1991 Accord oil leakage

Recently my 1991 Accord (2.2 liter engine) is spilling oil. Oil is found on
top of the power steering reservoir and in the area underneath that. In my
first observation it does not seem to be power steering oil, it smells
different. Also the power steering oil level is still at max.
I cannot find any spots where the oil may come from. At first I thought I
had driven the car with the dipstick not put in properly, but this is not
it.
It seems that as long as I keep the rpms down there is no significant
leakage...
Any hint, suggestions what I should look for?

Could it be overpressure in the powersteering system?

 

If it is motor oil, check around the valve cover for a leaking valve
cover gasket. Never seen a leaking one on a Honda but I know other makes
have issues with the valve cover gasket if it is not replaced at re
required intervals.

 

If it is motor oil, check around the valve cover for a leaking valve
cover gasket. Never seen a leaking one on a Honda but I know other makes
have issues with the valve cover gasket if it is not replaced at re
required intervals.

 

If it is motor oil, check around the valve cover for a leaking valve
cover gasket. Never seen a leaking one on a Honda but I know other makes
have issues with the valve cover gasket if it is not replaced at re
required intervals.

 

The location of the oil on the power steering reservoir top seemed a bit
strange, so I didn't post originally.

I am chiming in now to say that, my 1991 Civic LX had a serious valve cover
gasket leak (but probably not due to age) last year. Oil was all over the lower
part of the engine. I regularly change the oil and clean up under the hood, so I
knew this was not usual. A low oil dipstick reading confirmed.

Turns out a few weeks before a kid apprentice had taken off the valve cover to
troubleshoot a breakdown. It was a mom and pop shop in the middle of nowhere, so
they let me watch. I wasn't savvy about the gasket at the time. I am pretty sure
the kid was not careful when he put the valve cover back on, and so the gasket
was somewhat twisted and not seated properly. A new gasket and careful
re-assembly fixed it right up. (The breakdown turned out to be the distributor
rotor set screw failing. That is, no working rotor. Bustards at the Honda
dealership screwed this up at least once, to boot.)

 

The location of the oil on the power steering reservoir top seemed a bit
strange, so I didn't post originally.

I am chiming in now to say that, my 1991 Civic LX had a serious valve cover
gasket leak (but probably not due to age) last year. Oil was all over the lower
part of the engine. I regularly change the oil and clean up under the hood, so I
knew this was not usual. A low oil dipstick reading confirmed.

Turns out a few weeks before a kid apprentice had taken off the valve cover to
troubleshoot a breakdown. It was a mom and pop shop in the middle of nowhere, so
they let me watch. I wasn't savvy about the gasket at the time. I am pretty sure
the kid was not careful when he put the valve cover back on, and so the gasket
was somewhat twisted and not seated properly. A new gasket and careful
re-assembly fixed it right up. (The breakdown turned out to be the distributor
rotor set screw failing. That is, no working rotor. Bustards at the Honda
dealership screwed this up at least once, to boot.)

 

The location of the oil on the power steering reservoir top seemed a bit
strange, so I didn't post originally.

I am chiming in now to say that, my 1991 Civic LX had a serious valve cover
gasket leak (but probably not due to age) last year. Oil was all over the lower
part of the engine. I regularly change the oil and clean up under the hood, so I
knew this was not usual. A low oil dipstick reading confirmed.

Turns out a few weeks before a kid apprentice had taken off the valve cover to
troubleshoot a breakdown. It was a mom and pop shop in the middle of nowhere, so
they let me watch. I wasn't savvy about the gasket at the time. I am pretty sure
the kid was not careful when he put the valve cover back on, and so the gasket
was somewhat twisted and not seated properly. A new gasket and careful
re-assembly fixed it right up. (The breakdown turned out to be the distributor
rotor set screw failing. That is, no working rotor. Bustards at the Honda
dealership screwed this up at least once, to boot.)

 

I have a 91 Accord EX Sedan and the valve cover gasket has some oil leak.
When I did the tune up , one of the spark plugs had little oil on the
bottom.
I was wondering whether changing the valve cover gasket would help ?

 

I have a 91 Accord EX Sedan and the valve cover gasket has some oil leak.
When I did the tune up , one of the spark plugs had little oil on the
bottom.
I was wondering whether changing the valve cover gasket would help ?

 

I have a 91 Accord EX Sedan and the valve cover gasket has some oil leak.
When I did the tune up , one of the spark plugs had little oil on the
bottom.
I was wondering whether changing the valve cover gasket would help ?

 

If your spark plugs go in through the middle of the valve cover, there is a
set of rubber gaskets around those holes as well on the bottom of the valve
cover. They are usually separate from the main gasket, but replacing both
will probably fix your leaks. With a '91, you might also want to replace
the rubber washers on the bolts that hold down the valve cover as well.

The above is assuming the oil on the plug was at the top of the threads -
the part that sticks out of the engine. If the oil on the bottom of the
spark plug was at the electrode or the bottom of the threads, you have a
different problem that gaskets won't fix.

