I have a Honda Accord 95, 4 cylinder, and have put on 151,000 miles. It drives well. But recently I noticed oil leak below the distributor cap. When Iwiped with paper towel just below distributor cap surface, I could see a little bit of oil stain on the paper. I have been reading the forum that it could be o-ring problem that need to be replaced. I bit confused with the information (from forum) on replacing o-ring compare to instruction from Haynes book manual for "Distributor - Removal and Installation". The Haynes manual says, " Step 4: Remove the distributor cap and turn the engine over until rotor is positioning towards the #1 spark plug terminal (see the locating TDC procedure chap 2A). Chap 2A says, "Turn the crankshaft clockwise aligning its pulley timing to white mark which will place #1 piston at TDC on the compression stroke.

Does this above step 4 apply to only when installing a new distributor? But I am re-installing back same distributor because I am just planning to replace only O-ring. Can I omit above step 4 and just mark the distributor base abd teh cylinder head to ensure the distributor is installed correctly? (Actually, I see that the previous owner had marked with white paint before just above the bolt)

Once I replace O-ring, do I need to check my ignition timing? My ignition timing was set correct when I did my smog check a month ago.

A month ago, I had oil changed at workshop. And I added oil saver additive (1 quart). When I checked my dip stick, the oil level reached a little above full (maybe 1/2 or 3/4 quart). Can a little more motor oil cause a problem? I checked my spark plug holes where distributor ignition wires sit. I did not see any puddle of oil there. I can see a little bit of shiny wet oil when i checked with flash light (no sure if it was reflecting from spark plug porcelein part). Is that bad indication?

Thank you, Love to hear any comment.

 

I have a 97 Accord SE with 180K miles on it. My distributor o-ring was leaking and it was pretty visible directly below the distributor.

The o-ring was only 3 or 4 bucks from the dealership. I just marked everything well, removed the distributor and replaced the o-ring, which was really hard and brittle.

No problems since, good luck.

 

The 95 Accord spark timing is controlled by the position of the distributor. (It twists within the slotted mounting-bolt holes.) So mark it carefully, or else use a timing light to get your timing back correctly after the work. If I would mark it, I'd do better than a paint mark. Maybe a big fat paint mark then make a nice fine line from a knife or a scribe.

The 97 Accord spark timing is controlled by a sensor down at the crank pully. So distributor position isn't so important.

 

Don't worry about rotating the engine like "step-4". When the distributor is removed, you will be able to spin it. So the easy way is to take a picture or make a drawing of which direction the rotor is pointing. Then spin it back to that position when you reinstall it.

When you go to install the distributor back onto the engine, notice the blade on the inside end of the distributor. It's a little bit off-center, and the same for the slot where that blade fits into the end of the camshaft. As long as you line them up to engage properly, you're good. It IS possible to get that blade in backwards, with enough force when installing the distributor. As long as you're aware of the off-center blade you'll be OK.

How far above was your oil? A couple mm above full is OK. Too much and your crankshaft journals will whip the oil into a froth (bad). It's about 1 quart between top & bottom of hashed area on the dipstick, so 3/4-quart is maybe 10mm?

Wipe out the sparkplug holes & see if oil continues to leak into there. Not a terrible thing, but don't let it make a big pool of oil in there.

 

At this level of oil, No - and No. Go drive your car.
If/when you see air bubbles on the dipstick, then it's overfull - drain out some oil.

 

Thank you guys for all the information. JimBlake, you mean I can easily spin the rotor back to its original position by hand when distributor is off the cylinder head and re-install back to it (after repositioning the rotor back to its original position), correct? The sharp accurate marks made on distributor base and cylinder head (around the mounting bolts) should also ensure the installation of distributor. I am not understanding much about blades and slots inside distributor and camshaft and possibility of blades getting backward when installing. I will find out exactly when I start working on it this weekend.

I measured the dipstick oil again when engine was cold. It is about 5 mm more than full mark, but no bubbles seen. Is this still too much that might give me problem?

Thanks for help!

 

Yes, when the distributor is off, you can rotate the shaft of the distributor. You'll see the blade - it's the part that sticks into the engine. Look down into the hole where the distributor came from, and you'll see a slot. All you have to do is notice that the slot is off-center then you can position the blade properly.

Once the blade is engaged, then you can rotate the body of the distributor to line up your marks. It's a lot easier to do this than it is to explain it.

Extra oil for 5mm above the dipstick mark probably won't be any problem. If it were my car I'd check for bubbles by pulling out the dipstick right after shutting off the engine. If no bubbles, then I wouldn't bother draining out the extra oil.

 

I just replaced the distributor external O-ring on my 97 Accord today so I snapped a few pictures to help illustrate how the distributor blades and camshaft couple together. It was a pretty easy job. The most difficult part is accessing the third bolt that secures the distributor to the motor (12mm); the one you can't see, but you can see the location of the holes in the first picture below. I used a 12mm magnetic nut setter to help with removal and installation of this bolt. There are also three screws that secure the distributor cap (8mm) with one being out of sight. The old O-ring was pretty brittle and just broke apart when I attempted to remove it. Hope this helps.

 

nice followup, 6-speed, thanks! Not many people do this.

 

i'm planning to replace mine too... is the 6th gen same with 5th? in term of size of the o-ring, and I've noticed on the pictures that he has adjustable timing. is there a pic somewhere here for 6th gen?