Hello,

I have a 1993 Honda Accord LX. It is leaking oil on the back side of the engine and dripping down to the exhaust. I had a mechanic look at it and he said it was a cracked block.

The car runs fine in every way and shows no signs of antifreeze leaking into the oil. Is it possible to have a cracked block and only have oil seeping out from the crack? Also, is the oil dripping on to the exhaust a potentialfire hazard? Meaning, will I be driving along and suddenly have the car burst into flames?

Lastly, if it is a cracked block, is there a way of fixing it...such as an aluminum weld?

Thanks,
Dan
Duluth, MN

 

The best way to track down an oil leak is to clean the back of the engine (valve cover on down) and find the highest point of oil leaking. This will tell you where the oil is coming from. Could be as simple as the valve cover gasket.

Don't believe everything a mechanic tells you, replacing the engine is big $$$ in his pocket.

 

Oil will smolder more than burn. Clean the back of the block to locate the oil leak as suggested.

The oil sending unit is back there and has a rubber boot that you can pull off to see if it is filled with oil. That is a relatively cheap and simple repair. The other things to check are the valve cover gasket and the oil filter.

 

I talked with the mechanic again today and he said the crack invloves the crankcase portion of the block.

Is there anything that can be done to fix this? The car runs great otherwise. I really don't care much about the oil leaking other than I am worried about a fire happening because it's dripping ont to the exhaust pipe below.

 

There was a TSB on cracks in the engine on the front side (near the exhaust manifold). I seem to remember a repair procedure. I have heard of external cracks (not on Hondas however) being closed by careful welding, correct consumible, lots of preheat, and slow cooling.

good luck

 

I had the Honda Dealer mechanic look at it this morning. This is his report:

"Diagnosed and found oil to be leaking from several areas. Found the most oil to be leaking from the oil pressure sending unit. Replaced oil pressure sending unit and checked for leaks. Not leaking as bad any more."

The burning smell is gone and the majority of the oil leaking seems to be gone also. I'm guessing that the original mechanic didn't know what he was doing.

Anyway...problem mostly solved. Thanks to all for the advice.

-Dan

 

Thanks for coming back and telling us what the fix was! Most appreciated.