oil leak... cam seals or head gasket? - Honda Prelude Forum

G_Loc · 02-04-2003, 02:19 PM

I've had a nagging oil leak since i bought the car. I changed the valve cover gasket: still smelled. changed oil pan gasket: no leaks for a few months. The seal between the oil cooler and block blew: massive oil leak and after it was replaced, im still leaking oil.

I make a mess in my garage and my car smells horrible after driving. I have no clue where else it could be leaking. I was thinking maybe the head gasket or the cam seals? I haven't really looked where it could actually be leaking from yet. where ever its leaking from, its dripping onto my exhaust. you could see some smoke coming up from under the intake manifold and at night you can see some smoke in the light with the hood closed.

What experiences have you guys had with oil leaks? its driving me crazy and i fear it getting worse.

marcucci · 02-04-2003, 02:20 PM

- Leaking oil pressure (idiot light) sender/switch
- Leaking distributor seal
- Leaking cam seal (rear)
- Leaking cam seals (forward, behind cam gears)
- Leaking balancer seals (behind timing cover)
- Leaking front/rear main seals

G_Loc · 02-04-2003, 02:27 PM

-Leaking oil pressure (idiot light) sender/switch : Replaced with Autometer sender. Not leaking from there and still leaked with stock switch.

As for the bottom ones (except the distributor seal) i'd probably pay my mechanic rather than do them myself cuz he can do all the work 5 times faster.
- Leaking distributor seal
- Leaking cam seal (rear)
- Leaking cam seals (forward, behind cam gears)
- Leaking balancer seals (behind timing cover)
- Leaking front/rear main seals

You know, im thinking it could also be the nuts / bolts on the oil pan that might have loosened up a bit. i hope its just that...

thanx btw

X01VTEC · 02-04-2003, 03:12 PM

i know its going to be a pain, but you could try to clean the motor then keep checking it and see if you can find any oil leaking. thats the main reason i keep my motor clean, so you can see any leaks

Fast&furiuslude · 02-04-2003, 08:43 PM

I had this problem and spent 2,000k+ to fix it. Save ur trouble and get an H22a1 like me. More reliable engine imo. Heard to many stories about h23's and oil leaks.

G_Loc · 02-04-2003, 08:50 PM

what was the cause of your problem?

19924ws · 02-04-2003, 11:58 PM

My cam seals were disintegrated, and blew head gasket, which then blew the balancer shaft seal (front) actually out of the block!!! I fixed them myself. It's kinda pricy though for all the parts. Don't listen to the dealer all the time either. They wanted 1200 for the head gasket and another 800 for the cam seals. And anyone that has done a head gasket job knows it takes literally 2 minutes to replace the cam seals. What Honda does is look in thier "black book" which is a list of general job and how long they will take and then they price accordingly. So for me they just added the prices for the following jobs: head gasket, cam seals, and balancer shaft seal. When you do the head gasket you should replace the cams seals. I think they are $4 each. The cause of my prob is unknown. The cam seals are do to Honda's stupidity. When the change the timing belt they take off the valve cover and underneath are the cams, so why the hell don't they replace the seals while they are right there and charge an extra 100. Always go with the cheap insurance of replacing seals. Mike

G_Loc · 02-05-2003, 03:14 PM

poop

here is a picture of the leak pattern. it seems like its travelling along the engine to the tranny and slightly dripping from there too. The car had been sitting for about 2 1/2 hours.

I checked the oil level, and its right at the full mark. I think my mechanic put in too much oil. Is it possible that the excess oil is leaking from somewhere?

marcucci · 02-06-2003, 07:48 AM

Unlikely. Especially if it's at the full mark.

If you have a mechanic, take it to him.

ludestarbai · 12-20-2009, 11:12 PM

I know this thread is old as ****. but i'm doing some research to educate and myself towards tackling a few of my own problems.

If anyone involved in this thread is still getting e-mail updates... is it possible to get an update as to what happened/what you did? (even if u dont own the car anymore)

G_Loc · 12-20-2009, 11:19 PM

Replaced the engine

Looked like this when I pulled it:

03yama · 12-22-2009, 04:12 AM

so you never found out what the leak was from?

asianboy781 · 03-18-2010, 10:53 PM

if it comes to this point where i couldnt find the problem and had to replace the engine then im selling out the car
i dont have time to play around and look for waldo

ludestarbai · 04-22-2010, 11:55 PM

wehre did you get your replacement engine from?

Any reason you decided to replace rather than just rebuild yours?

ndrewoods · 12-08-2010, 12:06 AM

Wow, total dead thread bump you two have huh. Well it's pretty practical why he replaced it rather than rebuilding it. Cause even if he did change the head gasket set or the cam seals or whatever part, it may still cause oil leaks. And like what Fast&furiuslude said

Quote:

Save ur trouble and get an H22a1 like me. More reliable engine imo. Heard to many stories about h23's and oil leaks.

G_Loc · 12-08-2010, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ndrewoods

Wow, total dead thread bump you two have huh.

Funny... coming from the guy who bumped it after nearly 8 months

minilogoguy18 · 12-08-2010, 09:09 AM

Sorry to contribute to the pointless bump but damn, that engine was a ticking time bomb, with all that oil getting on the t-belt it could have snapped at any second.

lude_man1 · 03-05-2011, 03:12 PM

I like that statement about looking for Waldo. Man thats funny.