Nasty Oil Leak on my si h23 - Honda Prelude Forum

1996 lude si · 01-24-2012, 06:36 PM

Ok so other than my car not starting i have another huge issue i can't seem to get figured out... I have a horribly nasty oil leak coming from the timing side of the motor.... When the car was running it was like pissing out oil underneath the timing cover... It only does it when its running or the engine assembly is rotating. When it just sits it does nothing... I thought it was leaking from the balance shaft pulley piece so i went to honda and bought a brand new seal. Still didnt fix it... (i should mention we just put this motor together with a felpro head set) Taking a closer look at this thing its leaking higher up by where my head meets the block... on the side near the back there is a little valley and its getting a huge oil build up there and seeping down by my oil pump. here is a really crappy diagram of what im talking about...

minilogoguy18 · 01-24-2012, 07:00 PM

Only way to know is to remove the timing covers.

Felpro gaskets=fail.

Wanna know why?

An aftermarket company buys a car to copy the design of things which is how they are developed, a knockoff isn't a perfect a fit as something that actually had money spent in development. Whatever is leaking I'd replace with an OEM gasket.

If you end up having to take the t-belt off if it is something behind there I highly suggest getting the front balance seal retainer from teh dealer since there is a TSB on them where high oil pressure can push them out causing a total loss of oil pressure and putting all your oil on the ground in minutes.

1996 lude si · 01-24-2012, 07:31 PM

i did replace my front balance shaft seal with a HONDA OEM one.... not leaking from there leaking higher up

minilogoguy18 · 01-25-2012, 04:51 AM

Well then cam seals or maybe the valve cover got pinched on that side when installing but valve cover gaskets usually have to be in REALLY bad shape to leak like that. Pull the valve cover and check the cam seals.