Engine oil leak

This sound sliek the engine oil drain plug or and oil filter problem which is common but to be sure this guide will help us fix it.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/engine-is-leaking-oil

Please run down this guide and report back.

I had this problem they had to install a front main seal has bad fyi

My car has been leaking oil off and on into my alternator from a part directly above the alternator that I need help identifying please. I know the oil pressure switch goes into/on top of this unknown part and it is also where my oil dipstick tube is located. Its position on my car's engine is between the timing belt cover and the front valve cover underneath the plastic cover that goes over the front valve cover. My first sign that there was a problem was when my alternator quit working. So I assumed because it was leaking oil that it needed the gaskets replaced and I replaced the two gaskets (one with some type of screen in it). I then replaced the alternator but It continued to leak for a little while then just stopped. A few months later it began to leak again so I put gasket sealer all the way around the outside of this part and it stopped leaking. It is leaking again now and so badly that gasket sealer won't work anymore. Can anyone tell me if perhaps it is the part itself that needs to be replaced? I mean it doesn't seem to be leaking from the part itself but instead from where the part meets the aluminum underneath. Like it just needs a gasket but that just didn't fix it for me, for long anyway. I've attached a picture of the part I'm trying to identify.

Also I almost forgot three codes are showing up:

P0430-Catalyst system efficiency below threshold bank 2
P0530- A/C refrigerant pressure sensor A circuit
P0305- Cylinder five misfire detected

Any help would be so appreciated!

Welcome to 2CarPros.

I believe that is the front oil control valve. Do me a favor, take a look at the pics I attached. They show the oil control valve and the oil control solenoids. Let me know if this is where the problem is and if that looks like the part. It's a little hard for me to tell only looking at one angle of your picture.

Let me know.

Joe

Hi, thanks!
The picture on the right, the one that looks like a sketch is the exact part I was talking about. And yes it is toward the front of the vehicle instead of the rear.

Welcome back:

That is the rocker arm oil control valve. Here are directions for removal and replacement. First, you need to remove the valve cover and the rocker arm assembly. I attached those directions first. The two attached pictures correlate with the directions.

____________________________________
Rocker Arm Assembly Removal

Front

1. Remove the cylinder head cover. See: Valve Cover > Removal and Replacement > Cylinder Head Cover Removal (J35Z3 Engine)

2. Loosen the locknuts and the adjusting screws (A).


picture 1



3. Remove the rocker shaft bridge mounting bolts, the rocker shaft holder mounting bolts, and the rocker arm assembly.
-1 Loosen the rocker shaft bridge mounting bolts and the rocker shaft holder mounting bolts in sequence two turns at a time, to prevent damaging the valves or the rocker arm assembly.
-2 When removing the rocker arm assembly, do not remove the rocker shaft bridge mounting bolts and the rocker shaft holder mounting bolts. The bolts will keep the rocker arms on the shafts.


picture 2

__________________________
Here are the directions for replacing the part. The last pic correlates with these directions.

FRONT ROCKER ARM OIL CONTROL VALVE REPLACEMENT (J35Z2 ENGINE)
Front Rocker Arm Oil Control Valve Replacement

1. Remove the front rocker arm assembly. See: Cylinder Head Assembly > Overhaul > Rocker Arm Assembly Removal (J35Z2 Engine)

2. Remove the front rocker arm oil control valve (A).

3. Install the front rocker arm oil control valve in the reverse order of removal.


Picture 3

_____________________________________________

I believe this is Honda's part number, but please confirm.


15811RYEA01

Let me know if that helps or if you have other questions.

Take care,
Joe

Okay thank you so much! I will let you know how it turns out.

Happy to help. Let me know how things work out for you.

Take care,
Joe

I am thinking of purchasing the car listed above with 100,000 miles. I took it to the dealer for a pre purchase inspection. The inspection should no major problems tires slightly worn, brake fluid contaminated, air cabin filter needs changing.
There was observed some engine oil seep, and mentioned in the report for my information.
There were no recommendations made however.

