Engine oil leak?

Hi kujos98accord,

If there are no leaks, oil is being consumed by the engine. Sometimes oil consumption do not come out as smoke from the exhaust due to being recycled into the engine via the PCV system.

Check this guide out

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

The catalytic converter would also reduce the amount of smoke coming out of exhaust.

Worn valve seals would result in the oil consumption.

I have a 98 Honda Accord. The transmission has been slipping and this morning I came out to find a huge oil spill on my driveway. What could be the cause and is it expensive to fix?

Check transmission fluid level. If level is low, slippping can occur.
Check for leaking hoses and bad seals.

The cost of repairs would depend on what is wrong. Leaking hoses would not be too expensive, a bad transmission could set you back $2000 or more.

My honda starting smoking this morning and smelling like oil. after looking it over i found it had no oil. I looked all over and could not find any place it is leaking from. What can cause the engine to "burn" the oil? and what can I do to fix/prevent it happening in the future?

Hi rturnage,

At the mileage and age of the engine, the valve seals should be dead so this would result in oil consumption.

To reduce the consumption, the valve seals would have to be replaced. If not you would have to monitor the oil level regularly.

I have a 1998 Accord LX 4cyl 210k miles. It has leaked oil for a while. I had the valve cover gaskets changed. Then it was still leaking. I took it back they said it was tightened to tight and cracked the gaskets. So they changed it again. 4-5 months later it was leaking again. I took it to someone else to change gasket. A couple of months later it started leaking again. So the question is is it them? Or is it warped? That is what I was told lately.

Also withing the last weak my car drags when I take off. It hessitates, the when I hit about 20mph it goes fine. If I slow down it does it again. And my engine light is just flashing while I drive. When I start the car no light is on. And the car accelerates fine. After a few minutes it drags & light starts to flash. I think maybe the fuel filter? Or the cap & rotor need to be changed? What is your opinion?

First thing you need to do is have the codes read, Autozone does it free, Post the results with the code number(s). Even if the service engine light is not on, there should be freeze frame data stored.
If it won't make it to Autozone, buy a cheap scanner, they can be had for 30-40 dollars, a good investment, since they cover all cars sold in the USA from 96 on...
As for the oil leak, is it leaking from thehead? below the exhaust manifold, or above it from the valve cover? If the sharp edges around the bolt holes arent removed, it will keep leaking until this is done! The sharp holes cut the new gaskets!

my honda accord ex 1997 is leaking oils. I have it repair recently with replacing the joints but the leak is still there. What should I do? Thank you.

What joints? Also, where was the leak located? Finally, if the shop was to fix the leak and they didn't, I would either ask for my money back or tell them to fix it correctly.

Let me know.
Joe

I have a stupid question, I guess. I have a small oil leak. The spots are usually around the size of a quarter or so. It seems to be a slow leak, as in I put about 1/4 of a quart of oil in about a month ago and the oil level is still ok. I am wondering, and here is where the stupid part comes in, WHERE can the oil leaks come from - the front of the engine has oil on it about 1/3 of the way down. I know there are several different kinds of gaskets and would it be worth it to replace all of them?

As you can see, she has a lot of mileage but she is a great car and I want to fix this. In addition, if I can afford it, I want to have my timing belt and water pump replaced since I have 17K to go before I need it done again anyway and as you can see I drive this car a lot. Never has given me a minute of trouble. The first car I have ever had that was worth taking care of!

Also, do you know how much this might COST? I have a few thousand to spend but that is it. I know the price will vary by mechanic and by region. I am mainly concerned about getting the oil leak(s?) fixed. If there is "extra" money available I'll do the tb and wp early. If not, I'll save up and wait.

Getting another car is NOT an option. This car is a great car.

I hope someone can give me a ballpark. I know it's kind of a weird question. :?

If the oil is coming from the front of the engine then it is probably either of the cam seals or the crank seal,or other item run by the timing belt.Have the t-belt and w-pump done, while they are in there have all of the front engine seals replaced, wont be much extra labor since they are in there for the belt anyway.If you have thousands to put into it, you will have plenty left over. Honda's are extremely reliable, seen them go way further than yours! enjoy

Thanks for your advice! Yes, I was hoping to get the TB and the WP done at the same time if they were going to have to be in there anyway.

Now I just have to get the time off work to take it IN!

I also plan to drain and fill my radiator and my transmission, and check belts/hoses/etc. etc. etc.

This car is my beloved darling. I really appreciate your advice.

