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1) I have a significant oil leak that appears to be coming from the oil pan and/or crank shaft seal.
2) I have (twice) tried to replace the oil pan and it has not helped (I used UV dye).
3) I am thinking I may need to rebuild the engine (kinda looking forward to the challenge!) here are the relevant points:
3.1) I have done timing belts before and head gasket replacement. So I feel like this is a challenge within my grasp. Does anyone disagree?
3.2) If I do this, are there any other maint. items I should do to take advantage of the opportunity? For example, Is there some type of seal around the transmission that I could replace (this is an automatic).
3.3) I would like to replace the piston rings and bearings. Any thoughts?
3.4) I want to actually take the block out and scrub the mating surface between the oil pan and the engine. I want to do this for two reasons: I need more room to get two threaded studs out and replace them. And I want more room to clean the surface and get any gasket adhesive off. Any thoughts?
I purchased this car new and have taken wonderful care of it. I would hate to give this car up.
ok, this is rally helpful. The leak appears to be coming from between the oil pan gasket and engine block where the meet the crank shaft.
ok, so if I do this, So far I have on my list to replace:
Rear main seal
oil pump seal
piston rings
piston bearings
Crank Shaft seal
What other items should I do beside these? What about transmission seals etc?
Also, in terms of getting the engine out, do I take it out from the top or from under? Can I rent the lift from autozone?
How many miles does your Civic have? Unless it's 400k+, you're likely not going to need piston rings and rod bearings replaced. If it were me I'd be fixing the oil leak and letting the rest go.
If it's the oil pump seal it would be leaking from the area circled in red in the below pic. It would then run down the block and look like an oil pan leak. You can clean this area really well then monitor. Some people put flour down to help pinpoint. You can see that area is a shinier color from the leaking oil, the oil pan gasket is also shiny with oil from the above leak.
Here is where the oil seal is. This is looking at the oil pump from the engine side. The red circled above is this same area.
ok, this is really, really helpful. Thank you! The car has about 210k miles. pulling the engine out is overkill. Here is what I was thinking (please give advice!): The car is only worth about $1000 max as is. once I mention the bad oil leak I will prob get $500 However, if I take the engine out fix all of this stuff, that experience is worth thousands of dollars in terms of my ability to fix my cars. So I was doing it mainly to learn and grow. Also, I would love to drive this car for many more years. I am the original owner. not a hint of rest anywhere. and let's say I pull everything out and I still can't fix it, what have I lost?
naturally, change timing belt (depending on how long it was the last) expect them to be close by each 100k miles. Water pump... mine looked pristine at 90k, changed anyway
check also harmonic balancer, the rubber there tends to crack and separate.
really, anything that is hard to reach when the engine is in
This is really helpful. Thank you! I already did the timing belt service not too long ago. What about the transmission solenoid seal?
what is the best lift for pulling out the engine? Can I rent it at an auto parts store?
Here is my list so far, if you think of anything let me know:
rubber around the harmonic balancer
transmission front pump to converter seal
Rear main seal
oil pump seal
piston rings
piston bearings
Crank Shaft seal
trans main seal.
clean EGR, PCV
I have the Harbor Freight 2 ton engine lift, works perfectly. No idea if Autozone has one for rent. I have also dropped an engine out the bottom using floor jacks, but that was a pain.
Rubber around the harmonic balancer would just be the entire harmonic balancer. I've never seen a bad one though.
Valve cover gasket and spark plug tube seals should be replaced.
When I did my head gasket recently, I replaced the inner tie rod ends since there is plenty of room to do so while everything is out. It looks difficult to get to with everything installed. But in truth, the tie rods I pulled out (original at 153K miles) were still in good shape.
Thanks again for the help and advice. Ok, here are the facts:
1) I put new oil in and put uv dye in too (that is why the oil in the pcs has a yellow tint).
2) I looked all around the oil pan and there is no oil with UV dye. So that is fixed.
