oil leak

Oil is leaking on the drivers side right in front of the wheel,
replaced oil pan gasket is there anything else on that side I should
check? Anything would help.

 

Model? Year? Miles on car?

The driver's side of the crankshaft has an oil seal that is
commonly replaced at each timing belt change. When was the
TB last changed, and can you check whether the seal was
replaced?

 

91 Honda Accord how hard is that to change by yourself ? Also this
leak is more like a small creek than a leak! But it is always on the
drivers side.

 

I'd call it a job for someone who is comfortable with tools,
reading manuals, and with several years experience doing at
least basic car repairs and maintenance.

To get an idea of this seal's location, see page 2 of
http://media.honda.co.uk/car/owner/media/manuals/AccordManual/400/5-36.pdf .
Look for the part called the "key." This seal is to the
right of where the key inserts, going around the shaft.

I researched this job for around 20 hours (spread over a few
months) before attempting it back in 2004 on my 91 Civic.
This newsgroup, along with the manual, gave a lot of help,
too.

Can you crawl under the car and inspect very carefully to
ascertain the source? Maybe put the car on ramps, wipe it
down, drive it for a day, then put it back on ramps and
inspect closely.

At least one other candidate is the camshaft oil seal.

When was the timing belt last changed (because this seal
should have been changed then)?

How much oil do you add and how often?

 

=================================

OK, it's a '91 Accord, but what's the mileage, is it OIL or something
else, what side is the steering wheel on, and why did you change the oil
pan gasket (it's one of the most mis-diagnosed problems on Hondas)???

"in front of the wheel" is where the windshield reservoir and maybe the
Power Steering are located. Have you confirmed the color / taste of this
mysterious 'oil' ???

Might have to open the hood.

'Curly'

 

In addition to the caveats raised by Mostco, common sources of oil leaks on
the driver's side of the engine include: the valve cover gasket, the
camshaft seal, the front balance shaft seal, the rear balance shaft gear
casing seal, and the front crankshaft seal. Note that there has been an
abundance of problems with the front balance shaft seal leaking. To remedy
this problem, Honda has developed an aluminum seal retainer that should be
used when this seal is replaced. Note that replacing any of those seals,
except for the valve cover gasket and the front cam seal, will require
removing both the timing belt and the balance shaft belt. As such, they
should be replaced at the time unless they've been done recently. It would
also be a good time to replace the water pump. Essentially, you wind up
rebuilding the left side of the motor, i.e., new seals, belts, pump and
possibly new tensioner bearings depending on the mileage. Don't fret, this
is typical maintenance on a Honda of this vintage. If you're not familiar
with Honda timing belts, then it would probably be best to have a mechanic
do this work. If you get the camshaft off by more than a tooth or two then
it could result in bent valves requiring the head to be pulled. Getting the
balance shaft belt off is not as extreme but the engine will likely run like
an old out of balance washing machine during the spin cycle which will
eventually cause the motor mounts to fatigue and fail prematurely.

Eric

 

Thanks curly did look under the hood crawled uner the car wiped it
down put oil back in once it warmed up oil pressure light came on
again and oil was by the inside part of the drivers side front wheel.
Good puddle as well as seeing oil in spots where I pulled in. Whatever
the leak it is leaking roughly all the oil out everyday.

 

Eric thanks that was the direction I was looking for to see if this
was something I could do or if it would be out of my realm and it does
sound like it is out of my comfort zone. Thanks