2000 Accord EX v6, 150k mil

Within the past month, our stalwart and well maintained Accord is suddenly dripping oil. My cursory inspection reveals:


no seepage from valve cover gasket in this area; cooked coolant left over from replacing engine coolant temp sensor (far right of image)


oil pooling behind the EGR; oil seepage covers camshaft thrust cover assembly; no seepage from oil cap or valve cover gasket in this area


wet oil coats oil pan; fresh drips form on the oil pan and frame arm; apparent stress fractures (with frothing?) on oil pan


wet oil coats oil pan bolts; no seepage from crankshaft front oil seal


oil seepage around oil pan; wet oil coats oil pan bolts; no seepage at/around oil filter


oil splash on exhaust A-pipe; oil drips from/near oil drain plug (not a source of seepage)

My plan to diagnose the source(s) of seeping oil beings with thoroughly cleaning the surfaces in these images. I'll drive the car under normal conditions, then reinspect. My hope is to find an oil run, which presumably will lead me to its source.

My initial speculation, I need to replace:
- the o-ring (91301-P8A-A00) behind the camshaft thrust cover assembly (12230-P8A-A00); and,
- the oil pan (11200-P8A-A00).

Thoughts, opinions, experienced anecdotes, and t'shooting procedures for diagnosing this sort of filthy problem will be appreciated.

 

There is oil above the camshaft end cap.

Remove the plastic engine cover.
Check the PCV hose attached to the valve/cam cover.
Spray Simple Green/409(green cleaners) where the oil is and wash off any oil.
Drive around and reinspect area for any new oil stains to confirm leak location.

Prop wash from the cooling fans can blow the oil away from where the actual leak is. Causing it to pool in areas where the oil is not actually leaking from.
Verify the PCV hose is attached correctly.
Verify the oil fill cap is properly secure and not leaking.

 

I'm seeing oil above the cam cap as well. It's possible it needs to be re-rtv'ed. That may not be the only leak but that's likely one. This assume it's not leaking above the cam cap at the valve cover gasket(though it could be both).

 

A lot of your pictures look like what I have seen on mine. This generation accord generally has at least two typical oil leak problems high on the transmission side of the engine. They leak oil out of the bottom of the distributor, and the VTEC solenoid gaskets leak. The distributor starts leaking oil because the internal seal starts leaking (Note - I am not talking about the o-ring you can see when you remove the distributor, this one is internal to the body and cannot be replaced on this generation). The oil leaks out the bottom of the distributor, where the cap and the metal meet. Sometimes you can see the oil stain on the distributor. It is hard to see any drips from the front. Also, a lot of times it will drip down on a hose that is below and just barely under the rear edge of the distributor and continue down from there. (BTW - if the hose is all glossy and oily, it will soon explode and coolant will go everywhere, so if this is happening, you have to replace the distributor and the hose). The best test is to put on a glove or use a shop cloth and wipe under the middle part of the distributor. If you see any oil at all then this is at least one of your problems. The oil drips down gets all over the transmission case and drains down the back of the engine. A little oil goes a long way. A second place these typically leak is the VTEC solenoid gasket/s. The VTEC solenoid is close to the valve cover gasket behind and slightly to the right of the distributor (behind and slightly to the left of the valve cover). Mine only leaked on the VTEC solenoid when the car was started from a cold start, and then only briefly, so you had to be looking right after it started up to see it.

 

UPDATE: Post-Engine Cleaning...

I completely cleaned the engine top-to-bottom with Purple Power (awesome stuff; cheap, effective, and safe). I inspect above and below with a flashlight subsequent to each drive. I see no seepage around the oil cap, PVC, VTEC solenoid, oil pressure switch, or valve cover gaskets several days after cleaning the engine.

But then, after just four days and with a completely clean and dry engine, I see...

1) a thin line of shininess from the head gasket at the front left corner of the engine:


2) slight seepage reappears from the camshaft thrust cover:


3) significant wetness again at the front right corner of the oil pan where the A/C compressor bolts to the block:

I cannot tell if it's coming from the oil pan seal in this vicinity, or if it's coming from somewhere higher up.
Though at this corner of the engine, above and around front, I see...

4) a smallish pool of wetness midway down that is in a nook near the water pump.


The image below provides some orientation. (Use x-ray vision to see through the P/S hose that obscures the area of pooling.)


5) and today (5/20/2016), I see this on the transmission-side of the oil pan:

Oil is dripping with such fluidity from this area it is as if a seal has blown.

I'm fairly well convinced the entire seal around the oil pan has failed and worsening; no more procrastinating this nasty project. But first I'll replace the camshaft thrust cover o-ring. And I'm genuinely unhappy about the seepage from the head, particularly as this engine has never overheated.

 

Replace the camshaft O-ring. Clean off the engine again, use GREEN cleaners, purple will destroy rubbers, plastics, powder coating, and can dull paint finishes. Purple power is great at getting heavy deposits off but it will eat everything.

 

FIXED

The oil leak on my 2000 Accord seemed to originate from two locations: the camshaft thrust cover, and the oil pan mating surface. I repaired both items which fixed both leaks.

I replaced the o-ring (91301-P8A-A00) behind the camshaft thrust cover assembly (12230-P8A-A00), a stupid-easy job that sealed that source of leakage.

I removed the oil pan--a slightly less easy job--cleaned off the original 16yo RTV and scoured the pan to a shiny finish. I inspected the pan and confirmed that the cracks were in fact superficial. I applied a bead of Permatex Ultra Grey RTV to the pan mating surface and immediately mounted it to a similarly clean block, torqued the 10mm fasteners to spec, then let the thing rest for 24hrs. Upon return, I added oil and drove it for an hour or so. Days later, and no leaks.

 

Nice job