ok i was cleaning my engine and trans of all dirt before it has time to build up and i noticed by looking at the front of my motor right above the code where you can see the head gasket part # i seen what looks to be fresh oil on the head...it isnt from the head gasket but above it and towards the middle of the head under the vtec pressure switch and it looks to be coming from the plastic cam seal and the dist. area..does anyone know what the problem could be?
i hope its just the plastic cam seal because it looks worn but if i run the motor till warm then try to see if i can see it flowing or dripping i dont see any oil moving anywhere! i might have just over looked this part when i bought the motor and it could be a build up of coolant and oil from shipping but i want to solve this problem tomorrow if it means replacing the cam seal or the head gasket i would like to have thie solved any help woule be great

 

sounds like it could be the cam seal, a very cheap part, gonna be annoying to do though. Pop off your valve cover and see if you can notice anything from the inside

 

The cams seals on the b18c1 are known to be leak prone, so it wouldn't surprise me if this was an issue with other honda motors also. You can find replacements at many of the online parts stores (summitracing.com or stylincompacts.com come to mind). The part should run under $30 usd and is fairly easy to install.

Hope this helps.

madwilliam

 

i allready followed the valve cover from the outside with it still installed and i could not see any leaks.

im gonna post some pics i took to help people understand and hopefully come up with a sloution.

 

pics : the top pic if you look at the cam seal and follow it down the head you can see some discoloration thats the oil i foind
on the bottom pic if you look above the rad hose and beneath the dist you can see on the head its all dark colored and brown/black this is like a mixture of oil/dirt/coolant my guess is the cam seal is leaking and the oil is falling down the head on both sides of the vtec pressure switch...

btw not bad pics for a polorid huh? lol


[Modified by B16A EH2, 9:14 PM 11/7/2002]

 

Yaaaaawzers !!!! Polaroid pics do not look good at all ........ Too blurry, can't see but a valve cover outline .....

Try with a Digicam or try cleaning that lens ?

 

yea they are blurry because i blew them up otherwise they would be to small they are just there so you guys can kind of see where the oil is on my head so you can better help me.

 

what about if i got one of the aluminum cam seals?
like the str or another brand would that be better or should i just get a new honda seal?

 

my cam seal was leaky too fixed it asap

 

The aluminum seals suck *****.

The O.E Honda ones do just fine.

 

I can see it, but sadly i dont know what to do...cam seal is probably what to do...

 

honda fixed the flaw on the cam seal, so if you get a new one it should be fine for a long time. and its only like $5.

 

yeap it's the cam seal. They're cheap from Honda (already had to do mine) and one tip; when you put the new one in, give it a nice even thin coating of gray silicone gasket sealer, just to make sure it'll never leak again.

 

werd thanks alot guys honda-tech is awesome

 

You can get cam seals for a CRV from Honda which fix the problem the old ones had. Don't worry, nearly every B-series motor will have one leak at some point.

 

its a 93 sirII b16a so i guess its thier time to go

anyways honda supposedly fixed the problem and all i have to dois go buy the new seal honda makes for b motors

 

so the cam seals for a b18c and b16a are the same? My seal is leaking, but the nearest honda dealer is like a half hour away, while there is an Acura dealer less than 10 minutes away.

 

dam, thats the exact place i got my leak at on my b18c

lucky its a rather cheap to replace the seal::whew::

edit:btw:what parts of the head gotta come off to geto the seal to replace it?...i took a look and it seems like the valve cover and the one of the cam rockers will have to be taken out to get to the cam seal....can someone verify if im correct or incorrect?


[Modified by cr00klyn718, 3:25 PM 11/8/2002]

 

im not sure what has to come apart but ill let you know when i fix mine

 

sounds good..

 

what i got out of reading the haynes manual is you remove the vtec pressure solenoid switch,then remove the exhaust cam end caps to reveal the palstic plug pull it out then installation is the opposite of removal...is this right for the people that have changed thiers?

im just trying to figure this out before i have to actually do it but the haynes manual dosnt explain how to swap the seal just the whole damn head

 

that sounds bout right... my friend had a prob like that too

 

its the valve cover gasket not the cam seals there is no cam seal on the vtec soliniod side check the gasket.

 

wtf? there is a cam seal its the black end cap on the exhaust cam behind the vtec pressure solenoid

 

Yeah, I have a leaking cam seal too.....not a big deal. Fix it when you can.