For a while I know my daughter's car has a small oil leak on the bottom oil pan gasket towards the passenger side. I have to check the oil lvl every month and usually have to add about 1/2 qt. With it getting cold, it seems to be getting a little worse. I used to see a 1" stain on the driveway, now its more like 3".

Is changing the oil pan gasket a challenge? Is the hardest part just removing the exhaust pipe? I have looked at Youtube Videos and none really seem to be detailed enough. I do work on brakes, alternators, radiators, and I have changed oil pans on older car that were rear wheel drives.

My main concern is stripping the bolts that go to the exhaust manifold, or the exhaust pipes. Are there any warnings that I should be aware of? any tricks to get around the exhaust pipe?

 

My first suggestion is to convince yourself that it's really the pan gasket. The leak might be further up and it doesn't pick up dirt & get visible until it runs down to the rim of the pan.

 

Guess I have nothing to lose by looking. Will do that this weekend!

 

4-cyl? There's an oil-pressure switch near the oil filter that can leak thru the middle of the sensor. Cam & balance shaft seals usually leak out the bottom of the timing cover - at the other end of the engine.

Never did a pan gasket what I owned that car, but I suppose the exhaust is the hard part. Also, there's stiffeners bolted to the block & the transmission that get in the way of some of the bolts. Then remove the sheet-metal cover on the bottom of the bellhousing to get the bolts along that end of the pan.

I think the pan doesn't actually have a "gasket" but rather the cast-aluminum pan is sealed with RTV. Shop manual says "Honda-Bond" but that translates into Permatex Ultra-Grey.

 

If I use the RTV, is it easy to screw it up and it leaks? I have done the same concept with water pumps (back in the old days with silicone).

The Honda dealer quoted me $350 do do the job. Not sure if I should take a chance and do it myself and save $330, or just bite the bullet and let them do that.

 

I don't know. The basic idea is real simple, but it IS a pain to get the exhaust bolts loose, especially some place where there's snow, salt, & rust.

Then the other thing is getting the edge of the block & the edge of the pan very clean so there's no oil to interfere with the RTV sticking.

 

Here's what the manual says about installing the pan.

 

Well guys... I feel like a FOOL !!! I learned alot by reading these threads and appreciate the advice.

The oil stain I been seeing on the driveway was NOT from my daughters car. I asked her to move her car to another spot on the driveway and today there was just 1 tiny drop. I asked her if someone else was parking in that other spot the last few days and she said yes. So the leak was from her friend's car! That oil stain is about 4-6 inches in diameter - over the last 3-4 days

Again- apologize for taking eveyone's time, but I hope everyone learns from this thread not to jump to conclusions like I did!

 

Awesome! That's the best "resolved" story that I can ever remember.
(assuming you haven't already dismantled the exhaust & dropped the pan)

If her friend's car is a Honda, then we can look for another new thread about fixing an oil leak.