3) I only saw it in two places. first photo is crank shaft. the second one has me stumped.
ok, I took everything apart. using UV glasses the oil leak appears to be coming from the oil pan gasket around the crank shaft.
one other problem i am having is that some bolts when I torque them down snapped. this has happened three times. I am using high quality 10.9 dorman bolts.
1) I torqued them because there were torque specs.
2) I think I torqued them to about 25 lb/ft
3) Now I have a new problem. while tightening one of the bolts snapped. it snapped at the base of the engine block so there is no remnant of the bolt for me to grab onto. I tried an EZ out bit to remove it and it did nothing.
Any suggestions?
This is really discouraging. I purchased this thing new and have taken really good care of it for 20 years. Now I may have to scrap it over a 5 cent bolt.
If you think a good mechanic is expensive, try hiring a bad one
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Re: Civic 02LX SOHC Automatic Oil leak
it snapped at the base of the engine block so there is no remnant of the bolt for me to grab onto. I tried an EZ out bit to remove it and it did nothing.
Left-hand drill bits might walk out the broken stub
ok, the only way (that I can think of) to get the broken bolt out is take it to a machine shop. I need to take the engine apart then pull the block out. here are my questions:
1) How heavy is just the block? do I need to rent a hoist?
2) is this within my ability? I have changed timing belts with no problem and many other items on various cars. as i look at youtube videos it seems pretty straight fwd.
"Marge, anyone could miss Canada! All tucked away down there."
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From: Barrie, ON Canada
Rep Power: 222
Re: Civic 02LX SOHC Automatic Oil leak
Rather than doing all that, a tow and an hour of labour at a repair shop is probably way cheaper.
or a mobile mechanic with a welder that can weld a nut on the broken bolt and get it out that way if drilling isn't an option
ok, so I gave it one last try. I tried to drill it out. it was not successful. I actually drilled a small hole*BESIDE* the bolt I was trying to get out. The hole not in the space between the bolt and the engine. The hole is on the "outside" if you are under the care looking up with your feet pointed toward the front and head pointed at the trunk the hole would be to the left of the bolt.
is the engine ruined now?
What would you guys suggest doing next?
"Marge, anyone could miss Canada! All tucked away down there."
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From: Barrie, ON Canada
Rep Power: 222
Re: Civic 02LX SOHC Automatic Oil leak
How big of a hole? As long as it's not into an oil or coolant passage the engine will be ok.
I think this is still your best option.
Originally Posted by Colin42
Rather than doing all that, a tow and an hour of labour at a repair shop is probably way cheaper.
or a mobile mechanic with a welder that can weld a nut on the broken bolt and get it out that way if drilling isn't an option
Thanks for the quick reply. my only concern is that my drill bit rubbed up right next to the bolt as i was drilling through. Thus, if I take it to a machine shop and the get the bolt out, the whole will be too big.
Also, I have been looking on youtube at taking out the engine. although it is alot of work, it does not seem too hard. If I put in the time I think I could do it.
"Marge, anyone could miss Canada! All tucked away down there."
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 9,636
Likes: 1,283
From: Barrie, ON Canada
Rep Power: 222
Re: Civic 02LX SOHC Automatic Oil leak
Post a picture of the broken bolt and the hole.
I don't understand why you think you need to take the engine out and bring it to a machine shop.
Just get the car towed to a regular mechanic shop, they have the ability to remove broken bolts.
thanks for the reply. I called the best mechanic in town and they said it could be really expensive to get the bolt out.
do you think i could get away with leaving that bolt out if I used alot of hondabond?
I can understand that to repair this properly, having the engine block out and flipped upside down with nothing in the way would be WAY easier. However, that's a hell of a lot of work for one threaded hole.
If the hole isn't on a corner, i think you could get away with smearing a SMALL amount of RTV in the area that won't be clamped down because of the broken bolt/stud. If you put too much on, it could make the gasket surface too uneven and allow for leaks. I believe the clamping force of the surrounding fasteners along with properly applied RTV sealant in that one area might just be ok.
However, now that you've done some drilling you'll have to ensure that the sealing surfaces are still flat. Make sure there aren't any burrs or roughness that will allow for oil leakage.
