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First time poster.
I have a 2005 Honda Civic, LX. Have kept up with preventative maintenance. I'm not a mechanic.
At the required interval (120,000 miles or so, I'd have to check) I bought a set of various gaskets and seals from Honda and had them replaced.
I'm at about 140,000 miles now and smelled/noticed a bit of oil on the engine. I hit the engine with Gunk Engine Degreaser to help identify the source of oil leak. Shortly after cleaning it (just running the engine idle) I notice the oil was dripping here (see pics).
Curious what seal this would most likely be? Also, if it might be something I could replace myself or if it's best left to a professional.

 
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could be the cam plug (where the distributor would go on the older engines),
or maybe the valve cover gasket

you can remove that big silencer box and the air intake tube to get a better view. it's like 6 10mm bolts. you can run the engine with it removed, wont hurt anything

 
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I agree looks like engine oil so would check cam plug on side of head. Cost ab $8 from Honda and easy fix.

 
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Cam shaft end plug or cylinder end plug/cap. Part #6 in this diagram:
https://parts.sonshonda.com/showAsse...rimLevel=24777


Honda part #
12513-P72-003


Location shown in photo with arrow.

 
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I wanted to apologize to everyone for not coming back to this thread to thank you for your knowledge.

It most certainly was the cam plug and was an easy fix. Plug was loose to the touch.

I watched a few videos online, some suggested putting some RTV silicone on the O-ring of the new plug, but when questioned, the Honda Service Tech at the parts counter said that was a bad idea. "Just coat it with oil" so that is all that I did.

One small question for the future. Is there a "trick" to removing the old plug? I tried to extract it, carefully, using my fingers and a small flat-head screwdriver. The plug came out, but one of the four little "feet" that hold the plug in snapped (not broke off - thankfully, it was still attached to the plug) but if luck would have gone the other way around... it might have broken off completely (and been lost) inside. That would have been... less than optimal. I'd like to avoid that, if I ever have to do this again.

Thanks again guys.

 
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It's not necessarily bad but if one is not careful it could cause RTV to get into cylinder head. I used some rtv on a worn/flattened cam plug' s rubber seal. I removed the valve cover (replaced gasket) and could visually see the RTV was not oozing out inside. That was six months ago and it hasn't leaked since.

As far as removing the cam plug' those feet become soaked with oil and cycles of heat and cooling cause them to wear and break off easily during removal. Another good reason to remove the end cap with the valve cover off...to spot and remove any broken pieces that may be in the head.

 
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That's a smart idea. Thanks.

 
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I was hoping to avoid the extra step of removing the valve cover, unless absolutely necessary.
Do the dealership service techs remove the valve cover every time they do a cam plug replacement, or only if it breaks during removal?

 
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If a prong snaps off and I can find the piece without removing the valve cover, I'll attempt to remove it.

But if I can't find or remove it, I don't worry about it being left in there either.

 
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That's good to know. I had to remove the valve cover anyway as the valve cover gasket was also leaking.