Possible oil leak... - TriStateTuners.com :: Home of Tristate Auto Enthusiast

vdcoff · 02-18-2012, 10:01 PM

Hey all you honda guys, this is my first honda, it is a beater. I bought it off of some kid for 1800 and according to him it has a new head gasket, a re-build auto transmission, new water pump, new timing belt, new plugs, etc.

I had it parked in my gfs garage the night i bought it, when i woke up in the morning I had a some puddle (size of a quarter) on the garage floor where it was parked. I'm pretty sure it is oil, don't think it was transmission fluid.

I had the car up on jack stands yesterday and changed the oil out and put mobil 1 in it, but i couldn't figure out where it was leaking from. The oil is running down from somewhere and collecting then dripping.

Any ideas of what it could be? I am hoping the block isn't cracked. I told the kid about it, and he said it never leaked as far as he knew.

BTW its a 97 civic with a d18y8 engine.

renn · 02-18-2012, 10:17 PM

probably oil pan gasket or rear main seal.... for $1800 i wouldn't be too concerned, my honda leaks oil too. it's a common problem but not one that causes any problems.

btw its a d16y8, not d18.

Foolinaround · 02-18-2012, 10:18 PM

Add some dye into the system and check with a uv. No idea where the origin is even after you crawled under it?

vdcoff · 02-18-2012, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foolinaround

Add some dye into the system and check with a uv. No idea where the origin is even after you crawled under it?

yea i couldn't figure out where it was coming from because its collecting no where near where its leaking from, im gonna have my buddy put it up on the lift monday or tuesday so we can take a better look

vdcoff · 02-18-2012, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by renn

btw its a d16y8, not d18.

thank you!

Foolinaround · 02-18-2012, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vdcoff

yea i couldn't figure out where it was coming from because its collecting no where near where its leaking from, im gonna have my buddy put it up on the lift monday or tuesday so we can take a better look

How do you know its collecting not where the leak is from. Its possibly its the rear main,or a cam gear seal(although this would be evident).

cvcrcr99 · 02-19-2012, 10:57 AM

Putting synthetic oil into a motor which has not run synthetic will make a leak seem worse from what I have seen. Clean all the oil off then continually check to see where the leak is stemming from.

vdcoff · 02-19-2012, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foolinaround

How do you know its collecting not where the leak is from. Its possibly its the rear main,or a cam gear seal(although this would be evident).

I know because i wiped the oil off from where it is collecting and layed there for 20 minutes and watched it, nothing came out. It is also obvious that the oil is coming from somewhere else higher on the motor, but I can't seem to find it, i'll check again though. I'm leaning more toward the rear main.

Thanks!

vdcoff · 02-19-2012, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cvcrcr99

Putting synthetic oil into a motor which has not run synthetic will make a leak seem worse from what I have seen. Clean all the oil off then continually check to see where the leak is stemming from.

well i wanted to put synthetic in it because i know mobil 1 is good oil, but i agree it is really thin and will make it leak more, I wasn't thinking about that.

SovXietday · 02-20-2012, 02:32 AM

Where exactly is it dripping from? Front trans? Front timing belt? Back trans? Back timing belt? Somewhere in the middle of the front/back?

The Honda valvecover gaskets love to leak and drip oil slowly down the block. Either way, a quarter isn't anything to worry about.

vdcoff · 02-20-2012, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SovXietday

Where exactly is it dripping from? Front trans? Front timing belt? Back trans? Back timing belt? Somewhere in the middle of the front/back?

The Honda valvecover gaskets love to leak and drip oil slowly down the block. Either way, a quarter isn't anything to worry about.

Its near the back of the engine. Im thinking either rear main seal or valve cover. The car has been sitting on my street since saturday afternoon so ill check it out after work today to see how much oil is on the ground. If its not alot i may just leave it alone.

vdcoff · 02-20-2012, 07:53 PM

So there wasn;t that much oil on the ground, I may just leave it alone for now.

Honest_Bob · 02-21-2012, 07:14 PM

vtec solenoid gasket?

Seriously.

01NightHawk · 02-23-2012, 12:45 AM

Rear main seal would be leaking from under the transmission, not behind the block.

You would notice if it were coming from the valve cover gasket, since you cleaned everything up that is.