 

If your spark plugs go in through the middle of the valve cover, there is a
set of rubber gaskets around those holes as well on the bottom of the valve
cover. They are usually separate from the main gasket, but replacing both
will probably fix your leaks. With a '91, you might also want to replace
the rubber washers on the bolts that hold down the valve cover as well.

The above is assuming the oil on the plug was at the top of the threads -
the part that sticks out of the engine. If the oil on the bottom of the
spark plug was at the electrode or the bottom of the threads, you have a
different problem that gaskets won't fix.

 

If your spark plugs go in through the middle of the valve cover, there is a
set of rubber gaskets around those holes as well on the bottom of the valve
cover. They are usually separate from the main gasket, but replacing both
will probably fix your leaks. With a '91, you might also want to replace
the rubber washers on the bolts that hold down the valve cover as well.

The above is assuming the oil on the plug was at the top of the threads -
the part that sticks out of the engine. If the oil on the bottom of the
spark plug was at the electrode or the bottom of the threads, you have a
different problem that gaskets won't fix.

 

The oil is all around on the top of the power steering reservoir. All signs
look like it is leaking down from there only. I do not find any oil leakage
on the lower part of the engine...
Could the powersteering be 'overcooking'??

 

The oil is all around on the top of the power steering reservoir. All signs
look like it is leaking down from there only. I do not find any oil leakage
on the lower part of the engine...
Could the powersteering be 'overcooking'??

 

The oil is all around on the top of the power steering reservoir. All signs
look like it is leaking down from there only. I do not find any oil leakage
on the lower part of the engine...
Could the powersteering be 'overcooking'??

 

In doing some ignition work (posted recently here) I pulled all four
plugs and found some oil in the bottom of each plug cavity (top of the
head). Was getting bypass oil through the four individual oval
gaskets at the plug gaskets. Probably periodic changing of the gasket
is necessary. If you buy a valve cover gasket (about $20 bucks
AutoZone) you will get the four plug cavity gaskets, plug wire top
O-rings, and compression washers with it. Make sure you take the
acorn nuts down all the way as I believe it provides the proper
compression on all gaskets.

 

Thanks a lot for the feedback guys.

Need to change the valve cover gasket, plug cavity gasket.

 

NO SIR!

Folks have given you lots of good guesses, but none are correct. I know all
about this, I have the same car, and it used to have the same problem.

The oil is power steering fluid. It gets there because you have a leak in
the low pressure end of the P/S system. The leak is allowing the pump to
inhale air, which is pressurized "in to" the fluid. After the fluid pressure
drops (through the rack/valving) the air expands out of the fluid, and
causes it to foam.

So: check your P/S fluid level. If I'm right, it will be low (or you've
refilled it). You can watch the phenomenon in action when you cold start on
a cool/cold day. Drive around a little, and then go under the hood. You'll
see foamy P/S fluid coming out of the red P/S reservoir cap. You'll also
notice where it goes...and that the inside fender well under the reservoir
is totally caked with dirt/oil.

Furthermore, I'm going to surmise that your leak is exactly where mine was -
at the seal for the pulley shaft of the pump. You can confirm this by
looking at the pulley itself, and the front of the pump housing. The leak
allows both air in, and fluid out. You will find that the outer rim of the
pulley is mucky/oily and the holes in the face of the pulley have a streak
leading away from them. If your leak is bad enough, or has gone on long
enough, then you'll also see a streak of dirt/oil on the inside of the hood,
in a strip that is exactly in the plane of the pulley (because the oil is
flung from the pulley when the pump is running)

I'm pretty sure I'm right, but another possible location for a low-pressure
side leak is in the large diameter hose from the reservoir to the
pump...check carefully if your pump/pulley are dry.

----- The Fix ----

Well, you can pay a shop to rebuild your pump. My good shop wanted a lot of
$$ for that. If you go this route, then you should convince your garage that
they don't have to do a complete rebuild, but replace only the front pump
cover (less $$, less opportunity to screw up)

If you are handy, you can do it yourself. The front pump cover (complete
with new seal) can be had for $22 from hondaautomotiveparts.com. Have a
clean work area and torque things properly when reassembling. The only
gotcha I know of is that if you're not careful, you can cut the new seal on
the threads of the shaft. Cover threads with electrical/duct tape before
sliding new cover on. By the way, the pulley nut is a left-hand thread.

Good luck!
Arthur

 

Wow, thanks Arthur, this really sound like the problem my car has.
My impression is that in the case of my car the air leak is in its early
stages. I found out that it is only spilling oil when I accelerate hard,
over 5500 rpms. In the past week I've kept the rpms low, like below 3500
rpms, and the area around the P/S reservoir remain dry. So this gives me
some time to locate the source of the problem. I
Your input is of great help. I'll keep the group posted on this.

Regards,
Jan