Just for clarity, there's 2 seals for the distributor.

First is the O-ring that you can see if you remove the entire distributor from the head. That one is easy to replace, and should be replaced if you remove the distributor form the engine. But if that leaks, it'll drip down the head under the distributor, and not get oil INSIDE the distributor cap.

More complicated is the seal for the spinning distributor shaft inside the distributor. This one leaks oil into the body of the distributor where it can mess with the timing sensors, and eventually drip out from under the distributor cap. Officially that's not replaceable, but people have found seals that work (I don't have personal experience with it).

 

Thanks everyone for your wisdom! I haven't yet gotten the timing belt/water pump or rotor cap wires work done. (btw, regd cost of latter, I am not attempting it given the possibility of distributor leak but I don't think quote I got includes replacing distributor - labor itself around here is $95+/hr and from what I see online distributor housing is expensive).

Main reason for update though is - day after filling up radiator with the coolant, the check engine light went away. I don't think the mechanic turned it off coz only thing he did was hook up to OBD reader. Light came back on today morning - I suppose because yesterday afternoon was the first time I drove for 10-12 miles in one stretch with a/c on since filling up coolant. Some coolant had leaked down on to the garage floor so there is leak somewhere. I had been looking every day for coolant leak but did not see anything at least on floor until today morning even though I drove everyday my usual 1.5 mile per trip last 4-5 days. Is this expected or does this suggest anything as to what might be the problem with cooling system?

The leak appears to be from somewhere under engine - at least the coolant on the floor was from under engine and not from under the radiator . Valve gasket and driver side of engine are dry with neither oil nor coolant. Passenger side of engine there's the leak from under distributor. I don't if all of the oil/fluid that I see there is just from distributor or there is more somewhere.

 

2 things to do, clean it up & get a pressure tester.

Depending on the oil leaking, it's usually helpful to get some degreaser & clean off the existing oil, then you can more easily see where it's actually leaking from. There's also some fluorescent dye you can add to the oil, then the kit has a light or some goggles or something to make the leak really stand out.

For the coolant leak...
Get a pressure tester. Many car-parts-stores have a loaner program where you return the tool & get your money back. The tester has an adapter that fits onto the radiator neck, and a little pump. When you pressurize the system cold, it's easier to find the leak because it doesn't immediately evaporate.

 

Your coolant leak is from the water pump weep hole. This is the signal to you the owner that it's time for replacement. It should be making a puddle on the left side near the inside of the left front tire. Do the timing belt at the same time (Honda's recommendation).

 

Thanks everyone for all your guidance. Finally got all the work done - water pump/timing belt/balancer shaft belt etc, 3x transmission fluid change, cap/rotor wire/spark plugs, distributor o-ring, got the engine detailed so we can see what if anything more is leaking, apparently also needed brake disc/pad replacement. Got the car back today. Will update here if everything is resolved or if any issue still persists. Thanks again!

 

The check engine light came back after ~30 miles of driving. Had the guy who did the work read codes again and still p1486. He pulled 2 wires at back of engine compartment (I guess equivalent of pressing accelerator) to give gas to engine and after a little while fans started running. He had replaced radiator hoses also as well as thermostat, he said he wants to try replacing sensor next. I remember reading about ECU related issue with 2000 Honda Accord LX when CEL resurfaced the first time so searched online again & found https://www.hondaaccordforum.com/for...486-cel-32913/ where @asigler had posted Honda service bulletin about ECU issues causing p1486 to trigger unnecessarily.

Can someone advise where is ECU unit located on a 2000 Honda Accord 2.3L LX? I want to find the part number to see if it matches what is listed in the service bulletin. When I search online, some places they say it's under central console, some others say under carpet on passenger side.

On other issues, transmission seems to be much better - still little jumpy at times but I'm not worrying about it. Warm start issue seemed fine until today lunchtime - engine hesitated little bit before picking up rhythm but hesitation was very momentary unlike before when it took almost a minute to get into the rhythm. Will try Jim's suggestion of Techron - had gotten it but haven't needed to fill gas since my original post - will put it in this weekend and hopefully things will get better.

