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2000 civic ex mtf or oil leak

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  • #471028
    MaxMax
    Participant

      I cleaned the exterior of the tranny thoroughly with brake parts cleaner. Very shortly after the cleaning i noticed the leak. I’m not sure if its oil or mtf. It is leaking right by the large horizontal bolt that holds a bracket that connects the tranny and oil pan. Any ideas?

    Viewing 11 replies - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
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    • #471030
      dreamer2355dreamer2355
      Participant

        Can you post pics?

        Oil leaks usually start from the top.

        #471218
        EricTheCarGuy 1EricTheCarGuy
        Keymaster

          I doubt it’s a transmission leak, I think it’s much more likely that the oil pan gasket is leaking. In fact I would advise you replace that and then recheck for the problem.

          #471281
          MaxMax
          Participant

            Thanks Eric. I replaced the oil pan gasket with an oem one from the honda dealership and also used hondabond in the shaded areas according to the factory service manual. I unfortunately wasn’t able to put the exhaust back together yet due to bolts breaking and needing new studs for the exhaust manifold. At least the hondabond will have some time to cure fully though. The parts will be coming in the next few days so i can finish it up and add oil and check for leaks. Thanks again i will keep you updated.

            #471337
            AlexAlex
            Participant

              A little off topic but can you possibly post a picture or pm me a picture from the service manual where it says hondabond should be applied around the oil pan seal?

              #471352
              MaxMax
              Participant

                It really only goes on each side of the Pan where it goes down. If you google civic helms you should be able to find the manual in pdf format for free. The other important thing is torquing the nuts and bolts in the correct order and to the correct torque spec to ensure a good no leak seal. if I’m wrong let me know Eric since I’m sure you have done a lot of these.

                #471477
                EricTheCarGuy 1EricTheCarGuy
                Keymaster

                  Only a couple of dabs at the corners of the ‘humps’. If it’s still leaking after that check the distributor, I know that’s far away but they do tend to travel down to that area if the ‘o’ ring on the distributor is leaking. Lastly, rear main seal. Not fun but I normally don’t see transmission fluid leaks like I do oil leaks from the engine.

                  #471636
                  MaxMax
                  Participant

                    I looked under the distributor and see no sign of leakage. The rear main was replaced about three years ago when the clutch was done . I finished replacing the oil pan gasket and there is still oil leaking by that bracket that connects the tranny and the oil pan. The leak is Very slow and doesn’t even produce a drip. The oil pan gasket i can tell is not leaking. If i had the flywheel cover off would i be able to tell if the rear main is leaking? Any other tips?

                    #472005
                    EricTheCarGuy 1EricTheCarGuy
                    Keymaster

                      Not really and for me the rear main is still the prime suspect in fact more so since it was changed. If those things aren’t installed just right then they will leak again. There is another possibility that I’ve seen and that’s one of the oil galley plugs leaking on the back of the engine block, it’s not common but it does happen from time to time. The only way to know what’s going on it sounds like is to remove the trans and have a look. One other thing you might think about is putting some dye in the engine oil to see if the dye comes out with the leak, if the leak has dye in it you know it’s engine oil and not trans oil.

                      #472091
                      MaxMax
                      Participant

                        Before i start pulling stiff apart I’m going to continue to monitor it since i changed the oil pan gasket. I will periodically just jack it up and take a look. How common are oil pan gasket leaks on these cars? I checked it after i drove about 30 miles and didn’t see anything fortunately. I’m hoping what i saw on that bracket was just from oil pan gasket before i changed it. Can you reuse a Honda valve cover gasket?

                        #472158
                        JohnJohn
                        Participant

                          My 2000 Civic was also leaking out of the oil pan, rear main. I would also check your hydraulic clutch pumps. Mine seep a little bit of oil after 230,000 miles. Just another possible idea where a the leak is coming from.

                          #472578
                          EricTheCarGuy 1EricTheCarGuy
                          Keymaster

                            It’s VERY common for those oil pan gaskets to leak. To be honest even with OE parts you’ll only get so much out of it. The rubber gets old and shrinks causing the leak to happen. I would say that 8 times out of 10 it’s the oil pan gasket when you run into oil that leaks from that area.

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