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So, I’ve got a severe oil leak-out of the blue-which is gushing from the water pump end of the engine. I haven’t pulled any covers yet to see what I can see, however I can pour oil in and almost instantly it will start running out from behind the bottom water pump cover. I would expect dripping if a seal was failing, not a gusher. I’ve read the oil pumps on this engine “never” fail so I’m leaning towards a crank seal. Before I go in for a look see, any suggestions on what to look for would be much appreciated.
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It could also be a balance shaft seal. Those suckers are known to just pop right out, and produce the exact symptoms you’re describing.
Clean it up, dump some UV dye in it and hit it with a black light so you can see exactly where its coming from.
I agree with McWicked. I have seen several balance shaft seals blow right out of the block. Honda has an update for those seals and a metal retainer to stop the seal from popping out.
It’s a common issue on that engine. Likely the balance shaft seal as suggested. In fact, Honda came out with a retainer for that seal so it wouldn’t come out like that. I cover this procedure in detail along with the replacement of the timing belts and water pump in this VManual.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Well, you guys were spot on. Sure enough, the balance shaft seal has popped out. On the bright side, the car is due for water pump & timing belts service so I’ll be adding replacement of all 3 seals and a balance shaft seal retainer to the list. Thanks to Eric’s video, which I purchased about 3 years ago, the job was pretty straight forward on the wife’s ’01 so I know what I’m getting into. I didn’t add the retainer on her car but I will be going back in and adding it to hers “just in case”. I could have sworn I read somewhere that Honda was aware of the problem and had solved it back in ’98. Maybe the solution was the retainer?
Now, to the root cause. Excess oil pressure? Clogged PCV? Or merely a worn seal which finally worked its way loose? Any other ideas?
[quote=”Trainguy058″ post=113237]Now, to the root cause. Excess oil pressure? Clogged PCV? Or merely a worn seal which finally worked its way loose? Any other ideas?[/quote]
The root cause has been debated many times. Sure high oil pressure or a clogged PCV could exacerbate the situation, but I think the root cause is that there is simply nothing holding the seal in. Without the retainer, there’s nothing preventing the seal from slowing walking out over time.
The balance shaft seal popped out on my ’96 Prelude when it was only 18 months old. And I can guarantee you that it had neither high oil pressure or a clogged PCV. I had stopped to get gas, and while I was standing there filling up, I noticed this gargantuan oil slick leading up to my ride like the Exxon Valdez had pulled up. I was all like WTF? So I peered underneath, and saw oil pouring out like I had pulled the drain plug. Anyway, I got it fixed under warranty and went on to put another 290K miles on it.
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