Paulsmom

Thanks again for your help!

I took it to my Honda guy yesterday and they checked it out and there are just little leaks everywhere ha ha. I am going to do the timing belt and water pump and drain and fill the radiator and transmission while I am at it. I'm also going to have him toss on some new windshield wiper blades while he's at it.

It's going to run me around $1400. I'm happy to pay it for a car that is worth maintaining.

The car I had before this one (a Dodge) wasn't worth the paper the title was written on.

Thanks again for your advice. It's actually less than I thought I would have to spend. They probably thought I was crazy at my Honda guy's place. I was smiling and telling them how happy I was and that I'd happily fork over the money. This guy is so honest though. If it were some fly-by-night place but this guy does great work. He told me about the emissions extention warranty and he said, ''Well, I CAN do the work, but it will cost, whereas if you take it to the dealer it will be FREE." Pretty darn honest if you ask me. :-)

Thanks!

My car had an oil leak and was completely drained of all the oil. Previously, they thought the leak was coming from under the timing cover. Note: I had a complete timing belt/water pump replacement in 2004. So a few months ago, I have them replace the distributor O ring seal, valve cover gasket including spark plug tube seals and grommets, PCV valvue and all heater hoses. Yesterday another place after my car had no oil due to the leak, they replaced the distributor as they said the oil leaked in the the distributor. My question is do you think that fixed the oil leak for good?

First of all you ask a question that we have no possible way of answering. Consider this, we can't see the car, can't touch the car, can't smell the car, etc. Get the point?

I personally think you have been taken. If the tech that put on the orings to the distributor did it correctly, then there can be no leak and any leak would be so slow that a total loss of oil would take a very long time. Remember, the oil to the cam and around the distributor is forced up by the oil pump and is NOT submerged in oil.

Through all of this, you have never said what your observations were as to the source of the leak. You should always try to diagnose a problem yourself to atleast know the general problem so that a mechanic does not take you to the cleaners.

If the oil leak was at the distributor, your engine must be covered with oil.

Overnight, do you see a puddle of oil under the car?

seems to be leaking oil not sure if its motor or trans oil but theres a cap/top on the side of the trans i dont know what that top is called and seems to be running down from there and to the end

If its coming from the cap/top on the side of the transmission-- it should be leaking red fluid if its an automatic transmission -investigate

engine oil in is going into sprak plugs

Remove and replace valve cover gasket and O rings

I'm guesting that you got a dx or lx model. The rocker arm seals are worn.

My cousin informed me that her car had been leaking oil through the oil filter. In two separate occasions the oil filter was replaced, but the oil leak continued. She had also mentioned that on a recent trip, the spark plug wires had lifted but I didn't really give it much thought.
I proceeded to check the spark plugs to see if it was burning any oil. As I started taking the sparkplug wires from the sparkplugs I noticed that oil had seeped into all the chambers, enough that clean the top of the spark plugs and the plugs. Next, I removed the spark plugs but these were all dry...big sigh of relief; so I thought. I then installed new valve cover kit which included valve cover gasket and gasket around the sparkplugs to resolve that problem. Then, I moved on to change the oil and oil filter; the oil filter was firmly tightened. The engine was started and I immediately noticed oil leaking from the oil filter. Next, I proceeded to remove the oil cap and noticed that lots of air was coming out of the oil filler hole – this didn’t look good. At this time I was perplexed as to what could be causing this problem, bad piston ring or PVC valve; I turned the engine off. By this time all auto parts were closed, so as a temporary measure I decided to remove the oil filter and put a bead of red (hi-temp) silicone gasket maker around the oil filter base and placed the filter back. I turned the engine on and leaking continued.
Do you have any suggestions? Compression test perhaps?

Hi f1ebru,

It is not the oil filter that is causing the leakage. The base of the oil filter is the oil cooler and behind it, there is an O ring which would leak when it goes bad over the years.

Remove the oil filter, loosen the central nut (27 or 30 mm) pull out the shaft and you can pry the base out slightly to replace the O ring. Do not pull too hard or you would damage the coolant hoses. If the oil cooler hoses are bad, it would be good to replace them.

Blowby escaping from the oil filler cap is normal for engines of the age and mileage clocked.

Thank you for the reply, I will try your suggestion.

A have one more question, if the blowby preasure builds up, would it be possble that oil can seep through the rubber grommets around the Spark plugs?

