1990 ACCORD LX OIL LEAK DISTRUBUTOR

Hi folks,

Maybe someone can shed some light on this problem.

1990 Accord LX 4 door auto.
Oil pouring out of vent hole at bottom of distributor.
Not the O ring seal.

OK This happened last June 20 2005
After 198,000 miles it emptied the oil pan in 50 miles of driving.
On the way home from work about 5 miles from home.
Oil light comes on, pull over shut down engine check oil, dip stick dry. WTF
!!!
Luckily I had just bought the oil for a oil change that weekend in the
trunk.
Dump it in, check it almost a gallon used.
Start it up check it oil, pouring out of distributor.
Drive like hell to get it home.
At home closer inspection shows it pouring out of the vent hole at bottom of
distributor.
Ok, Remove disassemble and inspect.
Disassembling distributor and the oil seal at the bottom was pushed out of
the its seat in the lower housing.
Ok, seal looked dried out and cracked.
Probably age replacement should fix it up. Sleeve bearing was fine.
I'll replace it.
After a ridiculous local search for the oil seal I found one place on the
net with OEM seals.
Pressed new seal in, good to go.
Assembled tested, lasted exactly 20 minutes oil pouring out again ! WTF !!
Disassembled, oil seal pushed back out.
Everybody is telling me " You cant fix them you got to replace the
distributor "
OK, I'll replace it.
Search Local Bone yards, Not one Honda car in the yard with this type of
model still on the car !
Is there a pattern here ?
Found a replacement ( rebuilt )
Good to go.
Installed and set up fine.

Today 1 30 2006
216,000 miles on clock
On the way home from work again.
Oil light comes on about 20 miles from home, pull over shut down engine.
Lift hood ,oil smell. oil all over top of starter.
Check oil on stick. empty, Oh No not again.
Lucky I keep a spare gallon in trunk, Fill it up.
Start engine, oil pouring out of vent hole again.
Drive like hell to get home again.
Hopefully this distributor has a warranty so it goes back.
What is wrong with this CAR ?
What have I over looked on this car.
Any suggestions would be a help.
I am beginning to loose my faith in this car

Thanks
John

 

Sounds like a problem with engine ventilation. Just my 2¢ worth..

JT

 

worth..

Hey, good one. John, when was the last time you checked the
PCV valve, for one? With the car idling, I would first pinch
its intake line shut with pliers and cloth wrapped around
the line. Do you hear a click from the valve within 30
seconds? If not, definitely replace it, and that tells you
that the valve may very well be the problem. If you do hear
a click, indicating some kind of operation, but maybe not
adequate operation, then next remove and inspect the PCV
valve and the lines connecting to it, along with the other
crankcase breathing lines. If either the valve or lines are
chock full of waxy, oily debris, that may indicate the
crankcase is being overpressurized, leading to the oil
leaks. A new seal would hold only so long.

Clean the lines as best you can. Replace the PCV valve and
its grommet. (Old grommets can crack and produce vacuum
leaks.) These parts are cheap--under $20 or so at
www.slhonda.com . They are shown under engine, yada, then
"Breather Tube."

 

Ditto. PCV system is plugged.

 

if a cam bearing is allowing the cam to float too much, it can "walk" a
seal out. is the cam noisy? remove the rocker cover and inspect cam
for play.

blocked pcv can also blow a seal, but it'll oil from /all/ the seals,
not just one.

 

Well It must be plugged at highway speed cause it aint plugged at idle.
Ever seen a PCV close up at highway speed ?
Is there a possibility this thing does something not normal at highway
speed?
when valve is pulled from cover there is air flow from crankcase.
Valve is working and there is plenty of vacuum at ilde.
Line is dry with no signs of oily/waxy/sludge residue in hose.
Engine appears to idle smoothly with no rough or varing idle speed.
No check engine warning lights or such either.
Grommet fits valve snuggly.

Engine does not burn oil and there does not seem like any noticeable blowby.
But something is not right.
Why for almost 200,000 miles no problem and then bingo within 6 months its
blowing seals.

problem with rear cam bearing ? high oil flow ? no noticeable noises comming
form head or engine.
But why does the bearing on the distrubutor not show signs of distress, if
cam bearing was loose and sloppy.
Can valve tappet adjustment cause this ?

John

 

No, but I've seen engines with blowby that's too great for the PCV system
to handle.

Heaviest air flow is at larger throttle openings. That's when the PCV valve
is working its hardest.

There might be sludge partially plugging up the oil separator box or rocker
cover baffling (whichever your car has).

A plugged PCV by itself will have no effect on idle on vehicles with a
feedback system.

But what about the breather tube? The one that goes from the rocker cover
to the intake pipe, that is.

Also check for oil in the big air pipe to the throttle body.

You can't tell. The cat will eat it up until it gets to about 200 miles per
quart.

You've got blowby even in a newer engine. Some blowby is normal. Lots is
not.

That's for sure.

Everything here points to a breathing problem. Check the PCV SYSTEM,
NOT just the valve.

If the entire system is clear and there's no oil in the big air pipe, then
there's something else wrong. Possibilities: The O-ring is the wrong size,
made of the wrong material, or is installed incorrectly. Did the O-ring
come from the dealer or Home Depot?

The distributor bearing is not lubricated by engine oil.

No.

 

Good point. Rotate cam so those lobes are off the lifters, then pull the
bearing cap. You should be able to see the crosshatching. If it's gone,
there may be considerable wear.

Cam wear on these engines is the result of infrequent oil changes, or
engines where the oil level has been repeatedly run too low.

Eventually yes, but it often starts at the weakest one.

 

| 216,000 miles on clock
Has the original gearbox lasted this many miles ? Was changing its
fluid more often than the 24000 mile interval prescribed by honda
? Has any filter been fitted to clean fluid ?

 

Hey, it's the MAL-asian again!

What the f*ck has any of this go to do with his distributor?

Go back and annoy the people in rec.autos.tech like you usually do.