Just brought back a 1994 Accord EX to AZ from Cali with 78K. While in Cali, I had the timing belts and hoses changed. I notice now that it is leaking oil below the valve cover somewhere and pooling in the area shown by the arrow in the pic.
After this depression fills it is dripping to the ground. Was wondering if anyone could guess the source before I start tearing into it. Since this was done in Cali, would be a PITA to drive back to get it looked at. Thanks!

Accord EX oil leak after belt change

 

did they replace any seals ? its possible maybe just the valve cover gasket isnt sitting right

 

It was a Gates timing belt from Rock auto. Don't think there was a valve cover gasket in there.

 

Pulled the valve cover off. Looks like some oil was leaking near the distributor. Going to replace it since it's probably the original one.
Is it a good idea to use RTV gasket sealer along with the new gasket? I notice there is some on the old one.

 

Spray the oily areas with Simple Green and then rinse off with water. Go for a drive and check for where the oil may be leaking from.

The cam/valve cover gasket is reusable. BUT, it will leak oil at the corners of the gasket if the head surface and gasket surface are not cleaned of old rtv and application of new. Use a pick to carefully clean the head of old RTV and your finger nail to gently remove the RTV from the gasket. Just add a dab to the corner/hash areas of the gasket and you will be fine.

 

Found my copy of the service order from Cali. They said replaced crankshaft & camshaft seals.
I replaced the valve cover gasket but it is still leaking where indicated. Didn't notice any oil in the timing belt area which I guess is good.

 

Might be the gasket for the distributor itself. Its pretty common on these cars.

 

Whenever you have serious work like this done you should always take it for a spin before calling it good. This is for anyone in the future that reads this thread.

 

I don't think it was leaking right after the work was done. Probably after the 400 mile drive home.
The pic below shows how much it leaked after a 15 minute drive. I think that area is the block below the head and next to the timing cover towards the driver.
I would think if the head bolts weren't torqued other problems would be showing up.

 

When my VC has leaked in the past because of the gasket not properly sealed with RTV at the corners, it pissed all over the back side onto that ledge, and over behind the distributor and makes a mess of the VTEC solenoid.

Albeit the goobers didn't properly clean and/or use RTV on those corners.
Its very simple to to, hardest part is just cleaning the surface of the head so there is a good spot for the RTV to cure.

 

You basically have to remove the timing covers and run the car to see where it's leaking from. I can't honestly tell exactly where that area is in relation to the engine so I can't say with certainty. You said you replaced the valve cover gasket but did you do what Mike is suggesting. It's standard practice when replacing the valve cover gasket across all engines. It does, however, seem like a ridiculous amount of oil to be coming from the valve cover gasket if you didn't put the rtv but it could still possibly be the case. It could, however, still be a leaking timing seal though.

 

I RTV'd the valve cover gasket when installed. Still leaking. Next will remove the timing cover but when I looked after the valve cover was removed I saw no oil.

 

Removed the valve cover and TC cover. There is some evidence of an oil leak on the engine side of the timing gear. The metal shield there prevents the oil from getting on the timing belt.
The oil doesn't seem to be coming from the camshaft seal which leads me to believe valve gasket near the cam cover.
I'm inclined to think it's leaking past the cam cap. Re-installed with RTV in the recommended areas on cap and gasket. I can see why the VC gasket is critical with the intake side of the head tilted downward.

On a side note, I did find where my vibration at 3K was coming from. It sounded like the AC compressor but turned out that the oil dipstick tube was loose and vibrating. It's next to the compressor.

Didn't think this problem would be difficult to pinpoint.

 

How about adding a dye to the oil?

 

Leaning towards the cam seal. Does anyone know if it's possible to change it without undoing the timing belt job?
Just saw a YT video where the guy zip tied belt to the timing gear set at TDC and changed his seal. Sounds risky.

 

If you undo the adjuster bolt it's possible to slide the belt off and slide it back on but it's still going to be tight. You would want to hold the crank pulley bolt and crack the cam pulley bolt loose first. Then set it to tdc before doing any work. I would think you should just bite the bullet and have another mechanic just replace the seals. Just tell em you had another guy do the belts so they don't need to replace the belts.