Oil leak diagnosis help please :D

[Chriskoss]

Hey guys, I asked recently before about an oil leak I have in my 92 Integra.

I have some photo's now which hopefully could assist in someone telling me what the cause could be.. so if anybody could have a look and tell me whats wrong that'd be great.. eg if someone's had the same problem in their 89-92 Integra

The leak is dripping onto the floor on the right hand side of the car (looking from the front of the bonnet), a few inches in from the LHS front wheel, but there seems to be a visible leak from the left hand side of the engine, not the right, could the oil just be travelling down through cracks to the right?

hopefully pics could tell better than me

cheers all

Chris

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd7/chriskoss/Image006.jpg
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd7/chriskoss/Image008.jpg
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd7/chriskoss/Image010.jpg

[Rice_4_life]

well it's up top those pics so either cam seals or rocker cover gasket. If not doesn't hurt to replace both as they are pretty cheap plus installation is easy as pie

[Chriskoss]

I just updated pics to clearer ones

[Rice_4_life]

looks more rocker gasket now, <$20 and you'll need a gasket sealant for the edges where the gasket bends

[Chriskoss]

you sure man? the first pic it shows the oil leaking from below the rocker cover.. and its also leaking from that black circle thing on the side of the engine to the left of the rocker cover..

[panda[cRx]]

give it a clean and drive it a week.
hard to tell from the pics but rice4life looks about right

[Chriskoss]

alrighty ill give that a go cheers.

P.S do you know where to get the part number for the gasket incase I need one, cant find it on the net anywhere (is there a parts number catalogue somewhere?)

[b4dnuf]

just go in and ask them to look it up. they have a catalogue there.
u can buy a set of rocker gasket, valve seals and cam seals for like $60 i think.
well i did up here in brissy ..(coventry auto)

[Henessaayyy]

I got evidence of leakage in the same places as you.
Its the rocker cover gasket, I still haven't changed mine.

I got a question for you, does this leak force you to top up the oil more often than you feel you should?

[Chriskoss]

I got evidence of leakage in the same places as you.
Its the rocker cover gasket, I still haven't changed mine.

I got a question for you, does this leak force you to top up the oil more often than you feel you should?

Yep, deffinately mate.. have to top up the oil like every week.
The car runs ok to fine.. I feel it could be running alot stronger so hopefully its rocker cover gasket. What puzzles me is it leaks even if not driving the car for a few days.. so how would the oil leak out from a higher point in the motor from where the oil sits.. if you get what im saying.. its leaking out vertically lol

[vinnY]

probably just excess after the previous days of not being run

if it's not the cam seal or the rocket cover gasket, take a look under the dizzy
the o-ring may have gone to crap over the years and needs replacement

[night_wolf]

its from your head gasket...most hondas have this issue...its actually its commonly a drop of oil that comes out from there but over time it looks like a disaster around the engine if its causing you too pour in oil all the time then the head needs to be machined and gaskets need replacment. its common for the oil to dip to the floor when parked. if your rocker seals are gone for a six your sparky's should be covered in oil due to bad seals so there is a way of checking for sure pull your spark plug and chep for signs of oil. update us on whats happening.

[Chriskoss]

Thanks for all the info vinny and night wolf.

How hard is it to replace the cam seal and rocker cover gasket? is it just a matter of unbolting the cover, taking off the old one and putting on the new one?

Also how do I take off the spark plug leads on the head to get to the spark plugs.. I dont have any experience with honda engines and I dont want to go about yanking off the leads as I may do damage

cheers!

[night_wolf]

if you have never attempted to change your spark plugs before hand no need to worry mate as they are easy as pie....all you need is to undo the spark plug cover (silver piece on enigne running size 10 bolts if im not mistaken)... then start with one lead at a time. slowly pop out the lead straight upwards. leave it to a side get a spark plug rachet (long size 17 by memory) and undo them slowly. the plug is griped onto the rachet and till just come straight out. when putting it back in make sure you DO NOT TIGHTEN TO HARD! hand screw in place till you feel it grip just a tad then use the ratchet wrench and just turn half a circle till to feel it get tight. use about finger strength as the threads are very delicate on the plugs. pop the spark plug leads back into place.

as for rocker cover its a fair bit of work but really easy if your good with mechanical stuff. replacing the seals are easy...$160-$180 for the seals from honda. before you proceed into the rocker cover ensure you check each spark plug to see if its drenched in oil. if thats the case then its the rocker cover but mind you with the rocker cover seals being bad the oil generally DOES NOT leak outwards into the engine bay...

juding from the pics im sure its the head gasket. might be wrong but then again do a self diagnosis with the plugs then take the car to a mech and see what he says..explaing to him what you have checked already.

[Chriskoss]

Head gasket.. how hard is that to change? I thought it was a very expensive job (for a blown head gasket anyway), but is changing the head gasket the same job as a blown one.

[Limbo]

yep it pretty much is except you won't need to machine ur head if its still good.