Engine oil leak

DoWhat

DoWhat

Deplorable
PREMO Member
Oil leak, that I can't find (probably a head gasket).
It is getting on the manifold and it stinks.
I looked all over and cant find it.

So, I'm thinking off using some kind of engine stop leak.
It is a 1996 Honda Accord with about 180K. Don't want to spend the $$$$ for a shop repair.

Any recommendations on a product to temp fix the problem and get some more miles out of it?
 
Bird Dog

Bird Dog

Bird Dog
PREMO Member
DoWhat said:
Oil leak, that I can't find (probably a head gasket).
It is getting on the manifold and it stinks.
I looked all over and cant find it.

So, I'm thinking off using some kind of engine stop leak.
It is a 1996 Honda Accord with about 180K. Don't want to spend the $$$$ for a shop repair.

Any recommendations on a product to temp fix the problem and get some more miles out of it?
Click to expand...

Probably just valve cover gaskets. Easy to fix yourself and not expensive at the shop.
 
aps45819

aps45819

24/7 Single Dad
DoWhat said:
Aps, has anyone ever told you that you are a smart man?
Click to expand...

:lol: Have the same problem on my Subaru. Every now and then you get the smell of overcooked oil. Can't find a leak and it doesn't lose enough to need additional oil between changes.

When I smell it I push the "recirculate" button :shrug:
 
Sula

Sula

WDF. So worth the wait.
359,600 miles on my 96 Accord and only just started leaking anti-freeze in a mystery area I can't find.
 
RPMDAD

RPMDAD

Well-Known Member
DoWhat said:
Oil leak, that I can't find (probably a head gasket).
It is getting on the manifold and it stinks.
I looked all over and cant find it.

So, I'm thinking off using some kind of engine stop leak.
It is a 1996 Honda Accord with about 180K. Don't want to spend the $$$$ for a shop repair.

Any recommendations on a product to temp fix the problem and get some more miles out of it?
Click to expand...

DW, may be at least worth taking it to a shop and have them troubleshoot it and tell you exactly what is wrong and give you an estimate, you can always tell them not to do the work. Blew 3 head gaskets in my old toyota 4x4 pick up truck and had to get it towed every time, but i had it for 19 years and put 320,000 miles on it. Has the Honda ever overheated?? That was always the trigger for my toyota blowing the head gasket. Gasket didn't blow right when the truck overheated but not long afterwards. Yours may not be a blown head gasket, may be something else.
 
DoWhat

DoWhat

Deplorable
PREMO Member
Sula said:
359,600 miles on my 96 Accord and only just started leaking anti-freeze in a mystery area I can't find.
Click to expand...

Pull out the oil dip stick. If it looks like chocolate milk, you have a slight problem.
 
DoWhat

DoWhat

Deplorable
PREMO Member
RPMDAD said:
DW, may be at least worth taking it to a shop and have them troubleshoot it and tell you exactly what is wrong and give you an estimate, you can always tell them not to do the work. Blew 3 head gaskets in my old toyota 4x4 pick up truck and had to get it towed every time, but i had it for 19 years and put 320,000 miles on it. Has the Honda ever overheated?? That was always the trigger for my toyota blowing the head gasket. Gasket didn't blow right when the truck overheated but not long afterwards. Yours may not be a blown head gasket, may be something else.
Click to expand...

Will look into it.
Thank You.
 
Gilligan

Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
Chris0nllyn said:
If you can smell is burning, it's the valve cover gaskets.

No oil passes along the head gasket anyway.
Click to expand...

That is not true on many of the overhead cam engines (and I've seen and fixed what happens when the head gasket is installed wrong, starving the camshaft bearings for oil:whistle:). Further...many of those ohd cam engines have o-ringed cast aluminum cam covers.

Its not that uncommon to have oil start leaking where the cam drive end is sealed..behind the timing belt. That said..a lot of the overhead cam engines now use wet chain instead of dry timing belts and that leak source was removed.
 
huntr1

huntr1

.
I've got an oil leak on my VW. Same thing. Don't know if a VC got bent or what, but the VC gasket has been replaced 3 times, timing belt has been done, Cam Actuators have been changed. I am done chasing it. Going through 1 quart every 1200 miles.
 
DoWhat

DoWhat

Deplorable
PREMO Member
Finally got around and got the car up on ramps.
It looked like the leak was coming from the oil filter. I checked the filter and it was tight. Oil has a very slow leak getting on the exhaust.

So I changed the filter to make sure it was sealed properly , and I also added about 1/2 quart of stop leak.

How long does it take for this stop leak stuff to take effect?
 
FireBrand

FireBrand

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You say that the leak is a little bit higher up but one time I had a vibration damper on the front of the crank come apart and the outer ring slid it's way back and started chewing away at the timing chain cover. Slow but steady leak and had I not caught it in time it would have been a timing chain catastrophe.
78 Firebird - had lots of room to change it out.
 
DoWhat

DoWhat

Deplorable
PREMO Member
DoWhat;4926597 So I changed the filter to make sure it was sealed properly said:
FireBrand said:
You say that the leak is a little bit higher up
Click to expand...
Still leaking.

I took a towel and jammed it above the filter. Car ran for 30 min. at 1800 rpms.
No leaks on the exhaust. I can't see above the oil filter to see where it is coming from.
I goggled for an IPB on a 1996 Honda V6 Engine, but so far no luck.
Click to expand...
 
corollinout

corollinout

Member
Check the PCV valve. If there is not enough of a vacuum on it, the pressure in the engine will cause the oil to find a way out.
 
corollinout

corollinout

Member
Sula said:
359,600 miles on my 96 Accord and only just started leaking anti-freeze in a mystery area I can't find.
Click to expand...

Water pump? My old Accord had a bad one and would dump the water out almost daily. I would keep a gallon of water in the trunk at all times. Never saw the leak but replaced the water pump and it was good.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top