At first I thought my valve cover gasket was the issue, but I replaced it and there's still oil south of the exhaust manifold but it's dry north of there. I now suspect the head gasket is bad. I know that a shop is gonna charge me every bit of $800+. Should I tackle it myself or just sell the clutch and axles I bought and get rid of it?
did you put sealer on the corners of the valve cover gasket? you need a bit of sealer on each corner where it goes from flat to round, or oil will still seep down the block, how much did you torque the gasket? if you over torqued the three nuts it will leak, I think it's around 10 inch pounds, it's not much, it's an O ring style gasket, so it doesn't take much. what about the dizzy O ring where it goes into the block? they leak all the time. oil will run all over th block, where exacly is this oil? i'm trying to figure out the reference to north and south. did you clean off all the old oil when you did this? the heat will rise and burn off the oil above the manifold before the oil under it.
This isn't a picture from today, but it on it I have highligted the general area where the oil is heaviest. It's down lower on the block, lower than the exhaust manifold.
I'll try to get an actual pic of it tomorrow. It's I don't recall how much I torque'd it down to on the valve cover. I'll replace that first since it's easy and cheap and make sure to do it right and then power wash the block really good again. Judging from the side of the block the oil is thickest, the dizzy ring sounds like a good possibility. And when I say north and south, I consider the head north, the block south and the exhaust and intake manifolds the equator (cuz I'm dumb lol).
yes make sure that isnt coming from the cover end, and you could try to retorque the head to specs since it isnt a loss of compression issue. Check your pvc system is functioning as it should as well.
His PCV system is a mess.Originally Posted by roodoo2
I'd say head gasket is a very low probability. It's probably your valve cover gasket or the dizzy oring like Lost says. Make sure the gasket is seating properly and that the corners get some gasket sealer. The dizzy oring is easy and cheap, so change it as a preventive measure.
If it is the head gasket, you have another option: drive it and keep the oil topped up. You aren't losing compression and you aren't getting fluids mixing. Unless you are restoring the car, it's really not a problem. If you are restoring the car and are an OCD type like me, then just fix it. Anything you end up getting will have problems equal to this one, so stick with the devil you know.
Dr_Snooz
"I like to take hammers, and just break stuff, just break stuff." - Beavis
1989 Honda Accord LX-i Coupe, 240k miles, MT swap, rear disc swap
Shop manual downloads available here: CLICK TO VIEW
Fixing the gasket if that was it would have been my option. Spending the same amoutn on another used car that needs work is no good.
I bought some Hondabond to redo the valve cover gasket, and I'll look in the repair guide for the dizzy o-ring replacement.
What do you mean by my PCV system is a mess? Do you see something in the pics that I'm missing that needs to be fixed? I hope there's not a problem I didn't see.
I guess you've cleaned it up before, so the oil mess shouldn't be too bad. Don't bother to pressure wash it, go get some Gunk, spray it on a warm (not hot) engine, get a tooth brush and clean it off where the oil is. Rinse. Then drive for a few miles and immediately take another look. From your picture I'd replace the distributor O ring as a first try.
My car has (I'm pretty sure) a small head gasket leak around the hole that carries the oil back from the valve train to the crankcase. Since it's a no pressure leak, I'm going to try some silicone sealer at that corner and see if I can stop it. I haven't replaced the distributor O ring yet either (it's been in box on my bench now for 2 years - some help!), so I could surprise myself, but really think it's the oil return.
Keeping on top of oil leaks in our Accords is a major hobby. It is the most pain-in-the-ass aspect of ownership, at least for the fuel-injected cars. For the carb guys, I don't know which one would be the worst- fixing vacuum leaks or oil leaks.
Last edited by w261w261; 04-22-2010 at 05:34 AM.
Sorry. I'm thinking of a different thread. Yours is not visible from the pic so nothing to worry about.
Dr_Snooz
"I like to take hammers, and just break stuff, just break stuff." - Beavis
1989 Honda Accord LX-i Coupe, 240k miles, MT swap, rear disc swap
Shop manual downloads available here: CLICK TO VIEW
all you need on the valve cover gasket is a very small amount of sealer on the four points where it goes from flat to round on each end.
That is exactly what I was refering too, I had the same issue after redoing a head and retorquing fixed it. OP also note that a little accumulation of oil from previous leaks can drive you nuts too.
I think the carb and EFI cars are about the same as for where the oil leaks show up. The ones I cant live with are the smelly ones
It's supposed to rain all weekend, dammit. I wanted to try doing the valve cover gasket again.
I talked to a guy I know who's been a tech for 30 years and asked him and before I could finish he said "distributor ring". lol I'll redo the valve cover gasket anyway since but my torque wrench doesn't fit a 10 mm socket. >_< I have another one that WILL but the thing looks like it's from an airport security person and the instructions are barely understandable. My girlfreind's dad gave it to me. The original reciept was in the box. He bought it in 1991 O_O
Buy an adapter for the 10 mm socket. It's not that expensive.
Dr_Snooz
"I like to take hammers, and just break stuff, just break stuff." - Beavis
1989 Honda Accord LX-i Coupe, 240k miles, MT swap, rear disc swap
Shop manual downloads available here: CLICK TO VIEW
when i had a leak it was going in that same general area also, mine was coming from the distributor...did you check yours?
'89 LX 295,000 3/1/09 =D
H&RLoweringSprings//TokicoBlues//"Superior" Kragen Brand 15"Rims//Se-i Cupholders/Lude Buckets
Dr. Snooz - that's the plan!
LxAcc510 - I haven't gotten much chance as we've had rain in the St. Louis area every day for the past week.
My leaky distributor puddled oil in the depression in the transmission box that is right under the distributor, but it also poured oil where the engine mount meets the engine block.
In my car that area is a little like a spoon and oil gathered there. Also, a "mechanic" had concluded that the engine gasket was the culprit (that was what the guy that sold me the car told me) He was wrong. Once I replaced the distributor shaft seal the oil leaks in that area were gone for good.
Based on the age of the car, I would bet that if the distributor o-ring does not fix the leaks, those would come from inside the distributor... have you taken the cap to see what is inside? Since it is carbed it may be a little easier to spot a shaft leak than in EFI cars where the distributor has another lower body with the EFI sensors
If it ain't broke... I fix it!
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