Sincerely,
AC

If the plug seals are good, they should not but if the seals are worn, they would allow oil to leak through. If after replacing the plug seals and the problem persists, you would need to replace the O rings under the cam carriers, they are prone to leaks.

I have a 1997 Accord I-4 with 180k miles (manual transmission). When attempting to get out of a snow covered driveway, the vehicle spun out a few time. After removing the vehicle, observed two small oil slicks on the driveway where it had been sitting. Looked underneath the car and observed some fresh oil underneath the transmission housing. The car recently had its 180k service. Any thoughts as to what is causing the leak? Thanks

by the symptoms you describe there's a good possibility the leak could be either the rear main seal or more than likely the oil pan gasket at the back of the motor. get under the vehicle and look to see the exact area. the cheaper way is replacing the oil pan gasket. if it still leaks look into the rear main. hope the info helps

I am wondering if the movement of the wheels being stuck and forced in to extreme pressure may possibly have let out some tranny grease where the CV axles enter the tranny. The oil of the engine and the oil of the tranny have two seperate distinctive odors and the oil for the tranny is much thicker. Watch the vehicle and see if the location manifests itself or goes away.

We have looked everywhere for an oil leak on this car and also changed the oil pan gasket and the valve cover gasket. The oil seems to be pouring out of the side of the timing belt cover behind the mounting brackets of the alternator. It starts coming out when the engine is running. I dont think that the oil should be coming out of the cover but it does have a crack in it and it is the only thing we can see. Is there a freeze plug or something behind that bracket that could have gone bad? Before I start tearing the brackets off I wanted to see if anyone has had the same issue. The car didnt leak any oil prior to this happening. Any advise would be great.

Hi there,

It sounds like the oil is coming from the cam seals, if it is as bad as you say, it should be easy to see, also the timing belt should be replaced if it is contaminated with oil.

Mark (mhpautos)

Thanks for advice. I just went ahead and got a whole kit to do the water pump , cam seals, crank seals and new pulley assembly for the timing belt. And also a new timing belt. Not very expensive but time consuming. ( both the cranks and the cam seals were bad.) thanks again

I took my car in for my usual oil change & the mechanic said I only had 1 quart of oil left in the engine & I had a severe oil leak. He said that it would cost over $700 to fix because he had to reseal x,y, & z,install a new oil pan,etc .What exactly must be done to stop an oil leak & Why is it so costly & is there any other cheaper solutions to repair this oil leak?

If he is saying that the oil pan is leaking, then it could be removed and new gasket or sealer installed.

Depends on what else is leaking, front seal, valve cover gasket etc.

Key is that if you only had one quart of oil, then you are at risk for major engine damage.

Get a second opinion and ask for specific parts/gaskets that need to be changed.

I noticed my car temp was running hot and then my oil light came on. When I turned the car off the engine was smoking a bit. I put 4 quarts of oil in, then two days later my oil light came back on and my engine was smoking again with a smell of over heated metal. How should I got about finding the oil leak, should I use a tracer dye. Or does it sound like something else is wrong?...Thanks for any help!

Hi there,

If you have a bad oil leak, you should only need to give the engine a good all over wash down and go for a drive, you should soon see the oil starting to leak, do this first.

Mark (mhpautos)

what does it mean if a mechanic says there's oil leaking inside the engine?

It means you are internally burning oil in your combustion chamber. Oil is seeping past either your piston rings or your valve seals and burning burnt in the combustion stroke.

My 96 honda accord has been leaking oil for about 6 months. I have just been adding oil til I saved up some money for repair. A friend finally cleaned the entire engine to better see where it was leaking oil. When I took it to the shop the mechanic said I needed a pcv valve because it was clogged and he said I needed a "variable timing pressure valve" that cost $225 (part only)..you could see oil shooting up on the inside hood of car. He quoted me a final price of roughly $380. Plus he had to add several quarts of oil. I have been trying to research that part & price but I cant find it anywhere. He showed me the part and everything..I just don't want to get taken advantage of because I'm a woman. Have you ever heard of a variable timing pressure valve & is that repair price about right?

Is your Accord a EX model?

Are you sure he didn't mention the "Variable Timing Solenoid" b/c that part IS indeed $250, roughly.

EDIT> One frustration of the auto industry is everyone wants to call a part by a different name. Case in point: Check Engine Light. GM calls it an SES (Service Engine Soon light) and some call the "idiot lights", and I'm sure there's more names for it.

Did he meant VTEC solenoid valve? There's no variable timing pressure valve on the 96 Accords. Got a picture of the leaking oil?