Oil pump or oil seal? Which is leaking?

[Pnem3]

3g carbed, everything stock. I have a massive oil leak which looks like it's coming from the oil pan right under the "U" at the crank pulley. It's hard to tell whether it is coming from inside the timing cover or else from the edge of the oil pan. I changed the crankshaft seal so I don't think that is the problem. It could be the oil pump seal because there was oil inside the timing cover when I changed the crank seal.

What is strange about this leak is that it doesn't seem to leak as much when the car is revved up while waiting for the carb to warm up or "kick down" to the idle speed. After that, it leaks like the Exxon Valdez. If it's the oil pan, could it be due to a pressure buildup in the oil pan that is not there at high revs? Would an oil pump not leak under high rev conditons? I checked the PCV and it is fine. I have no oil in the air filter assembly. I recently changed the oil filter base gasket and that hose on the oil pan too.

Any help is appreciated.

[nswst8]

Have you tried to snug down the oil pan bolts. If that helps at all then it could be time for a new oil pan gasket. If not you've eliminated the oil pan gasket.

Jack the car up, remove timing belt cover, clean area ( do not get solvent on timing belt) start the car and look for leak. It's a pain the butt, but you might have to go after the oil pump seal. which just means removing and reinstalling timing belt. Easy day!

[Dr_Snooz]

If you had to replace the crank seal, you should have replaced the oil pump and cam seals too. If the oil pump seal fails (sounds like it might have) the pump can lose pressure and burn up your engine real nice like. You definitely want to get on that forthwith. I don't think it's the pan but it could be. A lot more likely to be your timing seals.

[lostforawhile]

If you had to replace the crank seal, you should have replaced the oil pump and cam seals too. If the oil pump seal fails (sounds like it might have) the pump can lose pressure and burn up your engine real nice like. You definitely want to get on that forthwith. I don't think it's the pan but it could be. A lot more likely to be your timing seals.

I think mine might have developed a leak, I have a new belt here somewhere, it's not going anywhere for a while anyway. Melling makes a pump now, when I can i'll just replace the pump while it's out. tip for you, if you replace the pump, when it's out pack the new one with petroleum jelly before you install it, (vaseline) this will ensure instant pickup and protect the pump before oil reaches it. Old school trick that has worked for probably a hundred years.

[ecogabriel]

Remove pulley, remove valve cover, and check for leaks.... it's a pain but the only safe way now... guess what, under the cover there are three "holes" that use seals: crank, cam, and oil pump. You replaced one but still are two more than may be bad.

Check oil pan bolts and re-torque them if loose, but DO NOT over-torque it!
For reference, I used the screw-driver like thing that came with my socket set. Since the handle is small one is limited on how much force to apply but it was enough to get right the oil pan gasket in my Civic.

When installing seals, be sure of packing the inner side (the one with the spring) with heavy grease; that would prevent the spring from slipping off when installing.

Lost: I did not know the "oil pump trick"; I would have used assembly lube instead (because I have it around)... good tip.

[Pnem3]

Turns out it's the crankshaft seal leaking again. It was the last seal my dealer had too. It's a newer dealership and they don't have many parts for our cars. I could see where the oil pump had a slight leak. I changed the seals in it. They were hard and in need of being replaced. When I get another seal, I'll do the crankshaft again. Thanks for the info and tips. I'll pack this one with grease before installing it.

[Dr_Snooz]

Don't get too excited quite yet. You probably still have more leaking seals to go yet. Glad you're changing the oil pump seal.

[ecogabriel]

Don't get too excited quite yet. You probably still have more leaking seals to go yet. Glad you're changing the oil pump seal.

Since you are removing the timing belt, remove the camshaft pulley and replace the cam seal. It is cheap and everything is disassembled so why not to do it since you are almost there?

I tried different seals mostly from NAPA, Rockauto (sometimes they would have OE seals), and even Autozone (oooppsss!!! NAPA did not have the seal I needed) and have had no problems with either.
In my opinion, care with removal (not scoring the shaft surface) and installation (grease shaft surface and seal lip, push it in slowly and evenly, pack heavy grease in the groove where the spring sits) is more important than seal origin. Honda, after all, has to buy them from the seal manufacturers

[guerrero]

im getting this problem right now my pulleys craked on one side and 2 belts ript, my oil pan is leaking oil where the crankshaft and the oil pan are, so there is a crankshaft seal? i got the pan seal but did not know it had a crank one, do i have to take the time belt off to get to the crank seal? and the bolt in the pellys is it clock or counterclock. i had a mecanic do the time belt and water pump new belts camshaft seals, termostat, culent top valvecover seal but the mechanic never told me about this crankshaft seal now i have to do this on my own since i can't get it there and he charges up the !!!. aLL THIS WORK WAS DONE 5 MOUNTHS AGO,

[guerrero]

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[Pnem3]

Seem odd a mechanic would do all of that for you and not do the crankshaft seal too.

I did mine and I did the camshaft seal too. My oil pan leaks some but it's not critical. It could probably wait till the summer but I might do it before then.

[guerrero]

i gues he wanted more jobs so he would get more money. or he just forgot.

[ecogabriel]

im getting this problem right now my pulleys craked on one side and 2 belts ript, my oil pan is leaking oil where the crankshaft and the oil pan are, so there is a crankshaft seal? i got the pan seal but did not know it had a crank one, do i have to take the time belt off to get to the crank seal? and the bolt in the pellys is it clock or counterclock. i had a mecanic do the time belt and water pump new belts camshaft seals, termostat, culent top valvecover seal but the mechanic never told me about this crankshaft seal now i have to do this on my own since i can't get it there and he charges up the !!!. aLL THIS WORK WAS DONE 5 MOUNTHS AGO,

Pulley bolt loosens counterclockwise like any regular bolt; only issue here is how to keep the engine from turning when applying force to loosen that f... bolt. I "hydro-locked" cylinder #1 by pouring some oil into it through the spark plug hole and then replacing the spark plug... watch out for smoke when you start the engine though. Another trick is the "rope" trick; just slide some rope inside the cylinder through the spark plug hole and when the engine turns the rope will make the piston to lock as it will be pushing against the head. Two things: ONE: make sure your valves are closed (compression stroke) to prevent bending them, and
SECOND, make sure the rope is thick enough to fit easily through the hole and LEAVE enough length outside so you can remove it without a problem
(THIRD, make sure the rope is squeaky clean; you do not want dirt to get into the engine)

the crankshaft seal sits behind the small timing belt sprocket on the crankshaft. You have to slide it out and WATCH OUT FOR THE KEY (a little metal thingy that keeps the sprocket in position with the crankshaft) Once you remove them the seal is accessible for removal.Replacing seals is pretty straightforward once you have all the timing stuff out; taking all the timing stuff out to replace a $5 part is... is but "mechanics" seem to be prone to that...