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Oil still leaking after Cam Plug/VC Gasket replacement

jwc

jwc

Registered Member
Joined
22 May 2002
Messages
36
Location
Santa Barbara
Hi,

Well after replacing both cam plugs and valve cover gasket on the rear head, it appears that a small amount of oil is still leaking onto the rear exhaust manifold heat shield. It appears to be coming from the area that the included photo is pointing to (I borrowed this photo off NSX Prime - it's not a shot of my engine). It's hard to get a good look at it but I believe that this fitting uses an Allen Head drive, and possibly has a rubber O-ring. What is this fitting? Could it be the culprit?

Thanks!

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2941[/COLOR]018180027835782OLFtZX

Looks like the above link has been broken into two parts, neither of which work - please copy and paste the entire link into a new browser window! Sorry!
 
Last edited:
As the Cam Plugs looked oily I thought I would start by replacing them and the VC Gasket, but the Spool Valve Gaskets were also on my list when I first discovered the problem. I'll have to crawl under the car again, but I don't think they are leaking. :rolleyes:

Thanks Brian!
 
The spool valve seals are sealing engine oil pressure, not splash oil like the other gaskets. If the VC gasket does not solve it, it is most likely the spool valve gaskets.

HTH,
LarryB
 
I think thats whats leaking on mine. Hard to see though. I'll have it checked out next oil change. But I have such a minor leak that its never left a drop on the light grey floor of my garage. You can only notice the leak if you look under the car.
 
While mines not leaking on the floor, I do see a oil residue under the spool valves. I'll be changing those gaskets myself in few days.
 
Do you use a small amount of Hondabond or other gasket stuff in the edges of the headcover gasket?

Sorry forget about my question as I say your arrow: VTEC gasket (two of them)
 
Hi again! Does anyone know what this fitting is that the three arrows in the photo are pointing to? IT is what appears to be (still) leaking. It has an Allen Head drive. I crawled under the car yesterday and it doesn't appear to be the spool valve gaskets that are leaking. Oil is now dripping on the garage floor after I drive the car. It's leaking onto the exhaust so it seems worse than it actually is. I'll try tightening the fitting this weekend. It's hard to get to so I'll have to remove some stuff just to get my hand down there. Is there any type of sealant that I can put on the bolt if I remove it? By the way, the Cam Plugs and VC Gasket that I put in aren't leaking. Thanks all!

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2525923140027835782BzwOLu
 
I beleive this is the port for checking VTEC oil pressure. I would find it very hard to beleive that is leaking. I would find it very easy to beleive it looks like that is leaking:). The oil always ends up on the end of that little allen head screw, but it has always been the spool valve that is leaking from my experience.

HTH,
LarryB
 
Do the foot powder leak check test and find out where the leak is coming from.
Listen to Larry!

Cheers nigel
 
Back again! This oil leak is really getting old!!!! I don't drive the car very much (partly because of the oil leak), and I don't live anywhere near a mechanic I know of to work on the car and have felt all along that I could fix it myself. Well, now that I've replaced the Cam Plugs, the Valve Cover Gasket, and the Spool Valve Gasket, and it still leaks, I'm getting pretty fed up with it. The Devil's Advocate in me is wondering if it's possible that there's a small crack in the head - ouch, that sounds expensive! Has anyone heard of this? The leak seems to be a little worse now than it was seven months ago when I first noticed it. I bought the car in Florida, drove it 2,800 miles home to Santa Barbara, with no problems, and noticed the oil leak (hard to miss with the smoke pouring off the exhaust), about two weeks AFTER I got home. No signs of a leak en route.

I've yet to try Nigel's suggestion doing the foot powder test - it's such a hard area to get at and clean, etc. Even though I replaced the VC Gasket I realize that it's possibly the culprit. I made pretty sure that I installed it correctly, but who knows. The possibility of a cracked head worries me! The Spool Valve pressure test fitting still makes me suspicious as that's where the oil seems to gather. I tried tightening it, but it didn't move (was VERY hard to get to).
:frown:
John C.
 
mine use to have blue smoke coming from it, i believe i changed out the VTEC solenoid gaskets, both sets. The blue was no more, but i'm not done fixing the leakers quite yet.
 
John,
Have you tried changing the VTEC gaskets? Mine has a little leak. Just haven't had time to change it. If you don't want to change it, try to put some type of sealant gasket bond on the gasket and let it dry. I never noticed any "blue" smoke? I did notice a slight oil smell when it's hot. However, it's not a big leak as my oil level has not dropped.
 
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NSX GT said:
John,
Have you tried changing the VTEC gaskets? Mine has a little leak. Just haven't had time to change it. If you don't want to change it, try to put some type of sealant gasket bond on the gasket and let it dry. I never noticed any "blue" smoke? I did notice a slight oil smell when it's hot. However, it's not a big leak as my oil level has not dropped.
Click to expand...
+1, I've actually got the seals but have been lazy to replace them although their just seeping, oil seepage drives me nuts.
 
I'm not sure where the oil PSI sending unit is but thats a good place to check since theres pressure on it at all times.
 
Something that you might want to try it to clean the entire area around where the oil is present and then run the car for about 5 minutes, at idle, and then look for the source of the leak after it cools down. Maybe even throw some of Nigels foot powder on it. I think that they even make a spray foot powder too. That would be a lot easier than the regular type.

Brad
 
Hi there, one year ago i was where you are now. I have done everything to stop the oil leak. Nothing worked for me. At the end there was coming a lot of smoke out of my engine bay. The smell was terrible and i was the joke of the day. Would yoy believe that i had sleepless nights over it? Finally i saw no other option then to sell my car. I just want to say, prepare for a big surch.
I wisch you good luck and a long breath.
Gijs
 
One more thing. The smoke coming from the engine bay after I drive the car is worse when I park the car on a hill where the front of the car is higher than the rear. There is very little smoke when the tail is higher. It seems as if the oil pools in the back of the Valve Cover and perhaps leaks from there? Maybe the Valve Cover has a crack in it?

Does anyone have any thoughts or bad experience with the head being cracked, possibly around the Spool Valve/VTEC solenoid pressure test fitting? Very frustrating!
:frown:
John C.
 
jwc said:
Does anyone have any thoughts or bad experience with the head being cracked, possibly around the Spool Valve/VTEC solenoid pressure test fitting? Very frustrating!
:frown:
John C.
Click to expand...

I have no first hand experience with this, but I would doubt the head would have a crack, unless there had been a catastrophic overheating situation. It's more likely that a gasket or seal is failing, which could result if it was installed wrong, or the mating surfaces were less than ideal.

I wouldn't throw in the towel just yet. Jack up the car on jack stands, degrease the engine thoroughly with simple green or some other degreasing product and pressurized water, if available, avoiding the electrical items. Then get the engine dry and try the spray foot powder to narrow down exactly where the leak is coming from. Until you determine that, you're just guessing in the dark about the cause.
 
Another good way to dx where oil is leaking from is to use ultraviolet dye and a black light. You can buy a kit from many auto parts stores. First, clean up the suspected area, pour a small am't of dye into your oil, and drive the car for a bit. Next, shine the black light around the engine and the leaking oil will glow and jump out like a sore thumb. If you do it in a dark garage, or at night, the effect will be magnified even more. You can miss doing this way.
 
When I use the dye I fire it up and start looking right away. I don't think I've ever had to wait more than 15 minutes for the color to pinpoint the source. Otherwise, yeah, the dye gets all over the place and all it tells you is that you have a leak.
 

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