89 Accord oil leak

[spoon611]

First thing's first. Hi! I'm a newbie . I was suggested to this website by someone at www.honda-tech.com. I checked out this forum and it is very much what I've been looking for! Thanks for having me here, hopefully I'll learn enough about this car that I too can help out others like everyone else does. That being said...

I have an oil leak on the timing belt side of my engine. I replaced the distributor o-ring as suggested by someone to me, that thing was dry rotted to he**. That stopped the leak that was falling onto the tranny. Well, I thought that that leak was drifting onto the other side of the engine and dripping down onto the oil pan and driver's side suspension, but I was wrong. I opened up the top timing cover and noticed oil thrown around in there. I cleaned it out at the car wash to make sure it wasn't just old oil. There is a leak there. It leaks pretty badly too. I'd say 1/2 qt a day . I've done some searches here and found it could possibly be a cam seal, popular leak from what I've seen. Question is, will I be able to access that seal without having to lift the engine out? I looked in there and it doesn't look like much room to work with. Does anyone know what the process to replace this seal would be? I would also like to replace my belts since they have had oil all over it for the last few months. Thanks guys!!

[shepherd79]

the front cam seal is very easy to access. you don't have to pull the engine.
just remove the valve cover.
remove the plasic cover over top of the cam gear.
remove the distributor
use zip ties to secure the timming belt to the cam gear. this way you don't have to readjust the timing belt.
loosen the tension on the timing belt.
remove the cam gear, don't lose the pin.
remove the rockers,
pull out the cam,
replace the seal and put everything back.
it is very easy to do if you know basic work around the engine.
good luck.

[spoon611]

Great reply Shepherd79!! Thanks!! Now, before I go tearing apart my cams and thingamabobs, do you think that could be the problem? Are there any other more common problems that it may be? Car has 213,000 miles on it if that helps any. Thanks again!!

[k-roy]

Thats a good rundown Alex, but I think you missed one BIG thing.
Hey spoon611 have you replaced the valve cover gasket yet?

[spoon611]

Thats a good rundown Alex, but I think you missed one BIG thing.
Hey spoon611 have you replaced the valve cover gasket yet?

I checked it out about a month ago when I had the cover off. It seemed pretty good to me, still flexible. Think I should replace it just to be sure? I guess 10 bucks won't set me aside very much.

If it is the cam seal, could I get that at autozone or do i have to go to the dealer?

[k-roy]

I reccomend replacing the valve cover gasket first. I would make a $10 gamble.
When mine went bad it was still flexable and looked allright.
I don't think that the cam seal is a part most stores carries. The dealer will have it.

[shepherd79]

actually the problem with valve cover gaskets are that when you tighten them down, you can't loosen them or you will have a leak.
so i would recomend replacing the valve cover gasket while you replace the cam seal.
the way you described sounded like it is a cam seal.
i can't imagine anything else to leak oil into the timing chamber.

[nswst8]

Hey guys, I thought that I had a rear main seal that went, so I went after that one. Turns out the seal was great even after 194,000 miles, but the clutch needed to be changed. I still change the rear main already there.
The three major culprits were the Distributor oil seal, oil pan gasket and the most elusive was the oil filter base seal (base bolts to engine) $3.09 at Honda.
Did timing belt and went ahead and did cam, crank & oil pump seals they all looked good, crank seal was the only one that even looked remotely weeping. Also did the drive axle seals since I had the drive shafts out.
Only the oil pan gasket, valve cover and rear main were not honda I used aftermarket Felpro I believe. But the other ones even the rear main I'd highly recommend Honda OEM seals, especially if you plan on keeping your ride in excess of another 100,000 miles as I plan too.
Hope this helps. LOL
NSWST8

[spoon611]

You guys are the shiz! Thanks guys!! How much time would I be looking at spending on this small project? By the sounds of it and without problems, I'd guess around 3 hours total time. Not including my breaks . Also, any clue on price for the seal?

[spoon611]

I was wondering if it would be the oil pan bolts and gasket that may be the problem, but with how much it's leaking and since it's on the side where the timing belts are, I figured it would be the cam seal. I don't have too much knowledge on working with the engine seals like this though, should be interesting. I'll probably retorque the oil pan bolts just for safe measure.

[AZmike]

I'd get the valve cover gasket at the dealer. It costs about what the autozone part does and you can pickup a new set of grommets for a few dollars more. If the cam seal doesn't solve the problem (which I would also get at the dealer also ~$7) it might be the crank seal. It can also be replaced with the engine in the car, but you would have to remove the crank pulley and timing belt to access it.

