95 Accord 4-cylinder VTEC

Recently, I have been losing oil in a strange place. It is the rear of the head in a small little pocket near the VTEC solenoid gasket directly in front of the of the EGR solenoid. From there it flows down the rear of the block mostly on the right side of the block. I have replaced the VTEC solenoid gasket twice just to rule it out. VTEC solenoid is bone dry. Distributor is bone dry underneath and around the distributor. The distributor inner and outer seal isn't leaking due to replace one year ago. Valve cover and gasket doesn't leak and is bone dry. I ran some dye in the oil and it verified it isn't coming from the valve cover gasket, or the VTEC solenoid, just the little pocket. Car runs perfectly fine as always. Valve cover and VTEC solenoid have been torqued to spec with no leaks.

Seals replaced in the last year, all OEM parts:

-VTEC solenoid gasket and ring
-Valve cover gasket

I know someone will ask, but my valve cover is black, so it's not a extreme leak flowing down.

Here is a Youtube link: Mysterious oil leak Accord 95 VTEC - YouTube

 

How about the VTEC spool valve bolted against the head? There's a gasket there too.

 

Would that be both #21's in the diagram?

http://www.hondapartsnow.com/diagram...d-2-461723.png

I replaced 10 and 12.

 

I was talking about #10, so you replaced that. But #21 might be leaking...?

Another strange leak path might be underneath the last camshaft bearing cap. Where it bolts down to the head, it's supposed to have sealant so oil doesn't leak thru that split-line. Not sure if I'm picturing the location correctly; whether that cam cap is a plausible place to leak out & puddle where you see it.

 

Looks to me that the oil is coming from all the way at the top of the valve cover where the valve cover nut is. The entire side of the valve cover looks wet in that area to me.

 

@exv6nighthawk the valve cover is completely dry and so are the bolts. When I ran dye through the oil, the leak in the pictures was the only place where there was oil and dye

@jimblake would you have a picture of what you are referring to?

 

In your parts diagram, the camshaft bearing caps don't have their own numbers, but the one I'm talking about is all the way to the left. Bolted down with #16 & #20.

Half of that cap is inside & half is outside the valve cover. You're supposed to use sealant under that. If not, oil can seep through & come out very close to the area where the distributor bolts on.

If you haven't ever removed the camshaft bearings, then this is less likely than the other suggestions.

 

I solved my issue. First, thanks for everyone's advice. It was the operation of the PVC valve. I cleaned off the area in the picture I posted, added dye, and drove around about 20 miles and noticed that the actual leak wasn't in the spot in the picture and video. Came back and saw some oil leaking very little around the rear of the valve cover gasket. So I started thinking what could I have missed or why would it be leaking, considering I used a OEM gasket. Then I read this article:

AGCO Automotive Repair Service - Baton Rouge, LA - Detailed Auto Topics - What are the Symptoms of a Bad PCV Valve

Went and replaced the valve and came back to the garage after driving about 20 miles. No more leaks around the valve cover gasket. Looked at my records and I haven't replaced the valve since 2010 and now I will replace it every 30,000 miles. Before, I was smelling oil in the cabin. Drove to work this morning, no scent of oil. I think this is a very overlooked replacement item.

 

Good!
The PCV valve controls the pressure in the crankcase. If that valve is clogged with sludge, or obstructed for some reason, the pressure inside the crankcase will be higher. Maybe just high enough to start leaking at gaskets that were not designed for the higher pressure.

I've seen others here suggest the PCV valve when there's oil leaking. So I should've asked at the beginning whether that was OK.

 

It's fine, just glad I got this resolved.