wade0731

I've researched the heck out of this topic. I have an oil leak coming from the passenger side. I have changed the oil pan gasket, distributor o-ring, and the valve cover gasket. Still have a decent oil leak and I have to replace a quart about every 10 days.

What are the other common oil leaks it could be on the passenger side?

1997 Honda Civic DX

Colin42

Clean the hell out of the engine with some good degreaser. Sprinkle baby powder or equivalent) all over the engine. Take it for a 10 min drive and then open the hood and take a look, you should be able to see where its coming from.

And with the new parts;
Are they a decent quality part? Were they installed properly?

ezone

That should leave a helluva puddle when you park.

Every rubber gasket is suspect.


Still have the old gasket to look at?

If it's the type with embedded washers, those washers tend to stick to the block and act like little spacers, it will cause a huge leak after you install the new gasket. Check the old gasket and see if any are missing.

wade0731

Yes everything was installed correctly, torqued to spec etc. The old gasket I had scrape off with heat and it took forever to get off so it's no longer around.

Yes a nice puddle is left in the garage lol! I'm just praying it's not the rear main. Don't feel like dropping the tranny. I'm mechanically inclined but don't feel like doing that. Will try the powder trick. Thanks guys.

ezone

Does it leak worse now than it did before you worked on it?

ONE time I removed a transmission because a leak LOOKED like it should have been a rear main....but upon much closer inspection once the trans was out of the way, the seal was dry and the actual leak was caused by one of the little damn washers left over from a pan gasket replacement, it was stuck around one of the pan studs nearest the rear of the crank.

May be worth more checking, because redoing a pan gasket is a whole lot easier than pulling out a transmission just to find out you should have pulled the pan.


PCV valve ok or not?




Word

https://www.civicforums.com/forums/140-fuel-oil-cleaners-other-maintenance/369217-help-leak-after-replacing-oil-pan.html


https://www.civicforums.com/forums/217-mechanical-problems-vehicle-issues-fix-forum/365484-i-changed-my-oil-pan-gasket-now-my-car-leaking-oil-everywhere.html

Wankenstein

Did you put Hondabond or sealant in corners of oil pan gasket?
As Ezone mentioned the rubber grommet the PCV valve fits into or the PCV valve itself (stuck closed) is a possiblity as well.

You can try STP stop leak to slow a main seal leak. I've used it a few times in two 6th gen engines and hasn't caused any issues .. slowed a known rear main seal leak but didn't stop it completely.