'01 Accord v6 3.0 Oil Leak Diagnosis? Oil EVERYWHERE
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'01 Accord v6 3.0 Oil Leak Diagnosis? Oil EVERYWHERE
Hey all.
So, I'll try and sum this up as quickly and well as I possibly can. Bought a 2001 Honda Accord v6 3.0 at 202k miles - has 211k now. Sometime around 5 to 6 weeks ago, noticed there was white smoke coming from the back passenger side of the engine... please keep in mind I am not exactly mechanically inclined, so I really had no idea what it was. Thankfully when I noticed it I was actually parked in front of a shop, so I had them come over and tried to pry as much information out of them as I could, they obviously didn't want to tell me much other than it was obviously an oil leak... which it is.
So... basically, there's oil caked all around the motor mount right below the AC belt. There's also oil that runs behind the back of the engine underneath the ignition coils going down to the back of the engine, so obviously I'm thinking the valve cover gasket needs to be replaced. Then, there's always the concern of the rear main seal... I've read some places that a rear main seal leak could cause you to run out of oil within a few minutes, but this is not the case. So I'm just praying it's not the rear main seal, and hoping some of you guys might have some insight as to whether my symptoms are indicative of it most likely being the issue.
When I noticed the leak, I went to Advanced Auto Parts, and me being the mechanical genius I am, I checked the oil on an uneven surface... and in turn overfilled the oil by a decent amount. Not enough to cause damage, but, I took it to the shop where I had my oil changed a couple of days ago and had them drain some oil and put some Lucas Stop Leak in there, hoping it would temporarily fix the problem. I haven't driven it for more than probably 20 miles though, since then, and I checked the oil again and the 2nd fill line circle is already empty.
To no avail, the stop leak didn't exactly work as I'd hoped and can still see and smell it burning from the exhaust pipe, I believe. Not as much white smoke at stop lights as before, I don't think... haven't really driven it enough to get as much of a sample size as I would like to determine if it helped at all.
So, basically, from my determination... I definitely need to replace the valve cover gasket. I'm hoping this is the leak that could be dripping to the exhaust pipe, since it seems it would be going that direction when it would leak...
Also, got under the car a little bit and looked at the vtec solenoid, since I read sometimes that can cause problems... looked a little oily, what ever the black plug-like connector is that's on top of the green sensor part, connecting to the solenoid, I believe, that looks black and caked in oil... I think it's probably from whatever is dripping down to it though. Maybe?
There's also little drops of oil dripping from the bottom of the oil pan, I believe? I also read somewhere the distributor can start leaking oil?
There's just a million things it could be, it seems like - I'm hoping it's most likely the valve cover gasket which is probably obvious, but I don't know if that could cause such a serious leak as to lose the amount I have just in the last couple days... especially after putting the stop leak in - which leads me to believe, unfortunately, it could possibly be the rear main seal.
Sorry for the lot of a million questions and uncertainty, I just don't really have any experience with anything like this - And I also don't have the money to pay anyone else to do it, so I want to get it right the first time.
Also hoping it's not the rear main seal just for that matter, since there's no way I have $1,000 to spare right now or any means to hoist the whole engine out of the car.
Thank you for any feedback that is received, it's much appreciated.
So, I'll try and sum this up as quickly and well as I possibly can. Bought a 2001 Honda Accord v6 3.0 at 202k miles - has 211k now. Sometime around 5 to 6 weeks ago, noticed there was white smoke coming from the back passenger side of the engine... please keep in mind I am not exactly mechanically inclined, so I really had no idea what it was. Thankfully when I noticed it I was actually parked in front of a shop, so I had them come over and tried to pry as much information out of them as I could, they obviously didn't want to tell me much other than it was obviously an oil leak... which it is.
So... basically, there's oil caked all around the motor mount right below the AC belt. There's also oil that runs behind the back of the engine underneath the ignition coils going down to the back of the engine, so obviously I'm thinking the valve cover gasket needs to be replaced. Then, there's always the concern of the rear main seal... I've read some places that a rear main seal leak could cause you to run out of oil within a few minutes, but this is not the case. So I'm just praying it's not the rear main seal, and hoping some of you guys might have some insight as to whether my symptoms are indicative of it most likely being the issue.
When I noticed the leak, I went to Advanced Auto Parts, and me being the mechanical genius I am, I checked the oil on an uneven surface... and in turn overfilled the oil by a decent amount. Not enough to cause damage, but, I took it to the shop where I had my oil changed a couple of days ago and had them drain some oil and put some Lucas Stop Leak in there, hoping it would temporarily fix the problem. I haven't driven it for more than probably 20 miles though, since then, and I checked the oil again and the 2nd fill line circle is already empty.
To no avail, the stop leak didn't exactly work as I'd hoped and can still see and smell it burning from the exhaust pipe, I believe. Not as much white smoke at stop lights as before, I don't think... haven't really driven it enough to get as much of a sample size as I would like to determine if it helped at all.
So, basically, from my determination... I definitely need to replace the valve cover gasket. I'm hoping this is the leak that could be dripping to the exhaust pipe, since it seems it would be going that direction when it would leak...
Also, got under the car a little bit and looked at the vtec solenoid, since I read sometimes that can cause problems... looked a little oily, what ever the black plug-like connector is that's on top of the green sensor part, connecting to the solenoid, I believe, that looks black and caked in oil... I think it's probably from whatever is dripping down to it though. Maybe?
There's also little drops of oil dripping from the bottom of the oil pan, I believe? I also read somewhere the distributor can start leaking oil?
There's just a million things it could be, it seems like - I'm hoping it's most likely the valve cover gasket which is probably obvious, but I don't know if that could cause such a serious leak as to lose the amount I have just in the last couple days... especially after putting the stop leak in - which leads me to believe, unfortunately, it could possibly be the rear main seal.
Sorry for the lot of a million questions and uncertainty, I just don't really have any experience with anything like this - And I also don't have the money to pay anyone else to do it, so I want to get it right the first time.
Also hoping it's not the rear main seal just for that matter, since there's no way I have $1,000 to spare right now or any means to hoist the whole engine out of the car.
Thank you for any feedback that is received, it's much appreciated.
Thread Starter
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 7
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Re: '01 Accord v6 3.0 Oil Leak Diagnosis? Oil EVERYWHERE
Can't insert pics yet, apparently, so here are a few links.
http://i67.tinypic.com/11meyj4.jpg
http://i66.tinypic.com/315j13n.jpg
http://i64.tinypic.com/30m4bk1.jpg
http://i67.tinypic.com/11meyj4.jpg
http://i66.tinypic.com/315j13n.jpg
http://i64.tinypic.com/30m4bk1.jpg
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 306
Likes: 11
Re: '01 Accord v6 3.0 Oil Leak Diagnosis? Oil EVERYWHERE
For now you can clean the affected areas w/ simple green, run the car and watch for leaks. Read more about your engine and see where the usual leaks points are- you can also get expanded diagrams on majestichonda.com
Imo, you should find a good shop (read reviews) go and talk to them with what you think is wrong and at the least, get it diagnosed and proceed from there. If you know 100% where it's leaking then tell them to replace the given seal(s) Knowing ahead of time saves them time and saves you money. Don't always think it's a worst case scenario oil can leak from anywhere and make you think it's something else.
Imo, you should find a good shop (read reviews) go and talk to them with what you think is wrong and at the least, get it diagnosed and proceed from there. If you know 100% where it's leaking then tell them to replace the given seal(s) Knowing ahead of time saves them time and saves you money. Don't always think it's a worst case scenario oil can leak from anywhere and make you think it's something else.
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