Rep Power: 0

Hi,

My 2001 civic is drips about 2-3 drops of oil per day. I don't know much about engines and am not sure where to start. Any common issues to check? There are oil patches on my driveway now an would like to prevent it from happening more.

Thanks a lot!

 
Rep Power: 98

Best thing to do is put our head under there and have a look. What side of oil pan is the dripping coming from? Driver's side? Passenger's side? Down the middle?

My Civic is currently leaking also, and I know it is dripping from the crank pulley area. So it could be the crank seal, oil pan gasket, or possibly the oil pump seal.

If you see oil all over, go get a car wash with underbody flush and then check underneath again when it dries.

 
Rep Power: 511

^^^this 100%

Jack up the front, drive it up on ramps, whatever you gotta do to get your head under there to visually inspect. If there's just oil seemingly everywhere, clean it all off pretty good (I personally would wipe down excess, then spray some 409 or simple green and wipe it down some more), then inspect it again a day or so later. Let us know what area it's coming from and maybe we can help locate it. Pics would help, too.

I personally had oil leakage from my valve cover

Also, just for everyone's knowledge, based on post history, OP has a 2001 EX. @FirstCIVIC2001 , I pointed that out because the dx/lx has a physical oil pan gasket, whereas the ex has an RTV gasket. Also, the EX has a few more places oil can be creeping from bc VTEC.

 
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So I cleaned off the area as best I could. Here are the pictures. I'll take after pictures again tomorrow after it has ran for a little while.

 
Rep Power: 98

A bit hard to tell from the pictures, but generally I see oil residue/buildup all over. There definitely seems to be leaking on the driver's side of the oil pan. So that could be the oil pan gasket (RTV gasket for your aluminum pan), crankshaft seal, or possibly the oil pump o-ring.

When you check it again, see how far it goes up the engine. Does the moisture/dripping start at the oil pan? Does it keep going up to the middle of the engine? All the way near the top? It may be easier to find the dry parts of engine and work your way down. That engine is pretty dirty so it may take a while

 
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I discovered a crack on my oil pan gasket at the drain hole, like someone tightened it too hard, and it drips a tad bit of oil.
Might want to check for cracks on the oil pan.

 
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This was the next day.

 
Rep Power: 98

My thoughts:

I believe you have oil AND trans fluid leakage. The oil leaking is most likely from ABOVE the oil pan gasket. That is probably the original HondaBond RTV for the gasket and I doubt it just started leaking (unless the pan cracked). So I would say it may be the oil filter. After all, it is a FRAM!!! Get your hand up there and see if it is loose. Even if it's tight, the rubber gasket may have failed. Do an oil and filter change with a better filter (like Napa Gold or Wix) to start.

As for the trans, I would guess it is leaking from either the axle seals or the banjo bolts on top of the trans. The banjo bolts hold the trans cooler lines to the top of the trans. There are crush washers on either side of the banjo bolts that may wear out over time. All you have to do is follow the rubber hoses coming from the radiator to the top of the trans. Buy four new crush washers from Honda and replace them all. There is a TSB on this repair...I'll try to dig it up.