I need some of you mechanical detectives to solve this mystery. I just got back from my trip to Indiana for College homecoming. I left yesterday and got back tonight. It’s a 600 mile round trip. Tonight I decided to give my car an oil change.

I jacked the car up and did a quick inspection BEFORE I touched the oil filter/drain plug. Here's what I discovered. The drive shaft (what is this actual part called?) is lightly coated with oil and there’s one drop of oil accumulating on the bottom as seen in the picture. It’s not enough to cause a drip. After taking a few pictures I noticed a tiny bit of oil on the bottom of the oil filter. Hummm? This is odd since I always torque that down properly. So do you think the oil on the drive shaft if dripping down from the oil filter seal?

Filter says to torque to 2.0 - 2.4 Kgm which translates into 14.5 – 17.3 ft-lbs. The problem should not be related to the filter being installed improperly. I’ve been doing the oil changes lately and always torque the filter using a torque wench to about 15 ft-lbs.

Another interesting note is that nearly two years ago I remember seeing the drive shaft moist from oil. I don’t think this is necessarily a new occurrence for my vehicle. However, all the hwy miles have probably caused more to accumulate recently.





There are 69,000 miles on my car now. And it goes through maybe 1 quart or less every 3,000 using Castrol GTX. However I stopped using Mobil One due to excessive oil consumption at 60,000. This looks like the source of some oil loss.

So what’s the verdict? Anyone else notice a similar situation with their vehicle?

 

uh.... why don't you try tightening the oil filter some more... if that fails... take a look at the driveshaft seal on the tranny.

 

I see oil on the bottom of your oil filter, and think you're over-reacting!

 

that is pretty normal especially if you prime your filter. It was likely just some residual oill from the previous filter. You should wipe the base plate and wipe off everything after you finish the oil change. That way, you can check to see if there is any leakage afterwards.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by zygspeed &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I see oil on the bottom of your oil filter, and think you're over-reacting! </TD></TR></TABLE>

LOL Yeah, I agree that this is probably not really serious. Just trying to get some thoughts on the situation.

 

I used to see this with sloppy oil change job when
they don't whip after oil filter remove and replace when job is done.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by machgo5go &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I used to see this with sloppy oil change job when
they don't whip after oil filter remove and replace when job is done.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I wipe it down after each oil change so I don't think its left-overs. Its been over 2,000 miles since the last oil change.

 

You sure the rubber seal from the last filter didn't get stuck at the mating surface when you took it off?

 

might as well do an oil change and change the oil filter

i had a similar situation as you, when the filter came off, this is what it looked like

 

Get a new filter and make sure the seal comes off.

 

from that picture, looks like a bad oil filter. replace it and see what happens

 

its probably oil from oil filter.. can you still turn the filter by hand? if yes.. then its probably not tight enough.. or bad seal.

 

I replaced the oil filter with the change of oil. I'll keep an eye on it over the next few weeks. Thanks for the comments and suggestion guys!

 

i'm sure ya know this, but just in case. you should always apply a nice coat of new oil on the seal of the new filter before installing. otherwise, the seal may not have been "primed" as what markpaco i think was referring to and may go dry.

kepani-who needs to do an oil change soon.

 

is that the newer Honda/Acura OEM filter? the small version?

crap, i've been through 2 of those.. both of them leaked

put an older style OEM filter on it and it was fine. piece of ****

 

where do you get those oil filters? i usually just get a fram and use Castrol GTX oil for my 92 CBP Si.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by itrsport.com &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> The drive shaft (what is this actual part called?)
</TD></TR></TABLE>

intermediate shaft

 

It sounds like he's constanty had this problem. I would wipe everything down and drive it to see where the oil is coming from.

 

Did you get the wrong filter? Cause I seem to recall that my filter is sized flushed with the oil cooler and your's seems bigger than the oil cooler.

Also my intermediate shaft always looks oily from removing the oil filter during changes but it doesn't have so much oil build up such that a drip would form.

I change my oil all the time, I turn the oil filter 3/4 turn tight from when it seats. Honda recommends 7/8 turn.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by itrsport.com &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kepani &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i'm sure ya know this, but just in case. you should always apply a nice coat of new oil on the seal of the new filter before installing. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yep, alway do that but good idea to mention this.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jonas &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">is that the newer Honda/Acura OEM filter? the small version?</TD></TR></TABLE>

This is the larger style filter. The part number is 15400-POH-305. I purchased 15 of them when I discovered they were being replaced by the smaller ones.

 

I had the same problem! The oil cooler behind the oil filter has a gasket and it might be leaking check it out....that was my problem. You will hav e to take the oil cooler out to change the gasket.

 

I thought myc ar was leaking one time, but i just spilled some oil on the valve cover that morning haha..

 

that's how mine looks, too. sometimes, a lil bit of oil will leak on an over tightened oil filter, or an under tightened one. change the filter and see if that helps. good luck!