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I have this 91′ accord lx that’s just been rebuilt for the first time by me. After just replacing the oil pan and gasket since it was warped, I found this mysterious oil leak on the bottom of the oil pan. I believe it is dripping down from above and maybe even from the head gasket itself.
I have this video (with commentary) about this leak. This is behind the engine. Don’t mind my rantings LOL.
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It’s very close to the oil filter so its hard to say if the oil is from the last oil change, etc. Maybe you should put some dye in the oil to see if you can find where it’s leaking.
I have another video and some pics.
Pics of leak:
There appears to be oil coming out of the head gasket, it is exactly where an oil passage is.
Zoomed out pic,
On the block where the head gasket meets with the cyl. head.
Video with more info:
I know you say you checked the cam seal however the location you show the oil leak from is indicative of a cam seal leak in my experience. It’s very important that the seal gets installed correctly if not it will leak. Also only use sealant on the corners of the valve cover gasket, using sealant on the entire gasket can actually cause it to leak. That said looking at your earlier video the location of the oil leak would be indicative of a possible head gasket leak. the location is VERY close to where the pressurized oil is sent to the cylinder head, if the rubber seal in the head gasket was not sealing correctly it could cause a leak in that area.
Lets put a pin in that for the moment and I’ll ask you if you’re running synthetic oil. If you are switch back to regular oil and they leaks may go away. Synthetic oil on high mileage engine’s often causes leaks like this believe it or not.
I had a similar problem after changing from regular mineral or semi-synthetic 10W40 to fully-synthetic 5W40 to be “nice” to the engine. The engine which is like 12 years old runs smoothly but now the engine leaks from several places.
So on an old engine that has never had any TLC – when someone all of a sudden fills the engine with premium “thin” oil and keeps the engine nicely filled almost right up to the max level (and thus creating a little higher oil pressure) the oil might begin to leak out. Especially if you all of a sudden also begin to use oil cleaning additives. Probably go for a “thicker” mineral 10W40/15W40 and shorter shifting intervals.
[quote=”Norsology” post=35786]I had a similar problem after changing from regular mineral or semi-synthetic 10W40 to fully-synthetic 5W40 to be “nice” to the engine. The engine which is like 12 years old runs smoothly but now the engine leaks from several places.
So on an old engine that has never had any TLC – when someone all of a sudden fills the engine with premium “thin” oil and keeps the engine nicely filled almost right up to the max level (and thus creating a little higher oil pressure) the oil might begin to leak out. Especially if you all of a sudden also begin to use oil cleaning additives. Probably go for a “thicker” mineral 10W40/15W40 and shorter shifting intervals.[/quote]
That’s not exactly how oil pressure works, in fact oil pressure would actually drop with thinner oil. My theory on synthetics is that although they have the same viscosity they have different flow characteristics and as a result they flow differently even at the same viscosity. The ‘smaller’ molecules slip through tight spaces easier, thus you have leaks especially on a high milage engine that used to run conventional oil.
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