I've Sprung a Leak (a slow one)
 

I recently degreased my engine and engine bay, after a few months I went back to take some photographs and noticed a couple areas with very minor leaks. However around this are (see attached images) I noticed a considerably larger amount of oil. Is this where my oil is really leaking? Can anyone tell me if I need to/if its worth trying to fix.

I have barely any oil in my driveway, its more of a "I want my car to be nice and run forever" desire than a mechanical issue. Any advice would be great.

Re: I've Sprung a Leak (a slow one)
 

I'm gonna be honest. I have no idea what part of the engine I'm looking at, and I just spend the last 3 months completely disassembling and reassembling a D17A2 engine, which has a lot of similarities with your D16Y8..

Re: I've Sprung a Leak (a slow one)
 

Looks like a bunch of grime that wasn't completely cleaned the first time. Start over, clean it again, and then inspect to be certain it really is clean. Then drive it a while and recheck it later on.

Make sure there isn't oil inside the dist and cap.

Be ready to replace every rubber seal.

Re: I've Sprung a Leak (a slow one)
 

First things first, after my run this weekend I'll do a deep clean and see if I can't get as much of the grime off as possible. (That being said, any tips for cleaning my entire engine bay to a point where I can start to spot more of these issues etc? A link to another forum topic would be fine if anyone knows of one).

Second, I'm not sure what any of these things are called either. It is directly attached to the main engine block on the passenger side (looking from the front bumper to the left of the engine). It is about midway down but still accessible. Like I said, let me get it clean and I'll try and post a more informed question to try and get some answers.

Re: I've Sprung a Leak (a slow one)
 

Well, the pics in your OP include the end of the cylinder head, the bottom of the distributor, and one of the coolant temperature sensors. The oil looks like it would have come from the distributor base area (uses an O ring seal), valve cover gasket, and maybe the VTEC solenoid if equipped, at some point prior to cleaning because the area that is caked with black grime doesn't have anything that can leak within its immediate area (that's why I thought it looked like leftovers). The areas where that oil should have originated may have been cleaned but there isn't enough showing in the pics to make that judgement.

I'd get it cleaned spotless with whatever method is handy, then spray a white powder (right guard deodorant or bath talc, for example) all over the leak areas and drive it....that powder will highlight any traces where leaks are, makes it easier to pinpoint the source.

Re: I've Sprung a Leak (a slow one)
 

Thanks for the input. This weekend I got everything cleaned up and noticed that the distributor "o-ring" was bad and that my valve cover gasket looked worn. Replaced those and my engine looks brand new...well maybe not quite that nice.

Next is fixing my parking brake that seems to only be tightening one of my rear drums and leaving the other wheel still movable...checking the forum for advice on how to rectify that.

Re: I've Sprung a Leak (a slow one)
 

If both of the handbrake cables are still connected to the lever under the center console, and the manual mechanism in the drum moves freely when pried, then a cable is probably stuck. Car that old, I'd guess cable stuck.

Re: I've Sprung a Leak (a slow one)
 

Car that old?!? 14 years ain't bad. Not that it'll ever be a classic.

Just an update, got everything fixed, clean and prepped. Also ran my first autocross and had a blast, pretty sure my car's angry at me now, but that's alright. Hoping to improve my times in a few weeks and then begin with modifications.