I'm wondering if this observation of engine oil seep should be a deal breaker for me buying the vehicle.
Thanks

Hello,

Not necessarily. You can have an oil leak from the oil pan, front or rear main oil seals, oil sending unit, oil filter, valve covers, head gasket or if your vehicle uses a timing chain, which yours does not-it uses a timing belt, from the timing chain cover. All of these will be leaking from a replaceable gasket. If the leak is not bad enough to concern the technician, then it probably isn't too bad at all. The thing to do would be to call the shop and talk to the technician and find out where the leak was. Some of these gaskets are easier to replace then the others, so that might be a consideration in your decision making process. Please keep us informed as to what you are able to find out.

Thanks,
Alex
2CarPros

Thanks for your reply. I will call and find out what area he spotted the seepage.
Thanks much

Welcome to 2CarPros. It would depend on what is seeping and how bad. With 100,000 on it I would expect the gaskets to be brittle and likely to weep.
Has it had any work done like the timing belt replaced or other required maintenance? That would be more important to know.

I'm not certain about all the maintenance on this vehicle.

Something I failed to mention in my original post is the engine was replaced several months ago with a salvage yard engine that has 60,000 miles on it. The owner of the car said that the original engine blew out a valve through the top of the engine. The engine was installed by the owner of the car and his friend who both work on cars for a hobby.

1).i found recently oil leak from the steering rack of my car. its red colour oil. my machanic told me to replace the rack kit . how much it cost ? if its is not replaced wat will happen ? if i check my oil every day and fill oil again to the reservoir that will help without replacing it. am worried about the expense.

2). i bought my car from a first party. i think he was not maintaining his car properly with engine oil change etc. when i buy my car i found the engine oil was less by 3 ltr in my cars engine and it look like thick black in colour. my machanic advised me to have a engine flushing. is it very expensive. how much it cost? this will solve my problem ? if any other problems with engine how can i check it ?

please help me with my doubts. thanks.

If you are going to replace the rack, it could be quite pricey..how much I would hate to guess because it all depends on who is doing the work and where you get the parts. If you do it yourself and you get a rack from a junk yard, you may be looking at only a few hundred dollars....if a dealership does it, be prepared for much more than that....getting a second opinion is always a good idea.

Just continuously adding oil is not the answer. It may help you go a bit further but, if the rack is bad, you DO NOT want to be driving around when the thing goes out! Best bet: Get it fixed or stop driving it.

As for flushing your engine, that is not too bad and a very doable job for a DIY'er.

Hello again,

60,000 miles on an engine isn't really a lot. An engine that is maintained properly is just starting to get broken in at 60,000 miles. The fact that a valve got blown through the top of the vehicle's last engine is a little bit troubling. How was the vehicle being driven for this to happen? Possibly timing belt could have broken and bent the valves, or pushed one through the top of the engine, so maybe it was just through normal wear and tear. If you do decide to purchase this vehicle, changing the timing belt might not be a bad idea.

Thanks,
Alex
2CarPros

Supposedly it was being driven by the owners 18 year old daughter at the time. This Honda Accord is an EXL model with a V6 engine and a timing chain, no belt.
Would a 60,000 mile engine be expected to have engine seep as mentioned by the tech?
The owner seems like a honest straightforward guy but I just can't afford to buy this car if it's going to go south a few months later. That is why I paid for the pre car inspection but it seems to have opened a can of worms for me.

Thanks

So I spoke with the technician about the oil seepage. He said it was coming from around the oil sending unit . It was just seep no leak and to replace the oil sending unit switch if it starts leaking is $164.00. That is great news! Otherwise the tech said the car passed all other tests and is in good shape for a 2005 Accord. He said just the tires are getting close to the wear line, probably 10,000 mi more on tread.

Hmm the only 3.0 V6 for that year I can find uses a timing belt not a chain. May want to verify that before purchase.

Hi Steve
Yes you are correct the V6 does have a timing belt, not a chain. Honda recommends changing every 100,000 miles.
So my next question since this engine was swapped in and has 63000 do you think it would be safe to wait till it has 100000 on it before changing the timing belt.
Thanks

That would be the $50,000 dollar question. It all depends on what life it had before the swap and what the car it came from had for damage. If it was me and this car was really something I wanted I would likely go through it and change out any gaskets as needed, drop the oil pan and clean it out and do the timing belt, water pump and oil pump. Change out all fluids and start with a clean slate on maintenance, but that is also because I have the tools and materials to do that with no labor costs. For you I would likely inspect the belt and see if it may have been changed it prior to the swap. Then just do the fluids and whatever else needs to be done.

