The 1G is on the disabled list...

[offthahook]

Went to the storage locker and it fired RIGHT up, as always. I always pull the clock fuse and it starts right up, even after a couple MONTHS. Well, today there was a oil stain right under the drive belts area. I pulled it out and it idled for a few minutes; there was a spot of oil on the concrete outside the garage. I backed it up and there was a spot of oil in just a couple minutes, on that spot of concrete. Nice clean oil, but... The reading on the dipstick was just slightly above the lower hash mark. I chose not to drive it at all. I was excited to get it out of storage and it sounds so freaking smooth on idle. I was slightly bummed, but it is 26 years old and only has 109K on it. It's due I spose.

I'm figuring the main seal, possible oil pan gasket. It is on the left half of the engine (belt side) and it is fresh oil, not "dripping down from the valve cover" type oil. I'll probably do the oilpan gasket, main seal, valve cover gasket. Maybe the cam seal, drive belts, water pump, & timing belt. Thing is... I did the "maybe" items in 2002 and it has been mostly in storage since. I've probably it 4K miles since 2002, but it is going to be hard to not do the water pump at the very least. Guess I should have done the main seal back then and the oilpan gasket, too. It's not gushing out oil by any means, but it's slightly more than a trickle. The LAST thing I need is to get bold and take it on a little run and see a light on the gauges light up.

Quick question... would oil be getting on the timing belt at this point if it is the main seal? I would think if oil is making it to the ground, some might be getting splashed under the timing cover(s). I'll keep you guys posted. Glad I checked the ground for the very reason of 'anything leaking'.

[Ichiban]

To answer that question, I'd take a quick peek under the upper timing cover. If oil is making it onto the timing belt or gears, it will be carried up and thrown against the cover at the upper pulley.

Oh, and you don't need to pull the valve cover to get the upper timing cover off. Just undo the bolts and wiggle it out. It'll come.

[2ndGenGuy]

I think that's what the deal is with old cars. When they sit for a while, I think those seals dry up a bit and they stick to the crank. Then when you start em up, I think it runs dry and puts a little wear into the crank. It's the thing that scares me about really old, low mileage cars. I think the biggesr killer of old cars is not too much use, but not enough.

I would say that if that seal is leaking, likely it is geting on your timing belt. Though there's the chance that it's just dripping out down along case and running out the timing belt cover.

[offthahook]

Yeah, it's just tough to own an older low mileage car. I have started it, idled it, driven it, etc. to warm it up every so often. Time is just hard on the old cars, even ones stored inside. The other alternative is a car with a ton of well maintained miles and stuff is breaking due to age AND miles. I think Honda says to do a timing belt change at least every 8 years regardless of mileage, just because of "time" and its effects on rubber. I wish the car did have a few more miles, but I know these things happen and it's not due to anybody abusing it. I just try to stay on top of things and replace stuff that I have to remove in order to get at something else. I'm just glad I caught it and can still get the parts for this job.

AND WTF IS THIS!
http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/car/343821024.html

[2ndGenGuy]

Yeah, it's just tough to own an older low mileage car. I have started it, idled it, driven it, etc. to warm it up every so often. Time is just hard on the old cars, even ones stored inside. The other alternative is a car with a ton of well maintained miles and stuff is breaking due to age AND miles. I think Honda says to do a timing belt change at least every 8 years regardless of mileage, just because of "time" and its effects on rubber. I wish the car did have a few more miles, but I know these things happen and it's not due to anybody abusing it. I just try to stay on top of things and replace stuff that I have to remove in order to get at something else. I'm just glad I caught it and can still get the parts for this job.
AND WTF IS THIS!
http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/car/343821024.html

You're right, high mileage is evil too. The key is what you're going to be doing to it now: Maintenance. Regardless of whether it's driven or not, you've got the magic touch there. I'll just say I wouldn't be worried about buying one of your cars in the least. It takes someone with a touch to keep an old car running right. It's cool to hear that it runs

Replacing those end seals makes you feel good about driving your car, knowing you're not blowing oil all over the place. It keeps all the other stuff in your car nice and clean and keeps it from breaking down.

