Yeah, I have an oil leak but I cant figure out where its comming from, its all over the bottom of my car, any ideas on how to find it?

 

check oil pan gasket. I have to replace mine this weekend.

 

It could be the oil pan gasket... Timing belt seals...or it could be the ******* seal(seal between tranny and the motor)... that was what i was told by my mechanic... still gotta fix that one...

 

It is a little time consuming ... but the BEST way to figure it out is to try your best to thoroughly clean the underside. Once you have that cleaned it will make it easier to see where the oil is actually coming from. If it is a bad leak ... you should be able to drive around a while and see where it is leaking. If it is not as bad ... it may take a week or so for it to show up. Either way ... without cleaning the area first ... you will spend endless hours trying to pinpoint the leak.

Good luck ...

 

Like others have said, oil pan gasket is a likely cause. My oil pan also developed a hairline crack in it, so it would leak out the side of the pan. Clean it up and then watch for the leak.

If it's the gasket or oil pan, you'll have to take off the exhaust downpipe to remove them and that can be really tough. If it's coming from the timing belt cover, that's even worse.

 

Alright, im gonna clean that bottom as much as I can, if its the oil pan about how long does it take to replace it?

The best way to clean the bottom would be to just grab a bunch of towels and start wiping or should I grab my hose and just spray? that might get kinda all over me and the place.... so... best way....?

 

Another likely cause is the rear main crank seal. Mine has been leaking for a couple years, but only a tiny bit (not even enough to leave a drop on the driveway, just a little wet underneath), so I'm not worrying about until it's clutch time. Try the oil pan thing first though... much easier to change! I'm not sure, but I thought I heard somebody mention once that you could add a dye into your oil, then take a blacklight to see exactly where it's leaking from. Not sure on that though.

 

I just used towels, my leak was bad enough that I could spot the crack in a few seconds.

The oil pan job would be fairly easy, except for the fact that you have to remove the exhaust downpipe. The bolts on that can be badly rusted. You may have to torch them. It was too much for me, I had to get a shop to do it. The only thing I was successful in was giving myself muscle aches and bloody knuckles


[Modified by StimpyBoy, 5:18 AM 4/8/2003]

 

My leak is really major, im litterally filling it up with a quart of new oil every 4 days or less it seeems. I bet its the oil pan.

 

have you had the balnacer shaft seal retainer clip fixed? although that failure ususally results in the loss of all the oil immediately, it's a thought.

If the leak is that bad, you should be able to wipe it down with paper towels, drive around the block and find it.

If it is the oil pan gasket you may want to consider this. On the F23 there is no oil pan gasket. it is basically glued in place with hondabond. I don't know if that is an option for the F22 or not, but from what I've heard about hondabond, that pan will never leak.