It appears that I have a rear main seal leak ( crankshaft seal) leak. I drive around 500 miles/week so I tend to change the oil fairly quickly. One dealed told me that I have a rear main seal leak( $900) to fix and another dealr told me I have a *Major* rear main seal leak ( $800 to fix). I have not calculated the lost oil to the last drop , but I tend to loose about 3/4 or a quart every 3000 miles. My question is what is the definition of a "Major rear seal leak"? Should I jut let it leak until it is time to replace the clutch plate, or is this thing needs to be fixed right away to deter further damage?
I only see a 1 or two drops of oil after I park the car coming from work, so I assume the leak is not that bad, but some people may say a leak is a leak!
Lastly, can I take to an independent shop other that the dealer to this job if I decide to fix it?


Thanks for any information or suggestions regarding this issue,

 

The shop doesn't have to be a dealership, but should be Honda Certified. A major leak loses all of your fluid in a day or so, so a quart in 3000 miles isn't major. You do have to get it fixed though, don't wait.

 

A "Major" leak is in the eye of the beholder. So you need to add a quart every 3000 or 4000 miles. If you were looking for a warranty fix for an engine that BURNED that much oil, I bet the dealer would tell you that's acceptable.

Keep an eye on your oil level (as you probably are). Sometimes a leak gets bigger & takes you by surprise.

I would probably try to wait until you need a clutch, like you said. But if you reach a leak-rate where you want to fix it, then go ahead & do the clutch too.

There's lots of non-dealer shops that know how to work on Hondas. If we knew where you're located, maybe someone around here might make a recommendation.

 

I am sure by now this is a rear main seal leak, but just to make sure I have given you all the details about this problem. Now if I am at a red light and the heat vent is on High , I can smell burning oil. This is not a very strong smell , but I can still smell it.
You may ask, so why are you telling us this? just wanted to know if this seal leak can cause smell escaping from the engine to the car cabin? Is there a front main seal that could be leaking? My mechanical knowledge about cars is fairly limited, so I'd like to ask if there are other seals that could be leaking on this engine.
I heard from some people that a 'rear main seal' leak on this type of engine os very rare, is it true?

Here is whet I have changed on the car so far: oil pan gasket and valve cover gasket ( both done at the dealer 2 yrs ago, although they are telling me the oil pan gasket is leaking again!)

The clutch seems ok at 135K miles, so assuming I do mainly highway driving, how much life is left in it? so you said to do the clutch job when they fix the leak because the labor would be the same?

I live in 'expensive' Northern Virginia, so any reputable shop you can recommend is hightly appreciated.

Thanks for your comments, they are very helpful.

-Mott

 

If you have a place to work on it, all you need is some tools, some stands and a decent jack, and a buddy to help. Drop the tranny using the instructions in the manual that you can download here. Unbolt the clutch and replace the seal yourself. Then install a new clutch and throwout bearing while you are it at. If you are at all mechanically inclined it will take somewhere between 2 and 5 hours depending on how mechanical you are and how many breaks you take.

 

Unfortunately I am not mechanically inclined enough to do that kind of job. If you can recommend anyone in the northern virginia area, that would be a plus.

Nice to see your Accord is at 210K, hope mine could do the same!

-Mott

 

I don't live near there so I can't really help with a shop....

Lifespan of a clutch depends way WAY too much on driving habits, hilly neighborhood, phases of the moon, driver skillz, whatever. It's REALshaky for anyone (at a distance)to say it should last XXX miles. Some people can burn up a clutch in 50k miles.

There IS a front main seal. It would leak out below the crankshaft pulley which is the lowest pulley of all the external drive belts. This might look like a leaky oilpan gasket??

 

Look at #7 in this breakdown, it is also a known leaker in 98+ Accords; the rear main is mounted in it and it is mounted to the rear of the block with a silicone type sealant.
I've seen as many of these seeping oil as rear mains at the mileage you have on your car.
Unfortunatly you won't know if it is the actual leak until the trans is pulled off.

 

you've had 7 leaking before? i've only had 30(the seal).

 

Thanks 'hondadude' for the diagram, and Thanks for clarifying the rear oil main seal leak is somewhat a common problem for this type of engine. Someone (not on this forum) told me that type of leak is rare on that type of engine. The leak is not that bad right now but I don't want it to get worse because I was told if the oil gets on the flywheel, that may cause the clutch disc to start slipping. Or it may damege the clutch disk/pressure plate/ flyywheel combination ( I am not sure if this type of leak will cause any damage to the clutch, but I'm just going by what I heard).
The only nuissance now is the smell of burning oil which I don't know where it is coming from. Could the leak /seep of oil get on the xhost system? I even smell it if I turn the heat to high inside the cabin (not a very strong smell though).

Does everyone agree here that If I am gonna fix the leak, then should I replace the clutch while everything is open?
Is the leak going to get worse and worse where I'll ebd up loosing too much oil in the engine? Can I wait another 40K miles?

I just wanted to say That I am greatly thankful to all of your comments and suggestions. This is such a great forum and you guys reall know your stuff. I really learned a lot from this post.

-Mott