Another oil leak thread...

[Masamune]

Alright, I give up. I'm not letting this go on any longer! It's a....it's a...*sniff*...OIL LEAK!!!

Ok, so it's not that bad. Usually I'll end up putting in an extra quart of oil between oil changes (every 3k miles), but I'm getting tired of this. My driveway has enough oil spots to kill 10 people. Here's what I've determined so far:

At first glance, it appears to be the drain plug. Upon closer examination, it was, in fact, the main cause of the problem...at first. Now the oil is leaking from higher up somewhere, though I still can't pinpoint exactly where.

Another hint here, and this one is REALLY irritating during the winter. When my heater gets fully warmed up and I come to a stop at a stop sign, I'll begin to smell something similar to burnt rubber, but there will be no smoke. It's quite nausiating. When I get moving again, the smell goes away.

To me, the above comment says that oil is leaking onto the heater coil or something of that nature.

Quite honestly though, I'm stumped. I was thinking that maybe the oil pan gasket needed to be replaced, but I've never done this before. Even if it's not the problem, I still wanna do it. As far as I can tell, It's never been replaced. How difficult is this?

So what do you guys think? Oh, and thanks in advanced!

[mrhonda]

I'll bet $100 that its the cam seal, this has always been the worst and most common oil leak on 4cyl Accords.

You may also want to check the distributor, oil pan gasket, rear main, and the oil pressure sending unit.

[Masamune]

Speedy replies own joo!!!

Thanks for the quick response. I'm willing to bet $100 that you're right! I've also heard about this problem in the past, but it never occured to me until you said something. Is replacing the cam shaft seal DIY-able? Or is it located in some weird place that isn't terribly accessible...

[aero]

cam seal means taking off valve cover, timing belt and rocker arm assy.

Since there is a burning smell i would say the oil pan gasket or pressure sending unit, since they could both drip onto the downpipe. although dripping on the d/p usually results in smoke. if you know where the leak is coming from, that would help some.

[AccordWarrior]

My Mom's 'Scort went into the shop because of oil leaks and a burnt oil smell. It was diagnosed as the pressure sending unit and replaced. As far as I know the smell's gone.

Stupid Escort.

Now I know its not an Accord...but I bet its a related problem.

[F22-GURU]

It could be any of those problem causing the leak.
The Cam Seal Leaks down the front of the engine to the sump, it runs along the side of the sump & drips on to the Exhaust.
The Oil Pressure Switch, which is above the Oil Filter (F22A) below the Oil Filter (H22A), will run down the Engine Block down to the sump and onto the Exhaust.
The Oil Filter will follow the same course.
The Rear Main, The Distributor Seal, The Valve Cover, The Front Crankshaft Seal all will travel the same final path.
Because that is the lowest centre point of the sump - straight above the Exhaust.
I reckon they designed it that way so you could smell when you've got an oil leak.

Degrease The Whole Engine First then run it to locate the exact path or source of the Oil Leak.

The Oil Smell is from the Exhaust Pipe rising up and going through the Vents. Try putting the vents on Recirculate.