Oil Leak & Smoke

[syclinsam]

no i left the original o-ring on, it fit tight. I will try a new one. Where did you get yours? Is that a dealership oem or can I get something elsewhere?

Was yours leaking onto the drive shaft?

[syclinsam]

i'll check the gasket and the blow back after work tomorrow

thanks alot for the ideas, if you guys come up with anything else I'll try it.

[syclinsam]

I pulled the filler cap off and i just get some puffs nothin too much. I have that little filter off of the valve cover because I have a short intake with a cone filter. i'll get that new o-ring on a breather box this weekend

[syclinsam]

new rings in the dist. and on the pcv breather box, still smoking.

[Keachman1]

Try replacing the three gaskets (O-rings) on the oil pump. There is one between the oil pump and block and two in the oil pump itself. I had one that was cracked inside the oil pump and it leaked oil like crazy. These have to come from a dealer and are about $15 for all three. The oil would leak out and follow the top of the oil pan around to the backside also. Let us know if this works. Also, replace the front crank seal and camshaft seal while you have the timing cover off. After these are replaced, you have replaced all the gaskets except the head gasket.

[Dr_Snooz]

The oil system draws oil from the pan, up to the pump. The pump pushes the oil through the filter and on into the crank bearings, etc. At the filter, the oil is about as pressurized as it gets. The filter assembly is just above your driveshaft and exhaust pipe, so it's the right place to look for your leak.

At highway speed, the pressure coming from the pump is highest of all and it's only the relief valve that keeps the pressure under control. If that valve malfunctions, you'll notice oil blowing out of a lot of strange places like the filler cap. The valve is a little spring-loaded metal plunger in an aluminum sleeve on the filter base. You have crazy huge miles on the car and it wouldn't surprise me if that is no longer working (although I've never heard of this part going bad on a 3g). I'd look real hard at that valve and the entire filter base assembly. The valve is under a hex nut on the side of the base. Pull it out and look for scoring, a broken spring or other signs of malfunction. If it's bad, I would replace the entire base. It's made of aluminum and will wear along with the valve. If you don't, you might replace the valve and find that the problem persists.

Another problem I'd look for is a filter that's not sealing properly or otherwise leaking. You aren't using some cheapo filter right?

Another thing just above your exhaust pipe is the PCV system. You replaced the oring on the breather box, so the only other thing I can think of is the neck going from the top of it. It's a cheap plastic tube that goes from the top of that box up to the PCV valve. When I pulled my breather box it snapped right off. On the '86s and '87s that neck was metal. In '88 Honda cheesed out and made it plastic. It's possible that the thing is leaking, but I wouldn't expect it to leak as much as you're describing.

How much oil are you losing in the course of a week?

[russiankid]

There was one instance of the valve being stuck and exploding the filters.

[syclinsam]

thanks guys. I picked up an oem oil pan gasket and I'll give that a try. I did clean the pressure release valve but I didn't remove it from the oil filter base. I'll try that, then on to the seals behind the timing cover.

thanks again.

[Dr_Snooz]

thanks guys. I picked up an oem oil pan gasket and I'll give that a try. I did clean the pressure release valve but I didn't remove it from the oil filter base. I'll try that, then on to the seals behind the timing cover.

thanks again.

Mmmm. Sounds like you're Easter egging (ie: if I just keep throwing parts at it, eventually it will start working). The timing seals aren't anywhere near your leak, the pan gasket is near, but highly unlikely to cause a leak like that, unless it's spraying out under pressure. If that's the case, the pan gasket is the least of your problems.

Easter egging is rarely effective. You need to get in there and really look for what's going wrong. As a last resort, take it to a shop to have it diagnosed. There's no shame in it, especially if you learn something from it.

[syclinsam]

i'm going to replace that pressure release valve. i gunked the engine and hosed it down in the back. After a drive I didn't notice oil running from one side to the other, with some oil coming out of the filler cap and more than normal coming from the breather filter off of the back of the valve cover.