93 civic distributor leaking!

I own a 93 civic with 199k miles. I have recently noticed a decent
amount of drippage coming from underneath the distributor..more like
i'm going through a quart every 2 or 3 weeks. I replaced the o-ring
gasket but still no luck. any ideas of what is going on?
perhaps i should put some gasket silicone around the distributor
housing? thanks for your help.

Ricky

 

Please look at the diagram of the distributor for your car
at bkhondaparts.com and identify exactly what you replaced.

If this is the original distributor, you will likely save
yourself headaches by replacing the entire distributor
housing. Rotor set screw starts stripping yada; bearing
goes; wire harness dries and gets all torn up; etc.

My 91 Civic got its second distributor housing at age 12,
138k miles. It also got a new igniter and coil. No problems
since this was done in 2003.

Depending on how long you will keep the car, you can
consider an aftermarket distributor housing.

 

Hey Rick,

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Andy Deil

 

there are three potential leak locations:

1. the distributor seal on the shaft itself
2. the o-ring between distributor and head
3. the rocker cover gasket - in the corners

figure out where the leak really is, then fix.

if #1, inside the distributor itself will be oiled up. can't really
replace the seal as the distributor then requires recalibration.

if it's #2, simply replace with one th right size. it'll be a snug fit.

if it's #3, you need a new gasket, and some of the non-setting gasket,
"permatex #2" in the corners. don't use silicone sealer.

if it's #1 and you're not up for changing the distributor, try changing
to a brand of oil with decent seal conditioners in it - castrol for
example. often helps with leaks significantly.