So for now p1486 is the main issue. Because of that service bulletin and temperature gauge in dashboard always stays just a little under halfway mark after car warms up, I had been ignoring check engine light for last 4 yrs but after discussing with you all seems like I should try to get it fixed as it will hide other problems if any occur. I will also try to pressure test as recommended (although mechanic assured me there are no leaks anywhere now - I haven't seen any leak either in garage or office parking lot) but I want to check for the ECU part number in case that can be a reason.

 

It should be on top of the tunnel in front of the console.

 

On older Accords it's under the carpet in the passenger footwell.

On your 2000 Accord it's buried way forward in the console - forward of the storage bin that's low in the console. IIRC, you can get to it by removing the sides of the console, & getting to it from either side. I don't know where the part# sticker is so don't know which side you should remove. You probably have to remove both sides to actually remove the PCM. Unlike older Accords, it's a combined "powertrain control module" that includes the auto-trans controller.

 

Honda acknowledged that p1486 can be set due to faulty ECU but they refused to help with replacement cost saying it is an advisory and not a recall and they might've considered if I had taken car to dealership when CEL first came on.

Struggle to start still happens when car is warm. I saw 2 threads with same problem -
https://www.hondaaccordforum.com/for...001/#post84750
https://www.hondaaccordforum.com/for...e2/#post282338

As suggested in first one, I tried giving gas when car struggles to get into rhythm and it becomes fine. So it does seem like flooding when warm is the issue and question is whether it is leaky fuel injector as @JimBlake suggested originally or ECT sensor telling ECU engine is cold when it is warm as mentioned in first of the 2 threads above. Given p1486 CEL I was thinking it might be latter. I tried resetting ECU (took out black wire from battery for 30 secs) in hopes that may be computer will re-learn and adjust to the aftermarket sensor.

However struggle to start when warm happened next day itself and CEL came back on in 5 miles (compared to ~20 miles it took to come back on when CEL was reset from OBD scanner). Mechanic who replaced water pump, timing belt, spark plug etc checked everything again replaced all cooling system sensors, he said he checked all wiring and it was all ok so his conclusion regarding CEL was bad ECU. Replacing ECU with part # Honda has in TSB is expensive as lowest price for new is $840 and anything pulled from a junkyard 2000 4-cyl Accord will be older part # and may have same issues.

What else can I try? Is there a correct way to get ECU to re-learn? After hard reset by unplugging battery for 30-sec I just went about my normal routing of drive next morning for 1.5mi/8-min , park for 2 hrs, drive for 1.5mi/8-min, park 45-min, drive 1.5mi/8-min, part 4.5 hr, drive 1.5 mi/8-min - struggle to start happened after the mid-day park for 45-min & CEL came back on during the ride back in evening.

If nothing easy/not expensive then is there any harm is letting things be as they are?Now that I know I can get out of struggle to start when warm by giving gas I think I can get by. Would I be causing damage in longer-term doing this? Or is it better to not put the car thru this routine of 4 trips of 1.5mi/8-min daily and drive the car only on weekends when I'd drive for little longer distance?

fyi Honda SB 01-022 -

 

Lots of material to review back to the beginning of the thread, so I'll just say a couple things...

Did you ever try a bottle of cleaner stuff in the fuel tank? Various people prefer BG-44K or Chevron Techron. That's if the idea of a leaky fuel injector hasn't been ruled out.

The "correct" way to get the PCM to re-learn the idle behavior is in this thread:
https://www.hondaaccordforum.com/for...e-speed-38734/
That procedure came right out of the Helm factory shop manual (I had the 98-02 book). It needs the base idle set correctly, and it "learns" during the period of cold-starting & warming up without touching the accelerator pedal. But if the real problem is a faulty temperature prediction by the PCM, that probably won't fix it.