I have an oil leak on our 2003 accord in the bottom of the engine.I identified the leak to be near the transmission under a small metal cover.Any ideas?

Hi ugotwelderdave,

The description points to a bad flywheel oil seal if it is between the trans and engine. Rectification would require removal of the transmission.

My 2003 Honda Accord EX 4cylinder has 69,000 miles and has had no problems since I bought it four years ago with 23,000 miles. Just recently the engine has been leaving small drops of oil on my garage floor near the passenger-side front wheel. And there is a burnt-oil smell from the engine when I turn it off at night. Is it a defective seal and/or gasket? If so, is the repair expensive?

The burned oil smel you experience is probably coming off the exhaust. To estimate cost of repairs we would need to know which seal or gasket is leaking. If you can have someone look at the leak and determine where it is, we can go from there. Please advise.

My Honda V6 had a D Type service and on return I noticed a oil leak.The car was taken back to the dealer and they resealed the sump gasket.On return again the same leak.They now tell me that the main seal is faulty and has to be replaced.What would cause the main seal to give just after a major service?I did notice that the oil level was above the maximum mark.Has anyone else experienced this problem?This vehicle is just out of warranty and the major service was done when it was under warranty.It has 100000 kilometers on it.Any advice would be appreaciated.

depends on how far over-full it was

The oil level was about one third of the distance between the max and minimum mark again.The work was done at the dealers so I dont know the Quantity.Since my last message the Honda dealer found the source of the leak to be the rear main seal which they replaced and now all seems well.They where able to have a warranty claim for the repair and I wasent charged a cent though the milage is 200 kilometers over the warranty period.Please let me know if there is any thing I should watch out for as this was a major repair and after my experience I feel a bit warry.Thanks.

I've narrowed out it being a pin hole in the pipe, and the bolts are tight. It appears to be leaking around the bolt as pictured attaching the oil pipe to the radiator on the bottom. I just don't understand what could be causing this.

That picture isn't very clear but if you have coolant leaking from that big nut, you likely need a new radiator. If you have trans fluid leaking, there may be an issue with that hose or clamp.

OIL LEVEL GO DOWN .NO ANY OIL LEAKAGE ON THE FLOOR.EVERY TIME I CHANGE OIL I GET OIL BURNING SMELL FOR 3 -4 HUNDRED MILLS

If there's no actual oil leakage then its being burned in the combustion chamber could be valves/rings/guides/seals.

You may want to have them check also if the bolt to the oil pan is leaking too, Problem i had and dealership fixed it!

Oil leaks and i guess crankshaft oil seal needs to be replaced. I am hitting 105k miles on my accord and i need to change the timing belt too as per Honda's recommendations. Can this be done as a single job, meaning is it the same effort to get this done together so tht it could save some money for me on labor?

If you are talking about the seal located on the same end of the block the answer should be yes. You are at the time for a water pump, timing belt tensioner and the seal would be a simple thing to do while they are in working on the other items.

I have a 2000 honda accord with 124K . I loose approximately 1 quart per week with high speed highway usage. I don't have an oil leak in the oil pan. The car does not burn oil because it passes all inspection tests. I believe the oil loss is from the valve cover because it is soaked with black oil around the right side between the belts and the engine. It also has a lot of oil in the back of the motor just above the transmission. How can I determine if that is the problem and how do I fix it.

Hi there,

have the engine cleaned down and re check for fresh leaks around the rocked cover in a few days time, if leaking advise here for instructions on replacing gasket.

mark (mhpautos)

I have a major oil leak on the lt front up by the wheel. I can see oil on the ground. put in 2qt and it ran right out on the ground. can was parked and saw a huge puddle on the ground. it ran out in like under 2 hrs. pulled dipstick was dry. checked all i know to find it and still no luck. this is the 4 cyc. and has 270k on it. could a busted seal cause that big a leak? or maybe the oil pump? did not see any leaks on the pan or drain hole.

Brian if the car was not running, check the oil pan for a hole! This is the only place that will cause a leak like you descibe!

Did you check the oil filter and the connection of the filter adapter to the engine?