94 Civic LX - Several Oil Leaks!

I have a '94 Civic LX sedan with approx 200K on it. I say
approximately because the speedometer only works about half the time,
which results in the odometer working only half the time as well.
Right now it's reading close to 196K, but I think it's closer to
200K. That's not much of a problem for me, though I will take care of
it eventually (after new tires, after a new AC condenser, etc.,
etc.) What needs immediate attention is an oil leak, or, more
specifically, several leaks. I wouldn't call them full-blown leaks,
either, because there is very little oil on the floor of my garage.
It seems to be more like seepage from certain areas. I think they are
more of what I call "pressure leaks," meaning it's only because of
driving at high speeds all the time and hard acceleration that the oil
is forced out of specific areas. The majority of my driving is done
on the highway, and it seems like I'm dropping about one quart of oil
every 400-500 miles, which is pretty severe in my opinion. The head
gasket is in good shape, I don't lose coolant, and there is no oil
(blue/grey smoke) in the exhaust except under very hard (near red
line) acceleration. Again, there is very little oil on the floor of
my garage and if I park at a shop or somebody else's driveway, there
is never any oil on the ground from my car. This is why I feel the
leaks are pressure related.

The first thing I did was replace the oil pan gasket. The last time I
changed my oil (a week ago) I noticed there was an oily, sandy mix
that started below the gasket and went down, but nothing above the
gasket. I figured it could use a good cleaning anyways. That was
accomplished yesterday. The process was a bit frustrating and took
several hours, but so far so good.

This picture, and hopefully you all can view it, shows the next item
on my to-do list:
http://www.swoape.org/ejbock/auto/civic/distributor_leak.jpg

The distributor obviously has a leak, which causes that oily, sandy
mess to accumulate on other engine parts. From what I've read here,
this is caused by a worn bearing seal, and if that has failed, the
bearing itself is probably shot. I will be ordering both parts today
and will replace them next weekend. My only concern is reinstallation
of the distributor. One post I read mentioned to be mindful of the
timing when putting the distributor back on. I've never done
distributor work on my Civic before, so could somebody elaborate more
on this process, and more specifically, what to do so I don't jack up
the timing?

This next picture shows the underside of my hood:
http://www.swoape.org/ejbock/auto/civic/hood_oil_spray.jpg
Here's the area directly below the spray, shot from the side of the
car:
http://www.swoape.org/ejbock/auto/civic/hood_oil_spray_source.jpg

It's like oil is being sprayed up there and I have no idea how it gets
there because I don't see any oil or anything in that second picture.
I'm looking for any suggestions here!

One final item, and I don't know if it's related to the oil leaks or
not, but I seem to get quite a bit of soot on the bumper above the
tail pipe. I have to wipe down the bumper once a week because it's a
white car and the soot shows very easily! Is this another oil problem
or is it related more to fuel/oxygen and a sensor that might need to
be replaced?

Thanks!

 

that's not a distributor leak, that's an oil filler cap leak, and you're
not a honda cap. buy the correct one [new or junkyard] and it won't leak.

and that's not a bad leak btw.

looks like power steering pump seal. but it's not serious enough to
merit stripdown yet. just keep an eye on the fluid level.

that's not an oil problem, that's a combustion/injection problem.
judging by general conditions, you could probably benefit from new
plugs, plug leads and distributor cap. in addition, you /definitely/
need to fix the speedo problem. most likely a sender unit. without
that, the injection system goes into default mode and it's probably
injecting rich. that'll ruin your cat, not just leave smuts on your
bumper. read the fault code from your ecu and fix accordingly.

one last thing about oil leaks - the oil you use is important. some
brands skimp on seal conditioners. i've had good luck with castrol
keeping leaks under control because it has good conditioners. [but that
won't compensate for using the wrong filler cap.]

 

Check / replace your PCV. It can allow your oil vapor to be sucked out
and burnt. Some claim it can start blowing out seals if it plugs up too.

'Curly'

 

Concur with Curly about replacing the PCV valve. At a
minimum, not only might it stop some of this oil leakage, it
may improve your fuel mileage. An old, worn, possibly
malfunctioning PCV valve messes up the engine computer. If
it's sticking shut, then this will overpressurize seals such
as the oil pan's.

Concur about distributor seals.

I would replace the valve cover gasket. Use an OEM gasket
only. Replace it carefully, since it's easy to get it
twisted when re-installing the valve cover. Torque down the
four cap nuts using a low-range torque wrench, available for
around $20 at Harbor Freight. You will find the spec at the
free online manuals at Autozone.com or
http://www.honda.co.uk/car/owner/workshop.html . I think
it's 7 or 9 ft-lbs. for my 91 Civic. Yours should be the
same or close to. My best guess for that spray pattern on
the underside of the hood is leakage from the valve cover
gasket.

Have you observed the engine while it is running and felt
around these places (carefully) for leakage?

Your Civic also has two sets of "spark plug tube" gaskets.
One set is easy to change out. The other is more difficult
and may or may not be do-able by you. I suppose I am an
"experienced amateur" and I did both with little pain.
Especially if your spark plug tubes have oil in them, change
these.

Not sure about the oil on the bumper near the exhaust, other
than maybe excess oil is in the cylinders.