, that's all, I've experienced the issue on and off and have found even applying hondabond to the entire side of the oilpump surface and main surface has helped at one point.

 

Here's my thoughts:

"I have got my best results with either a Felpro or a cheapo $7.00 that I got off ebay"
This, to me, would indicate an uneven/imperfect sealing surface on either the aluminum or the oil pan.

Also, you need a proper crankcase ventilation system. The stock system was designed for 130hp, not 250+. I think you are building excess pressure in the crankcase. Disconnect the PCV to IM line and see if your problem continues.

 

Yea I think I will try that as I agree that I have not seen that either. If it ends up being that I think ill be the first person leaking oil pan gaskets because of blow back lol. Installing a catch can is likely more of a desperate move than anything. But it will at least be a stone turned and something to rule out. Ill try it over the next few weeks and post if it helps just in case someone out there runs into a similar situation maybe it'll be a solution?

 

ive gotten my worst results with that stupid blue fel pro oil pan gasket. best to use oem with the light hondabond(grey rtv) and the oil pan bolts only tq to like 7 ftlbs which really isnt even hand tight with a 3/8 ratchet.

id bet your problem is from the lack of crankcase ventilation.

you could always run the prelude nipples from the back of the block with some 1/2" heater hose to a cheapo ebay can to get you started

 

A few issues with your setup

there isn't any oil pressure in the pan, the OEM gasket is notorious for leaking. myhondahabit has a nice thick composite gasket that doesn't leak.

with the OEM pcv system it isn't adequate for a turbo car. and with that line hooked up from your intake manifold to your valvecover you are pressurizing the crankcase under boost. this will cause oil to leak past every seal as well as causing combustion issues.

unhook the line and cap off the port on the intake manifold immediately. the stock pcv system relies on intake manifold vacuum to ventilate the crankcase. with positive pressure going to that line it can't happen. unhooking the line will allow at least some positive pressure to vent but it isn't adequate.

you need to delete the pcv, the black box, and get a proper catchcan setup or you'll continue to have issues and can even impact engine health.

 

OK, sounds like I know what I need to do now. I need to do that regardless if it's the problem or not actually. How would I plug the hole? Or could I hollow it out so to speak (like take out the valve inside it)and stick my breather filter on the end of it (like a pvc elbow so to speak)in addition to running a catch can?

 

Unless you pressure test that Pcv valve, you don't know if it's leaking past. I do agree that it should be removed but it's not fair to claim it's pressurizing the crankcase when it may not be.

Hollowing out that valve is not really practical as you will wind up just breaking it. You could leave it open, not much point in putting a filter on something...that doesn't need a filter.

 

Actually looks like its probably leaking from the main seal on the oil pump. I went thru 3 oil pan gaskets, and perfected the torquing process only to find it still come out there.

 

That was my thought at one point too. Well, not the oil pump seal around the crank shaft but the seal that mates the pump to the block. I think when I put new sealant on it that I used too thin of a bead and with the added power of boost the seal I put on the mating surfaces just wasn't enough to handle the load in the one spot. I could be wrong but I will try the catch can set up and figure out some way to block/eliminate the PCV. Unless it gets "bad" meaning it advances to much worse than it is now, itll be a job I save till winter.

 

$60 for that gasket plus $15 for shipping?!?! WTF?

 

Yup and my dumb *** bought one thinking its a cure all. Even if it works its not worth it unless it is the only solution period.