I had my timing, balancer, P-S pump, and compressor belts replaced last summer. I also had the water pump,crankshaft seal, camshaft seal, balancer shaft seal, gear case gasket, andWP o-rings replaced. I begangetting an oil leak three weaks ago and had the Dist O-ring and Vtec gasket replaced. The oil leak continued so I took it into a mechanic and he concluded that I have four areas where leaks are present. The Vtec valve (gasket), front crank seal, transmission seal (gasket), and the axle seal that's near the rear main seal. My question is since he'll have to remove various parts to get to these 4 areas, are there other seals / gaskets that youwould recommend I get replaced to avoid future leaks?

 

These are leaking after just over a year? Is this mechanic the one that replaced them previously?

 

No. I had the belts, water pump, and seals that go with the job done at the Honda Dealer. The area of where the leaks are right now are not related to any of the seals that were replaced last summer.

 

Okay, after several weeks of targeting my oil leak issues one by one, I think I might of gotten it down to just one area now. The oil leak drips down from the metal plate cover (through the inside) that attaches in-between the tranny and the oil pan gasket. When I removed it, I didn't see much oil in that compartment and it appears it's was coming from the engine somewhere. So I began inspecting and I feel oil on the VTEC valve solenoid where the screws are located. The gasket was replaced two months ago so my question is," could it be that I need a new VTEC valve solenoid, or should I replace the gasket again"?

 

There's 3 places on the VTEC spool valve where it can leak. Clean it up & check carefully.
1) Where the spool valve bolts up to the head (probably this gasket was replaced).
2) VTEC oil pressure switch screws into the spool valve with an O-ring.
3) VTEC solenoid bolts to the top of the spool valve with a triangular flange.

It's possible your leak is the rear main crankshaft seal??

 

Check for oil leaking through the distributor and draining from low point at the distributor cap/distributor housing seam. There's an internal shaft seal on the distributor rotor that begins to leak w/ age. I recently replaced my 94 EX shaft seal and stopped oil leakage.

good luck

 

I feel the oil from under the vtec solenoid base and one of the screws ( the one to the rear left). Thanks for the info. As for the rear main seal, I was always told that when the leak is associated in this area, it would leak heavily. My leak is very a minimal drip per day (maybe the size of a quarter. Can a rear main leak be minimal?

 

I actually already replaced this last week. After replacing the o-ring two times I concluded that the leak was coming through the distributor rotor shaft so I purchased a used distributor from a forum member and replaced it. I put in a new OEM o-ring, cap & rotor, and the leak from the distributor has been resolved. It;s now definitely coming from the Vtec solenoid area.

 

Sounds like it's still leaking from where the VTEC spool valve bolts to the head?? If so, maybe the surfaces weren't clean & shiny when the new seal was installed? Could try some HondaBond (a.k.a. Permatex Super Grey). Just be careful not to get any gunk in the small passageways of that valve.

Sometimes the oil leaks out clean & picks up dirt as it runs downhill. You don't see the oil until it gets dirty, so maybe the leak is up higher? Valve cover gasket?

Honda uses a large-ish plate to hold the rear main seal, & that plate is sealed to the back of the block. Maybe leaking at that joint can be a slow seeping. Just mentioned the possibility, but hope it's the VTEC valve or valvecover.