Oil Leak

[DBMaster]

OK, for several years now I have seen oil all over the bottom of my oil pan. suspension, and transmission. It is all engine oil. It obviously doesn't leak that badly as I only lose about a half quart of oil every couple thousand miles.

Anyway, I always thought it was the oil pan gasket, but I was talking to a Honda mechanic who said it could be a "cracked oil filter mounting plate." Has anyone here had an oil leak that was caused by that? I was wondering what might be the more likely cause of my leak. It would be a lot easier to change the oil filter mount than the pan gasket. If it is the pan gasket I am likely to just leave it alone until I have no choice.

[IWLSF]

The best way to check would be by getting some fluorescent dye, and adding it to the oil. Then grab a black light and shine it around, preferrably while the engine ran a bit (10 minutes or so), but not while it is running. I've never heard of the oil filter mounting plate cracking, but I'm sure it's possible. Just a defect from the factory perhaps. As far as repairing, shit, I really dont know. That's not something we ever repair in the shop. My thinking though is, if there is a crack in the mounting plate, because of the pressure of the oil system, the oil would spout out more intensely than just a minor leak. I think over time the crack would get worse as well. Instead it sounds like it's consistent. You could try to take the filter off (draining oil beforehand of course) and see if you can make out any cracks this guy might be talking about. If so, to get a quick-fix home repair, clean the area off well, then grab some JB Weld and see if the crack is minute enough (it would have to be for a slow leak) to be repaired that way.

My $.02.

[dews89blkaccord]

I've got the same problem. Put the dye in and turns out to be my oil pan gasket. I would think it would be a gasket or a seal before the oil filter mount. :cool:

[IWLSF]

Dye works miracles boy and girls.

[MrBen]

DB Master you stole my quote lol. I thought I made that one up.

[Einstein]

I thought the oil is a special backup feature in case the wheels fall off?

Anyway, my bottom is wet but I never leave drops on the driveway. Not worth fixing.

[DBMaster]

1. Ghetto, my quote is actually from the movie "Buckaroo
Banzai." It is one of my favorite cult classics.

2. Actually, I was pretty sure it was the oil pan gasket already.
Changing it would be a bitch due to the exhaust bolts being
pretty well seized. I have this nice galvanized pan that sits
under the car specifically for catching drips. It takes about a
year to get enough oil on the floor to mess with cleaning it up
anyway.

[Jareds 89 LX-i]

I'm pretty sure mine is leaking from the rear main crank seal. I never see any oil deposits anywhere around the filter or anything, just the area around the crack between the tranny and engine block, and a little on the oil pan. Not enough to even leave a drop on the driveway though, so I'm not gonna worry about it until I change the clutch. Only goes through about 1-1.5 quarts in 5000 miles

I've never heard of a cracked oil filter mounting plate before, but I'm sure it's possible.

[DBMaster]

I am guessing that you would be hard pressed to find an engine with as many miles as we have accumulated without something leaking at least a bit.

The old Pontiac I had before this car had a leak at the rear main seal. It also did not really drip and never really needed oil. The only reason I have to occasionally add oil to this car is that I run the oil for 10,000 miles (synthetic).

As I keep telling the people I work with, someday I WILL buy a new car. So far, though, this one does not take up too much of my free time.

[89 Accords Rock]

thats your crankcase bearting. mine just went and i let it go for so long that my engine developed a tick and last week it blew. i sugestt you get a new vrankcase bearing kit and rod.

[robbie1674563]

i have an oil leak to on my 350 chevy 4 bolt main leaking from that back oil pan seal jus use lucas heavy duty oil stabilizer and lucas engine oil stop leak one quart of both and dont sweat it thats what i use 50 50 mixed with the oil and it just bearly bearly drips wen running used to it would drip a bunch but not now jus a few times and thats it it may even eventually swell the seal enough to completely shut the leak off who knows lucas works i know that much or it wouldnt have slow it down from a bunch of drips to one or a few drips

if its a real real bad leak like a rear main seal use some of thats barks leaks smoke away plus stop leak a couple of bottles of that would freaking glue its mouth shut im thinking about trying it myself to see if it will completely seal my leak

if something could leak that smoke away plus stop leak it would have to be a aweful big leak that stuff is thick!! about 5 times thicker than lucas i think it is lucas jus a thicker version of it i really truely do believe so because lucas looks jus like it is what convinces me their about the same excpet smoke away plus stop leak is thicker

put some of that lucas heavy duty oil stabilizer or bars leaks no smoke plus stop leak if u add it now it may completely seal the leak if u do it b4 it progresses real bad but if u wait till it gets real bad then u might as well get ready for a huge repair bill hey slucas is a quick fix but if it works who cares know what i mean smoke away plus stop leak is to but at least it works better than paying a mechaning a huge bill to replace the seal when u possible might restore it

[nswst8]

My biggest leaks on the car was the rear main, not bad. Just swapped it out while fixing throw out spring.

The oil filter base gasket notorious for leaking on the exhaust pipes.

The differential seal driver side.

I swapped out the oil pan gasket a number of years back, it weaps but nothing that concerns me as much as the others did.

[w261w261]

I don't think it's the oil filter adapter gasket leaking, because if it was, the oil would be dripping down on the exhaust and you'd be complaining of the smell. There are numerous threads here on how to change out the gasket.

What I did was take off the big plastic splash shield underneath the motor, so you can see what's what. Then take a couple cans of Gunk or equivalent and spray it all around. Bring a toothbrush to the party so you can get off the built-up crud. Hose off. Do it again. Let dry. Then go for a short ride (10 minutes) and afterwards take a look around down there. You should be able to tell where the oil is coming from. Don't let it go too long after you clean it because the leak will blow everywhere and you'll be back where you started.

If you do change the oil filter adapter plate and its figure-8 gasket (a very common leak source, as the gasket dries out after 20 years), don't force the 3 mounting bolts. If you break one off there could be a major problem. I'd also recommend changing out the pressure switch and spring while you're in there.

Also, take a look at the mating surface where the oil filter O-ring hits. Mine had a ring of gunk that had built up over the years and was preventing a good seal when the oil filter was screwed on. You can scrape it off with a fingernail when you change the filter.

If the main engine seal is leaking, absolutely get a Honda OEM replacement. Because you have to drop the tranny, if you use a cheapo Chinese replacement seal and it doesn't work, you'll be in a world of drop-the-tranny-again hurt.

Things become a good deal clearer if you take off the splash shield and clean everything up.

[DBMaster]

Wow! My original post was from 2003. That problem was fixed a long time ago. I had leakage from the distributor o-ring. Now there's a new distributor in and I haven't had any leak issues for a while. I appreciate the thought, though. :)

[w261w261]

Wow! My original post was from 2003. That problem was fixed a long time ago. I had leakage from the distributor o-ring. Now there's a new distributor in and I haven't had any leak issues for a while. I appreciate the thought, though. :)

Ha! I never checked beyond the last post!

[Dr_Snooz]

I had leakage from the distributor o-ring.

Ha!! That was my first thought when I read your original post. I was reading down through the rest of the thread to see if anyone else mentioned it and was like WTF, who are all these strange posters? Then I realized how old the thread is.

Glad you got it fixed.