Hi All,

2001 Accord: Sprung a massive oil leak and was driven with the oil light on. There were no nasty noises, no apparent overheating (although presumably that could be masked by the cooling system?) but nothing in the oil pan.

At the auto shop, they want $ to remove some parts and find/assess the leak. They don't want to do a borescope check first to see if there's damage. Does this make sense? I.e., isn't the cylinder bore often one of the first places oil starvation would show, and inspection would be the easiest initial step before spending more $ hunting down a leak? Just trying to understand. Thanks.

 

Wait it runs and drives right? Is this a leak? Where from , get a work light, and look. If this is a doubled O ring on the oil filter Im a laugh at you.

No noises?

cylinder bore trashed? What?

No, they overheat quick when something fails.

You think you need and engine? I think I need millions of dollars , but i get by with a little help from my friends.

Reminds me of that old prolong engine treatment commercial at 2 am. Engines running with no oil, and they pour sand and thumb tacks and pennies all over them.

My guess is once the leak is fixed it will return to service.

 

Hasn't been started since towing to the shop. They seem to think engine replacement might be necessary (even gave prices in case it goes there), given that it was driven at essentially zero oil pressure for at least ten minutes (assuming the '01 oil light doesn't have more leeway than that). All the oil was sprayed out onto the underside of the car.

 

Now yours had oil ,but I have stories.

Couple times the porters would take the vehicles off the oil change rack during a 30,000 k service. They would have been drained , plug left out, started and driven to the next building, wash detailed through the auto crusher, leave them running and then drive them back. No oil. They were fine.

Oil on the underside of the car.....So.

 

If this is a 4 cylinder, the massive leak is probably due to the balancer shaft seal coming out. It is pretty easy for any shop that is familiar with Hondas to determine if it was the balancer shaft seal that caused the leak. It also is very possible the car may be driveable after that seal is replaced, a retainer installed, and oil re-filled.

 

Well, those are stories, but what about 'on average'? ;-) Are you suggesting that there's a good chance there's little damage despite driving at highway speeds with the oil light on? And therefore it's not worth scoping the cylinders to confirm no damage before trying to repair what they called a "catastrophic" leak? Thanks.

 

Its important for you to do what YOU can. The garage would usually charge a diagnostic fee that would be pro-rated to the invoice, in the event of repairs. They need to do what they need to do. You are their b*tch in a red dress.

I didnt get to see it , smell it, touch it. But on first examination of your story I would say it is fine. After they fix the leak. Fine, meaning you do not need a whole engine.

This story has no massive breakage event. Rod, rocker, or other rapid machine gun noises. No developing squeals. No burried temp gauge. You stated you continued driving it. This didn't happen with race car Ricky Rocket manning the wheel WOT at the drags. 10 minutes with the low oil pressure light. Not drained.

No heat, no warpage.

 

The car isn't actually mine, it belongs to a non-techie retiree on fixed income, who just wants to make sure the odds are decent that fixing the leak will be a good investment. I'll pass along your view on that. Thanks.

 

Useful info. Will pass that along too. Thank you.

 

Quick update: Extra points to tech8. It was indeed the balance shaft seal that was apparently a known issue in the 90's and early 2000's Accords lacking a retainer (or at least a properly installed one). They found no obvious signs of engine damage, and no untoward noises. They suggested she may have beaten the odds (especially since it turned out that she had actually driven longer than 10 minutes).

 

So after the fix and replacement of timing belt and water pump, she's now getting some valve train noise with some underfloor vibration, and somewhat variable (hunting?) idle, seeming to almost stall a couple times. And maybe unrelated to the leak, but there's what she describes as a flapping sound after going over bumps (which also seem more pronounced). Maybe time to take the thing to the dealership and get everything inspected. Any other thoughts? Thanks.