I'd say oil cooler o-ring, vtec solenoid gasket, or cam seal. Those are the most common that leak and end up on the back of the block. - If it were the oil pan leaking, it wouldn't be on the block, just dripping straight down the pan.

Quarter size drip really isn't much to be concerned about on a DD

2001teg · 03-01-2012, 08:30 PM

did you double gasket the oil filter?

enohand · 03-02-2012, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vdcoff

well i wanted to put synthetic in it because i know mobil 1 is good oil, but i agree it is really thin and will make it leak more, I wasn't thinking about that.

mobile 1 is more gimick than it is sythetic,

google it, mobile 1 is moslty petroleum dino oil...not 100% sythetic...it even says it on thier bottle, (look for the * & the small print)

your beter off going with Nippon or amsoil

02-18-2012, 10:01 PM	#1
vdcoff Tri-State Post Whore Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Nazareth, PA Member #6984 My Ride: 2011 Impreza WRX Ltd / 2012 Yamaha FZ8 iTrader: (1)	Possible oil leak... Hey all you honda guys, this is my first honda, it is a beater. I bought it off of some kid for 1800 and according to him it has a new head gasket, a re-build auto transmission, new water pump, new timing belt, new plugs, etc. I had it parked in my gfs garage the night i bought it, when i woke up in the morning I had a some puddle (size of a quarter) on the garage floor where it was parked. I'm pretty sure it is oil, don't think it was transmission fluid. I had the car up on jack stands yesterday and changed the oil out and put mobil 1 in it, but i couldn't figure out where it was leaking from. The oil is running down from somewhere and collecting then dripping. Any ideas of what it could be? I am hoping the block isn't cracked. I told the kid about it, and he said it never leaked as far as he knew. BTW its a 97 civic with a d18y8 engine. __________________ You can't have pie without cool whip. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 signatures.

02-18-2012, 10:18 PM	#3
Foolinaround TST Ruined My Life! Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: McGuire AFB Member #9448 My Ride: 2016 GTI SE w/PP/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III iTrader: (2)	Add some dye into the system and check with a uv. No idea where the origin is even after you crawled under it? __________________ -John C-17 Loadmaster DenOfDebauchery

02-20-2012, 07:53 PM	#12
vdcoff Tri-State Post Whore Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Nazareth, PA Member #6984 My Ride: 2011 Impreza WRX Ltd / 2012 Yamaha FZ8 iTrader: (1)	So there wasn;t that much oil on the ground, I may just leave it alone for now. __________________ You can't have pie without cool whip. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 signatures.

02-21-2012, 07:14 PM	#13
Honest_Bob TST Ruined My Life! Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Easton, PA Member #1179 My Ride: 05 WRX Wagon iTrader: (2)	vtec solenoid gasket? Seriously. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 signatures.

02-23-2012, 12:45 AM	#14
01NightHawk Tri-State Addict Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: 302 Member #16827 My Ride: A Honda boat, and civic with fancy badges iTrader: (0)	Rear main seal would be leaking from under the transmission, not behind the block. You would notice if it were coming from the valve cover gasket, since you cleaned everything up that is. I'd say oil cooler o-ring, vtec solenoid gasket, or cam seal. Those are the most common that leak and end up on the back of the block. - If it were the oil pan leaking, it wouldn't be on the block, just dripping straight down the pan. Quarter size drip really isn't much to be concerned about on a DD Last edited by 01NightHawk; 02-23-2012 at 12:47 AM.

02-18-2012, 10:17 PM	#2
renn Tri-State Addict Join Date: May 2009 Location: NJ Member #13821 iTrader: (1)	probably oil pan gasket or rear main seal.... for $1800 i wouldn't be too concerned, my honda leaks oil too. it's a common problem but not one that causes any problems. btw its a d16y8, not d18.

02-19-2012, 10:57 AM	#7
cvcrcr99 Tri-State Aficionado Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Unlucky #13 Member #17691 My Ride: is discontinued iTrader: (0)	Putting synthetic oil into a motor which has not run synthetic will make a leak seem worse from what I have seen. Clean all the oil off then continually check to see where the leak is stemming from.

03-01-2012, 08:30 PM	#15
2001teg Tri-State Addict Join Date: Feb 2008 Member #7004 My Ride: 2001 Integra GSR/Type-R iTrader: (0)	did you double gasket the oil filter?

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