engine oil on cover. Help!

[rly1]

Hi there,

car is an 89 ED civic hatch, I have recently noticed a bit of oil stain on my engine cover. After looking around and doing a bit of research , I think I may have a faulty head gasket which should be straight easy to replace. The reason of this is that my car has also been hard to start every morning and after work. it always end up starting but needs 2-3 attempts(the 1st always fails). I think the engine oil is also leaking and drowning my spark plugs(which I have changed previously and noticed they were a bit oily) and that seems to fit altogether.
What do you guys reckon? am I on the right track ? do you think I am correct in my analysis ? if so, can someone please help by providing some instructions on how to change the head gasket on my ED ? it's the one with the dual carby. Also where can I easily get a new head gasket ?

any help appreciated
thanks

[bennjamin]

a faulty head gasket is NOT easy to replace. It is a expensive job that requires you to remove the head and possible resurface it etc. $$$

You might be thinking of the "upper" gasket ~ which seals the
cam cover onto the upper head. Its easy to do.
Also check the "O rings" that seal inside the cam cover , to the spark plug holes.
To change both above , purchase and then remove all spark leasd , cam cover studs and light tap around the cover with a rubber mallet. The cover should easily come off and replace 4 x o rings , and then the camcover seal too. Place abit of honda-bond (or any similar sealant) on opposite ends of the head (where the gasket goes) and refit

Also check that your oil cap is tight - if alittle loose , oil vapor will vent from there

[rly1]

Thanks bennjamin
What should I ask for in shops ? would autobarn have the specific one for my car ? or any recommendation in melbourne ?

is it the following product I need ?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/88-95-Honda-Civic-CRX-D15B-D16A6-SOHC-Head-Gasket-Set_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33619QQihZ005QQitem Z150071556002QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

[bennjamin]

that kit is an entire overhaul / rebuild kit.
You need the VRS kit to suit your VIN code. Go to any honda and give them your VIN ( its what they use to search the database) and then ask for the relevant part/s if you want to change only the upper gasket + o rings etc.

[muhhan]

Would definitely recommend going to Honda instead of Autobarn or other generic shops. I once bought a fuel filter from Autobarn that cost around $25-$30 dollars but it didn't fit but because I had partly fitted it I couldn't return it. The OEM filter from Honda didn't cost the much more so I was very annoyed. Now I always just go to Honda for all the basic mechanical parts.

A tip when you try to remove the old spark plug o-ring. I found it really hard because there was a steel ring supporting the rubber, so I ended up getting a pair of long nosed pliers and pulling down on the side so that the steel inside the 0-ring bent. Then I grasped the edge of the o-ring with the long nose pliers and twisted them so the o-ring was pulled away from the edge of the rocker cover as the steel ring was twisted. They will be completely mangled but you won't be using them again. Then lightly tap the new o-rings into place with a rubber mallet.

[rly1]

cool, thanks all

[rly1]

but does that sound like a good diagnosis ? what else could cause some stain on the cover ?

[rly1]

I drove my car to esternhonda to show them the stain. They reckon it should be the seal around the rocker cover and the 4 o-ring that needs to be replaced. So I followed the recommendation and purchased them. Bennjamin, is this the upper gasket you are talking about ?
Does anyone have any guide for this, I guess it should be pretty straight forward, remove the 3 bolts on cover, remove cover, remove/replace seal and o-ring, and put everything back but it's my first time removing the cover. Anyone's got diagram of the engine ?

thanks

[rly1]

I have also found that the stain is coming from the left side of the engine. Between the engine and the block where the spark plug leads are coming from. any new ideas ?

[egSi]

could u post some pics of the 'stains' mate?

[misteR_bilzz]

if its comming from the space between the rocker cover and the block then its your upper head gasket seal - which is what ben said. if its just on your rocker cover then its the seal from your oil cap.


I drove my car to esternhonda to show them the stain. They reckon it should be the seal around the rocker cover and the 4 o-ring that needs to be replaced. So I followed the recommendation and purchased them. Bennjamin, is this the upper gasket you are talking about ?
Does anyone have any guide for this, I guess it should be pretty straight forward, remove the 3 bolts on cover, remove cover, remove/replace seal and o-ring, and put everything back but it's my first time removing the cover. Anyone's got diagram of the engine ?

thanks

Dont forget to use a sealant orelse u will still be getting leaks.

[rly1]

thanks, I will post some pics later,
Mister_bilzz, the upper head gasket seal is what I bought, yeah, it's the piece of rubber that goes around the perimeter of the rocker cover ?
I also asked if I needed sealant and the guys at honda said it should be ok
where can I get the sealant from ? what are they called ?

thanks

[rly1]

3801

I got the diagram from them, I bought the long piece of rubber around the rocker cover, they call it a "rocker cover gasket". Are we all talking about the same thing ?

thanks

[rly1]

item number 2

[misteR_bilzz]

Yea I just didn't want to confuse u, but yea that's the one, the sealant is called Permatex High-Temp RTV Silicone Gasket Maker u can get it from your local supercheap or autobahn.

[rly1]

thanks mate

[rly1]

Here are the pics of the stain.
Will probably change the gasket tomorrow.

thanks
38163817

[rly1]

Changed the 'rocker cover gasket' and o-rings. still see the stain not sure if it's old stain or still leaking.
I've also noticed that the rubber plug on the 2 front cover bolts were cracked and possibly leaking oil ?(item 15 from diagram)
going to purchase new ones and replaced them as well.

This time I will put some sealant and see if that helps, where exactly should I put some sealant ? the gasket and o-ring fits onto the top cover, should i put sealant on that cover before placing the rubbers or should I only put sealant on the engine block at the touching places as per
http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22561
picture 14

someone please help

thanks

[bennjamin]

i noticed you have a breather on the PCV inlet ~ why is this ?
http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=3817&d=1167980234

It is perhaps a contributing factor to your oil on your camcover. Replace that with the proper tube to the inlet pipe , and maybe your oil problem will disappear

[rly1]

I put on the breather as per the instruction on the dualcarby mod.
I am also pretty convinced that the leak is due to the item 15 as mentioned in my previous reply. Yesterday when I took the cover out again, I could see that it was cracked and leaking oil underneath the bolt.
So hopefully, that should get rid of the leak.
will keep you guys posted.

thanks