[Dibbs]

any clue on price for the seal?

Majestic Honda

Just go to the Honda parts store section, enter the make and model of your Honda and look up the part you need.

[spoon611]

Well I called up the dealer and this is the prices they gave me.
Cam seal 10.15
Crank seal 11.63
Valve cover gasket w/grommetts 20.62
Autozone can get me the gasket w/grommets for 7.89, I think I'll just get autozone's since I'm getting a little tight on the casheesh.

I'm gonna have some fun this weekend.

Why should I get the valve seal from the dealer other than autozone?

[shepherd79]

autozone gaskets are fine. i never had any problems with felpro gaskets.

[AZmike]

When I priced them about a year ago the dealer part with grommets was around $15 and the autozone part without grommets was about $10. The only reason I recommended the dealer for the valve cover gasket was it seemed like a better deal since you can get the grommets too for just a little more. I guess Autozone has gone lower and Honda has gone up. Maybe the prices are regional.

[Justin86]

Even when I got all new gaskets I still had some leaks and I had to put some ATV silicone gasket. I put it on the valve cover, distrubitor, and water pump. You can get it at AutoZone for about $6

[shepherd79]

when you put valve cover gasket, you have clean the head very good. i mean it has to be oil free.
if there is oil between the gasket and the head it will leak no matter how tight it will be.

[spoon611]

Thanks everyone for their advice! I bought the cam and crank seals and will probably buy the valve gasket tomorrow. I'll do this job this weekend and post my progress with it. Hopefully my next post won't be one asking for help on putting it back together correctly!!

[k-roy]

Thanks everyone for their advice! I bought the cam and crank seals and will probably buy the valve gasket tomorrow. I'll do this job this weekend and post my progress with it. Hopefully my next post won't be one asking for help on putting it back together correctly!!

Oh well if it is your next post, we are always glad to help.

[spoon611]

Well I finally got the cam seal on there. When I looked at it, it didn't seem to be leaking to me. Maybe to the untrained eye it looks normal, but there is so much oil thrown around that maybe it could be too.

I didn't replace the valve cover gasket, money was tighter than I thought.

I also wasn't able to do the crank seal yet. That seems like a big project, unless you guys have some tips to removing the everything I need to access the crank seal. I don't know if I want to get into taking all of that stuff apart just to not be able to put it back together. But if you guys have some sure fire ways to get there, then I'll probably give it a shot. I'm working with the Haynes manual and everything on there deals with the engine being out (how nice). So basically, I have the crank seal and the motivation to replace it, but I just need some experienced help .

I'm going to run the car and see if it still leaks. If it still is leaking, then I know that it is either the crank seal (more than likely) or the valve cover gasket (hopefully, cause I can replace that easy).

1 down 2 to go.

BTW...you guys have helped out so much and I thank you!! If anyone here needs help with cleaning up their credit reports, just let me know!! I can give you the guidance needed to fix your own credit! I've deleted 18 negative items from all 3 credit bureaus since Oct.

[Dibbs]

private message spoon.

[spoon611]

Selfish bump...anyone?

[nswst8]

$3 seal at the dealer, When you changed the cam seal was the belt saturated with oil or was it dry. If it was dry I wouldn't suspect the Crank seal or the oil pump seal. You don't have to pull the engine to change the crank seal, but you will need jack stands and a jack with a block of wood. Probably a weekend end project for someone with little experience just remember to high light the timing belt marks before removing the timing belt.
Give us an update.
NSWST8

[spoon611]

$3 seal at the dealer, When you changed the cam seal was the belt saturated with oil or was it dry. If it was dry I wouldn't suspect the Crank seal or the oil pump seal. You don't have to pull the engine to change the crank seal, but you will need jack stands and a jack with a block of wood. Probably a weekend end project for someone with little experience just remember to high light the timing belt marks before removing the timing belt.
Give us an update.
NSWST8

Did you mean to say "...I would suspect..."?

[MoonScryer]

I'm going to venture crank seal, too. I got to replace my distributor seal and oil filter body thing seal on the new engine - I finally got the time to stick my head around the bottom side of the engine with my dual flourescent light. Gee, what is that dripping wet spot there?? Heh.

Where you at in GA? I'm in Peachtree City and above Athens, way in the sticks.