Rep Power: 0

Hello, I have a 2000 Honda Civic EX with 233,xxx miles. Just got the rear main seal done not too long ago (2 months?) and it was done by a shop owned by a guy who only works on Hondas. The leaks I had before are completely gone and the under area of my car had been spotless. But yesterday my lower heater hose decided to split open and so as I was replacing that I noticed a new leak coming off my oil pan. When I looked past it, it seems to be coming from the pulleys? It's black liquid but its thin. My power steering fluid looks dark in the reservoir but on my finger it's clear with a light brown tint. My timing belt was changed along with the head gasket about 2 years ago. I don't know where the leak is coming from exactly. Any ideas? Also, the oil pan gasket was replaced but the guy I got to do that used gasket maker for that and it looks like crap.

 
Rep Power: 518

Is it losing oil faster than you can add it? At that kind of mileage, I expect to see leaks. All rubber seals are suspect first.

Any leaks within the timing cover areas should end up coming out where you see the drip, which would mean getting the timing covers off to see where the leak starts. Cam seal, front crank seal, oil pump gaskets, valve cover? IDK.

Might be some of the oil pan seal job too, there's a mess all over the front. Hard to tell one from the other. Parts catalog shows a gasket for the pan.

 
Rep Power: 0

I checked the color of the oil on the dip stick and its still pretty fresh looking. It's not black. So kinda confused about what I'm seeing on the bottom of the oil pan and around it. It doesn't appear to be leaking majorly. It isn't leaving spots on the ground yet. There are some lines of it leading from the belt area flowing down the bottom of the pan. I was thinking the drain plug was loose but its dry there.

I looked at the paperwork for the head gasket job and saw intake gaskets and some other stuff replaced but none of the seals you mentioned. Those wouldn't be included in the head gasket/timing belt job? Just asking cause I don't know much about that.

Is it easy to take the timing covers off? I have the factory service manual for it just don't know how hard it is to get a better look. I do eventually want to get a real gasket on the oil pan, I don't like the gasket stuff that's on there now.

 
Rep Power: 518

The drip pictured in the first post was engine oil.

Variable answers.......so...It depends®

Not in a plain simple straightforward job, no.

They would be extra, along with additional charges for labor and parts. It's extra work to replace the seals.

Unless otherwise stated on the original estimate. Or sold during the work, once noticed upon disassembly.

These answers also depend on who is doing the work too. Some people might just include the seals automatically with every timing belt job, others don't. It's extra work to replace the seals.

A head gasket kit may or may not include a cam seal. It's extra work to replace the seal if the head does not need to be stripped apart for machining.

You not only have gravity working down there, there is also a lot of wind that blows stuff all over while you are at speed.

For me, it's a walk in the park.
I have no idea of your tooling and abilities.

Look up how to do a timing belt job in the manual and then decide.

 
Rep Power: 518

No, it isn't major yet.--- As long as the timing belt isn't getting wet.

 
Rep Power: 0

The timing job was done on 3/6/11 and included:
Timing belt
Water pump
Cam seal
Crank seal
Alt./AC/PS belts
Valve cover gasket
AC Tensioner
Honda OEM antifreeze
(2 used timing covers (others were melted from overheating))
(1 used cam pulley)
I think the parts were all OEM parts. The part numbers are written down.

The head gasket job was done on 6/2/11
The parts include:
Head gasket
Intake gasket
Exhaust gasket
Head bolts
Dowel pins
VTEC Spool valve gasket
Spark plugs
Oil filter
Honda antifreeze
Thermostat
Temp. Sending unit
(Also, resurface and pressure check cylinder head and adjust valves, oil change)
This was done by the guy who works on Hondas. The company is called Dr. Honda.

I have never done more than replace hoses and tune ups on my car along with oil changes. That's it. I usually get mechanics to do the other stuff because i only have knowledge auto body. Also don't have many special tools or an air compressor at this moment so I think trying to find the leak under the timing covers might be beyond my experience.

 
Rep Power: 518

Well, if most reputable shops would give a 12/12 warranty, you are beyond that. Looks like all the stuff I thought of was replaced, but that doesn't mean much now, at least not until the source of the leak is determined.

It's a small leak that doesn't leak fast enough to leave a puddle.
I guess you have to ask yourself, "Is it worth it?"
Can it wait until the next timing belt service?

 
Rep Power: 0

It might have to. I was worried though about what you mentioned earlier, about the timing belt getting wet. The warranty was 12,000 miles or 12 months. Guess I'll have to keep an eye on it for now. Thanks for all the info!

 
Rep Power: 518

You can pull the valve cover and the top timing cover pretty easy to inspect the timing belt, even if you can't get the rest of it apart to actually locate the leak.

I kinda doubt it has oil on it.