Hello. I changed my oil pan gasket and took the car for a run, and thanks for everyones help, however when I had it up on the ramps and checking out the oil pan, thankfully no leaks there, however while I was under it I noticed oil seeping from what I think is the black timing cover right behind the crankshaft pulley. It's seeping from the join and dropping onto the oil pan. Can anyone tell me what's behind that black plastic cover that can cause an oil leak. Is it a big job to fix? Thanks

 

four seals are in that area and if any of the four leak you will see a drip in the area described.

lip seal type:
-crankshaft
-front balance shaft
-camshaft

o-ring style:
-rear balance shaft

these are all commonly part of a timing belt service. it's at minimum an 8 hour job if you're well prepared and have lost count of how many timing belts you've done... I would count that as a big job. Personally, I wouldn't bother fixing the leak unless it drains more than half a quart between oil changes or is known to cause collateral damage (Distributor o-rings leaking can cause heater hose failure) unless it mileage is right to do the timing belt anyway.

 

8 hrs?...I changed my tb, water pump, tensioner, balancer belt and cam seal in 3 hours...

 

you're gold star is in the mail.

labor for a shop to do it is around 5 hours. I'm adding buffer time for no lift, no air/power tools, rounding off or breaking a few fasteners and running to the store for the tool you lost/broke/forgot to own. A competent home mechanic (non-professional) doing a timing belt job for the first time, on their own is going to spend at least 8 hours on it.

it doesn't help the OP to know how long it takes for me to do it. I'm not coming to his house to help. he's trying to get an idea of how hard it would be for him to do it himself.

 

I have to concur. I'm very mechanically savvy, but the first time I did this on the Honda, I would say 8 hours was about right in total, as I took my time, double and triple checked items were in the right place, was very gentle in getting items off, puzzled over a few things to really make sure it was right. The crank pulley alone can stymie people if they don't have an impact (I didn't the first time and used the starter method to "bump" the wrench and get that loosened). Also took time to have a snack and make sure items were done in the right order.

 

Before you tear all the front apart, verify that your cam/valve cover is not leaking.
If it leaks it can dribble down the corner of the engine and look like either a front leak, RMS leak, or a VTEC solenoid leak.
Best to give the engine a quick clean down with simple green and a hose. Go for a drive and look for fresh oil.

 

Thanks guys for the input. I think I identified 3 separate oil leaks. One was the oil pan gasket, which I have fixed, The other looks likes the internal distributor oil seal, which I am having trouble getting one here in Oz, I'm not going to pay several hundred $$$ for another distributor just for a $5 seal. The other leak, as mentioned is the crankshaft seal. To be fair I tried to change the timing belt a few years ago and got it stripped down to getting the pulley off. (I used the starter method) and I had a lot of trouble getting the tensioner bolt off to the point where from memory It was becoming rounded and it wouldn't budge. So after a few colourful words I put it all back together and took it to a mechanic and I just gave him the belt and no seals. He charged me $500. I think he used some special tool to get the tensioner bolt off. (I'd like to know what this was) and to this day I don't think that bolt has been replaced. So I may have to attempt it again to changed the seals