Hi All. Longtime Lurker.

1992 Honda Accord. Previous owner was not really into maintenance. Had the timing belt done by a local mechanic, and now I have a non-trivial oil leak. Like, I get down to a quart low after about 2 weeks. At first, I thought the oil pan was leaking, because of the sheer quantity of oil on the undercarriage and assorted components, but when I actually got under there to look at things, it looks like it originates at a much higher point.

I haven't seen any coolant in the oil/oil in the coolant so I don't think it's a head gasket failure.





Engine compartment. No severe leaks, but some general aging and poor sealing.





Shot of the upper timing belt cover. You can see a lot of oil sludge accumulated there.





Top down shot of the upper timing belt cover.





A little more illuminated shot.

I believe I also have a bad PCV valve, because the air intake blowback line has oil starting to smear on the exterior of it, which I think indicates a plugged PCV valve, but I don't believe this could cause a knock-on effect of any kind, significant enough to explain the leak. I'll of course replace the PCV valve, because it costs 3 bucks.

So, my plan of action is to pull the valve cover, and inspect the gasket between the upper timing belt pulley shaft (crankshaft) and the valve housing for leaks. Failing that, I'm at a loss for what to do, as I'm not super adept with vehicle timing, and don't really want to mess with that if I can avoid it. I don't trust the mechanic I took it to, and I really don't want to sink more cash into a 23 year old vehicle if I can avoid it.

Anyways, any advice or personal experience in similar leaks would be much appreciated.
Cheers.
Syris

 

cam or crank seal.

 

Yeah, that's what I'm getting from a few acquaintances too. You have to pull the timing belt for both of those, don't you?

 

Given the debris in the oil in the pictures you have shown, you do have a oil leak. Is it a quart every two weeks, not a chance. That would show an enormous clean run of oil, which you do not have.

I would evaluate the PCV system for proper operation. If this system is not operating correctly, you run the chance of creating leaks from every engine gasket. An overfilled oil pan can also cause the same conditions.

If your PCV system is operating correctly, you most likely have oil leakage into the combustion chamber (white soot in the spark plugs).

If you have an oil leak of any other sort with this quantity of oil, it will leak a fresh track which can be easily traced back to a certain area.

Were the crank and cam seals replaced? how about the valve cover? (not relevant in this case due to experience, but still important)

 

I thought the mechanic said he needed to replace all the seals as he opened things up to replace the timing belts, but I could be mistaken.

I know the PCV system isn't working correctly, and will rectify that immediately.

The whole undercarriage of the vehicle has oil on it. I'm heading out to the shop this morning to take off the valve cover, and I'll take more pictures to upload.

 

Update.

I've got the valve cover off. I can't see any folds or bends in it where oil could have escaped. It looks like a relatively new seal,so that's good. I've seen a lot of guys saying you should use RTV silicone when you put this stuff back together, to ensure a good seal, and I haven't seen any of that. I don't know if that makes a difference or not.





With the power steering pump lines out of the way, you can see the lip of the upper timing belt cover, and the amount of oil in it.





Valves. Not going to lie, I wouldn't be able to tell you if these look o.k. or not. Included purely for completeness. Sorry it's sideways, couldn't figure out how to rotate it.





Valve cover. The gasket looks to be in relatively good shape. No RTV, which I've seen a lot of folks on youtube swearing by for seals on older cars. No signs of a fold or defect in the gasket, as far as I can tell.





The S-shaped bracket is part of the engine mount, and it's in the damn way. It keeps the upper timing belt cover captured, so I can't get it off completely to get a good look at things.





I can, however get it partially lifted off, so you can see the oily mess inside the timing belt cover.





A quick shot of the undercarriage and oil pan. As you can see, there's quite a bit of oil, and it looks like it originates *above* the oil pan gasket interface, in my opinion. I could be wrong, I suppose.





Another shot of the underside of the serpentine belt and the oil pan.

SO.

I'm not sure where to go from here. I assume that the next step is going to involve me slightly dropping the engine, and removing the new timing belt so I can get to seals, but I want to see if there are better options out there, from people who are smarter than I am. Cheers again, for all your input.

 

Oh, one other thing:

Here's a pic of the PCV valve and the blow-by line from the air intake. Slowcivic2k mentioned that this could cause oil leakage from multiple different gaskets. Could this be the major problem?





Dirty PCV valve. Does not 'rattle' when shaken.





Oil seepage from the blow-by from the air intake.

 

Valve cover only needs RTV on the corners where it goes over the cam caps. Power steering return line is leaking and so is the oil filter. I would reseal the valve cover with a new gasket and then thoroughly degrease the entire engine bay with brake cleaner and a blow gun then drive the vehicle for a day or two. At that point it should be obvious what is leaking.

 

Don't forget the oil pressure switch.

 

The cam seal is clearly leaking.

 

That's the PCV fresh air inlet. The outlet/valve is on the top of the valve cover.

 

You have lots oil oil leaking inside the timing cover, cam/crank seals and the oil pump housing are suspect.

The PCV valve you pictured could be choked up. Since the fresh air PCV tube (the last picture) is leaking oil, I would surmise you have excessive crankcase pressure forcing oil into that tube. Removing the intake air tube and examining the throttle body end of it should reveal a lot of oil. Fixing that problem will require addressing the excessive crankcase pressure, which means a rebore/pistons/rings or some combination of all three.

Replacing the PCV system and cleaning the PCV canister on the backside of the block (if yours has one) can make an improvement on your oil condition, to what degree depends on engine wear.

Rubber oil pan gaskets, when aged and cracked can leak quite badly as well. Overfilling the crankcase with a bad gasket can create a substantial leak as well. Given the level of oil in the timing cover, belt integrity is more important at this moment.

 

When an engine is oily like that it can be hard to pinpoint where the leak is coming from.
Simple Green and a pressure washer(or self serve coin-op car wash) can blast all that oil off and get you started on tracing down leaks.

 

I replaced my valve cover gasket. It was leaking about 1-2 quarts a week. It usually leaks from the rear, given by the tilt of the engine. I will check my pcv valve though, I do have a lot of oil around the intake.

 

I would believe that if the valve cover gasket was missing altogether. There is no way an oil leak that profuse could exist without causing smoke.

Also since the area just behind the timing cover is void of any oil according to the OP's images, the valve cover gasket is hardly a problem.

I will agree with madmike that cleaning the engine and observing the leak is preferable, it is not always possible. If you do not have the time to clean it, start with the highest oil leak, towards the front, and work your way down. The information I have provided is solid and should still be followed.