Need Advice on an OLD Accord
 

Hey, folks, I am considering getting a 1987 Accord with 213K miles on it for my teenage daughter's first car. The vehicle is in GREAT shape inside and out. Runs smooth, drives nice. But it has a small oil leak that drips on the exhaust manifold. Not a lot of oil, and doesn't require adding oil between changes, but if driven at highway speeds for a long time, it creates a smell in the cabin.

Anyone familiar enough with that era Accord to know if that's a major problem (rear main, etc) or something more easily fixed, like an oil pan gasket?

Thanks ahead of time!

RE: Need Advice on an OLD Accord
 

Valve cover gasket maybe? I'm not familiar with that model though, but all I could think of in my 4cyl that would cause oil to drip on the EM would be a leaking valve cover. If that is the only problem I think it would be easy to repair yourself. here's what it looks like on my model Accord: http://filtsai.com/accord/valve_cover_gasket/index.php
The one in the picture has a header replacing the EM, but you get the idea;)

RE: Need Advice on an OLD Accord
 

possible p/s hose leaking, I have seen a lot of those, hose runs above exh manifold .....
if car is carburated it will have a lot more issues than an injected car

RE: Need Advice on an OLD Accord
 

I'm not super familiar with that engine layout but is it possible it's just the oil filter not being tightened down or the oil pan?

RE: Need Advice on an OLD Accord
 

Guys, it is a carbeureted engine, not the fuel injected. If that makes this a huge issue, we can look elsewhere.

I can probably do a valve gasket change myself, but she only intends to drive this for 9 months or so, so redoing the rear main isn't something we'd want to take on.

RE: Need Advice on an OLD Accord
 

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RE: Need Advice on an OLD Accord
 

I strongly doubt that it's a rear main leak... and I think deserthonda was basically saying that if it was a leaky PS hose it'd affect you more on a carb car than on Fuel injected. Have you crawled under the car and tried to see where it starts? The three main places I would look is oil pan gasket, valve cover gasket and oil filter

RE: Need Advice on an OLD Accord
 

No, it was dark when I looked at and drove it. We're going back Saturday to look, so I'll crawl under there and see what I can see. Is the P/S hose (power steering?) a tough one to replace?

RE: Need Advice on an OLD Accord
 

It's probably from the oil pan gasket.. It shouldn't be a big of a problem though..Or maybe it can be since the car is pretty old.


P.S. If it is the pan gasket, It won't be too difficult to replace it yourself.

RE: Need Advice on an OLD Accord
 

guys guys ,, if the oil leak drips in the exh manifold it is NOT THE REAR MAIN SEAL OR THE OIL PAN GASKET OR THE OIL FILTER ,, the exh manifold is located in the frt of the engine , the p/s pressure hose which runs from the pump to the p/s rack runs on top of the exh manifold i have seen dozens of those leak at the metal fitting and leak oilon the exh manifold and create a lot of smoke ,,, it couls also be the valve cover gasket which also is above the exh manifold .. 86-89 accords were notorious for p/s pressure hoses leaking
p/s hose makes no difference if it is carb or injected ( just a different part ) it is still routed above the exh manifold

also what i meant ,, on a carb car is that,, carbur cars have more issues with runnability than injected cars do in general.. especially if you reside in a cold winter climate .

to chk out if p/s hose is leaking , just open the hood and run your hand at the metal fitting ,, also chk to see if p/s fluid is low