MDE888
26-02-2012, 09:42 AM
D15B4 oil leak post
I have bought a 1990 GL Civic Hatch for my son for what was an absolute bargain off the side of the road... DIY spray job, tarting up the interior with a heap of TLC and replacing some of the easy bits thanks to many a Saturday morning wandering around Boss Wrecking in Hemmant QLD with a tool box and a can or two of coke has been some of the most rewarding and relaxing time i have spent in years. I previously wanted to do something like this but never actually considered I could do... having not a bone in my body mechanicals minded... 3 months on I'm loving the project and the Man Cave (garage)
I now however have come to a screaming halt and despite all my enthusiasm, I'm stuck...
At 250k's on the dial, the old girl has the expected signs of oil leaks and after many cans of degreaser, just as many toilet brushes for getting the grime off the engine I'm now tackling with the task of finding the origin of the leak... and then fixing it.
Here is the rundown of what has been done so far and I'm looking for advice as to what to do next without having to succumb to taking it to a mechanic and parting with stupid amounts of money (she only cost $400)... Everything else is good and ready for roadworthy according to the look-lover which I got from the local mechanic when I through it may have just been a couple of hundred buck job. His inspection was thorough and if managed to fix everything else...
- Sitting doing nothing, there are no leaks.
- After a run of the engine, there is a leak which comes from the righ hand side of the sump the drips off the timing cover... which eventually stops
- Total quantity of the leak is probably only about a tea spoon or so but for full roadworthy, it needs to be fixed according to everyone I speak to (currently unregistered)
- Rocker cover (aka tappet cover) gasket replaced (using the blue goo gasket stuff as well as a new gasket)*
- Dizzy O rings replaced*
- Sump nuts tightened... Some were a little loose but nothing drastic
- Head gasket from visual inspection looks good*
- Spark plugs all clean (no oil)
- Stuff under the rocker cover (mechanical bits) all a nice bronze color and in good nick*
* these bits were done with the assistance of a friends son who is a 2nd year apprentice mechanic but 18 year olds only have a certain amount of patience on a weekend in helping out an old fart like me. Total confidence in the work he did though
A bit of time spent under the car up on ramps had me wondering about the sump gasket and the timing belt cover and how that fits onto the sump assembly.
The rocker cover seemed to cover the white plastic timing belt cover and the whole assembly seemed to fit nicely together. Now that the underbelly is totally clean, I can see where the leak is dripping from... And I'm thinking that the sump gasket is either old and cracked (old rocker cover and dizzy O ring gaskets that were replaced were in not the best condition) that this may be a cause... Also, looking really closely, it looks like there is a gap between the bottom of the same timing cover at the bottom of the sump tray thing. Slight poke with a screwdriver and there is definitely a gasket there but not sure of whether it should be the same as the top of the engine where the timing belt cover is assembled as part of the rocker cover when it is correctly assembled... Or whether it has "popped out" from the sump cover as there was no gasket goo evident on the rocker cover gasket when it was replaced (said young Toby while he was getting blue shyte all over the place in putting the new rocker cover gasket on)
Just thinking that maybe the sump gasket/seal has popped out over the years and it is only when the engine has been running and the oil is sorting it's way back down into the sump that it leaks out this non perfect seal (told you I was not mechanically minded)
So my question... replacing the sump gasket... Any gotcha's as it looks like it should be the simple case of draining the oil, undoing the dozen or so 10mm nuts, dropping the sump cover and doing the gasket/goo procedure that was done on the top end... Also, anything else that any of the forum punters would suggest be investigated...
Oh and if anyone can PM me a D15B4 workshop manual would be extremely helpful if anyone has one...
Cheers!
I have bought a 1990 GL Civic Hatch for my son for what was an absolute bargain off the side of the road... DIY spray job, tarting up the interior with a heap of TLC and replacing some of the easy bits thanks to many a Saturday morning wandering around Boss Wrecking in Hemmant QLD with a tool box and a can or two of coke has been some of the most rewarding and relaxing time i have spent in years. I previously wanted to do something like this but never actually considered I could do... having not a bone in my body mechanicals minded... 3 months on I'm loving the project and the Man Cave (garage)
I now however have come to a screaming halt and despite all my enthusiasm, I'm stuck...
At 250k's on the dial, the old girl has the expected signs of oil leaks and after many cans of degreaser, just as many toilet brushes for getting the grime off the engine I'm now tackling with the task of finding the origin of the leak... and then fixing it.
Here is the rundown of what has been done so far and I'm looking for advice as to what to do next without having to succumb to taking it to a mechanic and parting with stupid amounts of money (she only cost $400)... Everything else is good and ready for roadworthy according to the look-lover which I got from the local mechanic when I through it may have just been a couple of hundred buck job. His inspection was thorough and if managed to fix everything else...
- Sitting doing nothing, there are no leaks.
- After a run of the engine, there is a leak which comes from the righ hand side of the sump the drips off the timing cover... which eventually stops
- Total quantity of the leak is probably only about a tea spoon or so but for full roadworthy, it needs to be fixed according to everyone I speak to (currently unregistered)
- Rocker cover (aka tappet cover) gasket replaced (using the blue goo gasket stuff as well as a new gasket)*
- Dizzy O rings replaced*
- Sump nuts tightened... Some were a little loose but nothing drastic
- Head gasket from visual inspection looks good*
- Spark plugs all clean (no oil)
- Stuff under the rocker cover (mechanical bits) all a nice bronze color and in good nick*
* these bits were done with the assistance of a friends son who is a 2nd year apprentice mechanic but 18 year olds only have a certain amount of patience on a weekend in helping out an old fart like me. Total confidence in the work he did though
A bit of time spent under the car up on ramps had me wondering about the sump gasket and the timing belt cover and how that fits onto the sump assembly.
The rocker cover seemed to cover the white plastic timing belt cover and the whole assembly seemed to fit nicely together. Now that the underbelly is totally clean, I can see where the leak is dripping from... And I'm thinking that the sump gasket is either old and cracked (old rocker cover and dizzy O ring gaskets that were replaced were in not the best condition) that this may be a cause... Also, looking really closely, it looks like there is a gap between the bottom of the same timing cover at the bottom of the sump tray thing. Slight poke with a screwdriver and there is definitely a gasket there but not sure of whether it should be the same as the top of the engine where the timing belt cover is assembled as part of the rocker cover when it is correctly assembled... Or whether it has "popped out" from the sump cover as there was no gasket goo evident on the rocker cover gasket when it was replaced (said young Toby while he was getting blue shyte all over the place in putting the new rocker cover gasket on)
Just thinking that maybe the sump gasket/seal has popped out over the years and it is only when the engine has been running and the oil is sorting it's way back down into the sump that it leaks out this non perfect seal (told you I was not mechanically minded)
So my question... replacing the sump gasket... Any gotcha's as it looks like it should be the simple case of draining the oil, undoing the dozen or so 10mm nuts, dropping the sump cover and doing the gasket/goo procedure that was done on the top end... Also, anything else that any of the forum punters would suggest be investigated...
Oh and if anyone can PM me a D15B4 workshop manual would be extremely helpful if anyone has one...
Cheers!