scott37300

I was changing the ATF the other day and noticed an oil leak coming down the passanger side of the engine, by the crank and other pulleys. So made an appointment and took it in today. They call and say that it's coming from the "front inspection plate" and that they need 3 hours to re seal it. They said I needed to re schedual another appointment to have it done since it's a big job.

Obviously they are going to fix it under warranty but can anyone explain to me what this "front inspection plate" is and where it is located and why it would need to be resealed? Just trying to learn something here incase this happens again after the warranty runs out in 6,000 miles.

Thanks.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

um where exactly is it coming from? are you sure it isnt coming from the trans fluid dipstick? alot of those are so loose that fluid spills everywhere. could be the rear main seal, which does involve alot of work to change.

scott37300

I didn't really look into it to much since it's under warranty. It's not ATF and not coming from the ATF dipstick, that is on the drivers side and this is coming from the passanger side, behind the pulleys for the serpentine belt. The dealer is the one that told me it's coming from the front inspection plate, they are going to fix it. I was just curious to know where this inspection plate was and what it is for?

MindBomber

I'm about to head to class, but if you go to majestichonda you'd be able to get a blown apart diagram of the motor and that would likely lend some insight into the inspection plates function.

I'll try to look it up after class and explain it if not one else beats me to it.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

if its near the belts, its prolly a cam or crank seal. or maybe a cam plug.

scott37300

I don't think the dealer would call a cam or crank seal a "front inspection plate"? This is coming from a dealer, I'm not trying to trace down a leak. It's under warranty so I took it in and let the dealership find the leak, this is where they said they found the leak. Not trying to guess where the leak is, just trying to learn for my own knowledge what the front inspection plate that the dealer is talking about is.

Mindbomber, I tried majestichonda and got to the parts but the only parts under engine assembly were the head and block. Not sure if I'm looking in the right spots or not?

Just for clarafication I'm not trying to find the oil leak, the dealership already found it. I'm just trying to learn for my own knowledge where this is and what it is for? They said inspection plate, what is it to inspect? Also they said they just need to reseal it, assume that means put some RTV or something on the covor so just trying to figure out if this is something that needs to be done every so often or not?

Thanks for any advice.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

well an inspection plate is simply a metal plate that bolts to the engine and usually has an oil seal behind it. sometimes the plate itself is sealed also. the plate is used to "inspect" for leaks. the plate is not the part that leaks, it is the seal thats behind it.

scott37300

Well I figured that much. Figured someone on here might know a little more like where the front inspection plate was and what it is for inspecting on the 1.8L. Thought maybe someone might have had one leak or actually used it for inspecting what ever it is it is for.

I guess I'll just not worry about what it is since the dealer is fixing it, just wanted to learn something.

lazlong

I've seen on some cars where they have a small plate they take off and stick a probe in and it tells whether it's in time or not. I suspect that this is what it is as you have a timing chain which needs lubrication. Look on the timing chain cover for a small plate.

scott37300

Thank you, this sounds like what they may be talking about. What I don't understand is if it's something that needs to be checked or serviced I wouldn't think it would take 3 hours to just re-seal it.

lazlong

lol. Seriously, your lucky it only takes 3 hours. Dealerships are notorious for making you wait forever. That's just the way it is.

scott37300

I don't have a problem with the 3 hours, just going to drop the car off for the day but I just thought that if this was an inspection cover that needed to be checked every so often that it would be a huge job.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

which part of TN are you, scott?

scott37300

What is TN?

MindBomber

I'm fairly certain the part being referred to is either 3 or 5.

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...EFT+SIDE+COVER

scott37300

Thanks for that link mindbomber.

But isn't the left side the drivers side? Looking at the diagram in your link it has an arrow pointing to the front. And the items in the diagram, parking pawl, parking brake, shaft fork, etc I am thinking that is the drivers side of the engine and that is a cover for the trans?

Maybe my description wasn't that good. Here is a picture to try and help.

PerfectionAuto

Front Inspection plate is located directly above the Power Steering Pump. Black Cover approx. 5"L X 3"H with Three Bolts (10mm) securing it to the timing cover. The reason for the Three hour Charge is due to the Drive Belt must be removed to access it. To be more accurate the Job for and experienced mech. should take no longer then 1.5 hrs.. But the dealer compensates for any unforeseen headaches they may run into in their billable hours prior to any service. And yes, they are known to leak under heavy driving (Heavy Foot Driving). I would not recommend RTV sealant due to the heat but any high heat "copper base" would work great. The dealer sells a number of products that can be used. Hope this helps
The Black Cover in the Pic below is the inspection plate. Picture was taken from inside the passenger wheel well.

https://cid-ab794733bc4d3a4f.photos....0194.jpg?ref=2


if they dont show up just email me and i can send them to you directly...

scott37300

Thanks for the reply Perfectionauto. The dealer took care of it under warranty, although it ended up taking them 2 days to fix it! I dropped it off on a Wed night and gave the keys to service writter in an envolope with my name on it. It was supposed to be done Thursday by 530. I show up at 530 and car has snow on it from the night before. I go in and they said they couldn't find my keys and had put them with a different service order. I asked why they didn't even call me, and he said the other service writter was handling my car and he had gone home and he didn't know why they didn't call me. Common sense would say if you can't find the keys you would call me, or at least call to ask what's up since I had a set time. Very disappointed in the local honda dealercrap. A local guy owns 75% of all the dealerships around me, chevy, ford, honda, porsche, volvo, lexus, jaguir, mitshubishi, nissan, and on and on. And I've had pretty bad experience with the chevy dealership and now honda.

Anyway they ended up fixing it on Friday. It was warranty work so no cost. I ended up finding a TSB for this on alldata, my local library has alldata for free so spent a little time looking around and came across a TSB for the front plate. From what I have read this was a problem with honda not sealing these right from the factory, something about the parts being dirty and sealant not being aplied right.

Anyways it's all better according to the dealer. Thanks to everyone for the help, I was just trying to learn what this was for my own knowledge in case I run into this after warranty is up.