Oh and that ad, don't worry, I'm sure as hell not selling my car. I just wondered if there was a single soul out there who would make me an offer, and how much this car might go for. I priced it sorta ridiculously high just to see what's up. I did get a full price offer from a lady, so maybe my car isn't the $1000 beater after all. Regardless, I'm keeping it.

Good luck on that work with your car man. Summer is here, and time for more pics of that clean, pimp ride!

[Civic Accord Honda]

AND WTF IS THIS!
http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/car/343821024.html

[2ndGenGuy]

I'm not selling it. See my above reply. It was purely for curiosity's sake. LOL

[Civic Accord Honda]

oh i see now lol

[tomatofiasco]

hey mine did that too. after about 2 months of not even turning over, i started fiddling with this and that, and noticed that my crank pulley was all oily, and so was the concrete underneath.

the weird thing is that now, after a month and a half of being back on the road, the oil seems to have stopped seeping. i keep a tray under the engine and check it every time i go anywhere to see if there are fresh drips. i know a bit of oil seaps out of the oil filler cap and the rocker cover seal near the distributor, which sometimes causes little drips to form on the transmission case, but at the other end theres no drips at all. i will check my timing belt in the morning but its always been dry too.

maybe you should top it up, risk a few short drives and then see if the oil level is still falling.

[offthahook]

hey mine did that too. after about 2 months of not even turning over, i started fiddling with this and that, and noticed that my crank pulley was all oily, and so was the concrete underneath.

the weird thing is that now, after a month and a half of being back on the road, the oil seems to have stopped seeping. i keep a tray under the engine and check it every time i go anywhere to see if there are fresh drips. i know a bit of oil seaps out of the oil filler cap and the rocker cover seal near the distributor, which sometimes causes little drips to form on the transmission case, but at the other end theres no drips at all. i will check my timing belt in the morning but its always been dry too.

maybe you should top it up, risk a few short drives and then see if the oil level is still falling.

Could work. My worry is that the seal has started to walk out (like the 90-97 Accord issue on the walking lower seal). It would be fatal if it let go on a trip. I could use thicker oil or buy some time another way, but this isn't going to fix itself. I'll just be prepared and do them all-- valve cover gasket, timing cover gaskets, cam seal, crank seal. Can't be anything else due to the location of the drips. Keep an eye on yours! It leaked out somehow.

[2ndGenGuy]

I was also thinking about the possibility of the seal just drying out a little bit. Maybe in the experience where it quit leaking, it got a nice fresh coat of oil, and sealed back up.

I still think though, you're on the right track replacing it. It hurts absolutely none to do so, and will completely eliminate any worries.

[offthahook]

Yeah, on a car this old, it's just a part of proper "routine" maintenance. I'm sure it's dry and a coat of oil might help it along. Rubber just rots and it's gone along fine for this long, so I can't really complain that it hasn't held up well. An ounce of prevention will be worth a pound of cure for sure!

[tomatofiasco]

exactly. mine could have done with some prevention, instead of half-arsed body filler and a new gear knob. though i like the new gear knob, but who loses a gear knob?

i'm familiar with mass oil dumping, its Not Good. i plugged the rocker cover breather for some stupid reason and the pressure built up and blew oil out of both the oil filler cap and rocker cover seal. half my engine oil was spread along 15km of highway, burnt onto the exhaust or plastered across every last inch of the engine bay like a slasher movie, except replace gore with engine oil.

or replace that oil seal and avoid the the gorefest altogether. i would myself if i wasnt such a hopeless university cretin. i did at least have a look at that end of the engine. the oil leak is still there but barely, maybe one or two drips a week. the belt and cover looks like this:



by the way, is this too much wear for a cam belt? or is it suspiciously new-looking?