Hey all,



I've had my accord for almost two years now, and have had nothing but problems with my engine leaking oil. After a few months of owning it, I had the head gasket replaced at a Honda dealership (which my dad paid for). I just recently replaced my valvue cover gasket because my dad and I figured the new oil leak, which appeared to be coming from the distributor cap end of the engine as well as leaking into where the spark plug boot is located, was the root of the problem. After figuring my leak was fixed, I changed my oil and didnt check the levels for roughly 4000 miles. MISTAKE... I ran my engine dry, going about 85 mph on my way to a ski resort. I was forced to drive roughly 30 miles unitl I was able to fill it back up with oil. Now, my car seems to be burning a quart of oil in < 1000 miles. What can I do at this point with the engine?

***I apologize for my limited knowledge with cars... Any help would be appreciated

 

Slow down, change oil regularly, and buy oil at walmart. It may run another hundred thousand miles.

Leaks from the distributor (lower drain port) are the result of inner shaft seal bypassing oil. Only fix is to replace the distributor w/o major surgery on the distributor, which unless you diy will exceed cost of new distributor.

Oil leaks on Honda 4-cyl. leaks are not uncommon but are easily fixed.

good luck

 

You will need to find the source(s) of the oil leak and fix them.

Is there oil inside of the distributor cap? If there is, then TexasHonda is correct. You can change the rubber grommet or swap out the distributor. If oil is coming out of where the distributor meets the engine block, then you can replace the o-ring and that is a simple DIY project.

Did replacing the valve cover gasket stop the oil from leaking into the spark plug tubes?

Other common sources of an oil leak are the oil drain plug, oil pan gasket, the oil filter (old gasket sticking to the engine block), and the oil sending unit. The oil seals behind the timing belt should have been inspected and/or changed when the timing belt is replaced. Not sure if the dealership changed the timing belt when you had the head gasket replaced.

Get some engine degreaser and clean as much oil off as possible from around the engine. Then keep a close eye on where the oil is leaking from.

Until you get the oil leaks solved, check the at least once a week. Also buy a couple of quarts of oil and keep them in your trunk in case the oil pressure light turns on, and you won't have to drive a long distance to purchase oil.

 

PAHonda, when i replaced the valve cover, i did replace the seals for each spark plug tube, but one tube still has plenty of oil in it, and comes back quickly after I clean it. The only other symptom I have at the moment is that my exhaust if a lot thicker now, a blueish tint, and smells like i'm burning a lot of oil. My check engine light has turned on as well, and the code was P0420, "Catalyst system efficiency below threshold". Would this be a result of the excessive amount of oil i am burning? causing the cat to get gummed up?

 

And to my knowledge, the timing belt was replaced at 75000 miles, and i'm at 109000 miles now. I checked the oil pan, and the drain plug is ok, and I recal checking for the old oil filter gasket when I changed my oil last. I will check for oil behind the distributor cap tomorrow after school and buy some engine degreaser as well. I'll do some research on the oil pan gasket and oil sending unit too.

Thanks for the help guys...