Well I bought my 97 lude about 2 months ago. The owner had told me that there were no leaks even though I saw oil on the ground. He reassured me that he had just spilt oil and that there were no leaks and he had receipts of all new seals and a timing belt job less that a year ago so unfortunately I took his word for it. (side note I couldn't get under the car to check because it was way too low to see a thing.) anyway got it home lifted it up and what do you know it's leaking from the bottom front timing belt cover. So I for the past three days have been changing a new timing belt (the one on there had been oil soaked and of course no longer good) and all new seals once again. Got it all put back together started it up and it purred like a kitten. Until I looked under the car and what do you know it's gushing oil worse then before from the some front cover. I individually checked every seal I could see and the oil was no doubt coming from the crank so I replaced it with a felpro. There is no oil up high like Around the valve cover or in between the two timing covers. No oil was leaking around the cams so I left it alone.
So my question is what in the world did I miss? Is there a hidden gasket I couldn't see?
future reference to anyone reading this thread for similar problems. I tore it all back apart and found out the crank shaft had been gouged from where the previous owner had removed the crank seal. So I had to sand it down as best as I could and put a new crank seal in(again). But oil still trickles out just a little but the only way to completely stop it is to take out the crank and have it machined smooth again. Not worth my time or effort at this point. So if you replace ANY seal be sure to remove it on the outside of the seal not on the onside of the seal where the moving component will be. If only the PO had known this ahead of time.
Well I ended up replacing the felpro with a Honda oem seal from the dealership still leaking a little.
The problem is with a gouged crank the seal can not do it's job. It just leaks out the grooves in the crank.
And to me it would be pretty easy to mess up. A big hammer and a flat blade screwdriver would be all it would take to mess up a good crank. With my vehicle running at start up 110psi oil pressure with full synthetic. The tiniest leaks are going to be found. And unfortunately I found them.
im having a similar problem and need help, only im not sure where its coming from. its dropping from the bottom of the tranny. its not a hevay leak, maybe 3-7 drops a day but still a leak nontheless. ive changed over to full synthetic oil and it has still persisted a little bit. i think it may be the rear main seal, and or the valve cover gasket. any theories? and also would it help if i posted a picture? also, since its been leaking, the clutch has started to slip more im not sure if that has any relevance. Thanks in advanced.
im having a similar problem and need help, only im not sure where its coming from. its dropping from the bottom of the tranny. its not a hevay leak, maybe 3-7 drops a day but still a leak nontheless. ive changed over to full synthetic oil and it has still persisted a little bit. i think it may be the rear main seal, and or the valve cover gasket. any theories? and also would it help if i posted a picture? also, since its been leaking, the clutch has started to slip more im not sure if that has any relevance. Thanks in advanced.
alright but would that make my clutch start slipping? because i do have a new clutch so i would be tranny dropping anyway.
it looks like its flowing down to the tranny and dropping from there. its about three feet in front of the passenger seat if your under it.
thanks again you have no idea how much you help. would you like a picture of it?
any idea on prices for the rear main?
rear main seal is $17. labor is probably 3-5 hours. the tranny has to come back off. i just had mine done, but it leaked a lot. i paid 330 for the tranny/clutch job. don't know if a main seal leak would cause clutch to slip, someone with more mechanical experience than me would have to answer that. mine was slipping, but it was also dead. the oil pan seal is also near that same area.
i use mobile 1 synthetic, but its all the car has ever had. i'm sure if you do a search on switch to synthetic it will provide lots of points of view (either on this forum or in general on google)
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alright thanks i can pick one up from autozone for that price? and i have a guy thats going to put my clutch in at no cost so i should just replace the rear main while im down there? and any tips about the clutch replacement, or any other replacemnets that should stop the leak? because as i said, its not leaking a lot, jst very little amounts
i'd go to honda to get the seal. if the tranny is out already, its just right there. def replace the rear main while its off. there is minimal extra work in doing it now, and another clutch job later on if you don't do it now. you'll see whats leaking once the tranny is off. mine was oil pan + rear main seal. and probably at one time vtec solenoid gasket + cam seal, which also made its way down that path.
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Whoa, you guys are going about this all the WRONG way, you're looking and starting from the bottom which is the worst way to go about fixing oil leaks since the rear main may not even be leaking. Start from the top and work your way down, the cam cap, distributor o-ring and spool valve gasket can all leak and cause oil to run down the bell housing making it look like the rear main is leaking.
Always eliminate any top leaks before assuming things like the rear main or oil pan are leaking, as long as you change the rear main using a Honda one every time you do the clutch you'll never have to worry about it.
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