Oil Leak

I have a 1993 1.5 Litre Honda Civic. Recently I have noticed oil
dripping under the car and it looks to be coming from above the oil
filter, but below the head gasket. Can anyone tell me a possible
source/cause of this leak? Thanks.

 

One strong possibility is the valve cover gasket needs replacement.

It's a DIY job if you're a little handy. Make sure you torque down the valve
cover carefully and correctly. A new gasket should run under $20.

My 91 Civic broke down 1.5 years ago and a mom & pop shop worked on it. While
trying to find the problem, some kid apprentice mechanic took off the valve
cover and apparently replaced it sloppily. (The problem turned out to be the
distributor rotor.) Two weeks later when next I was under the hood I saw the
lower part of the engine covered with oil. I made some inquiries here and
someone pointed out it was probably the valve cover gasket. It was.

These gaskets do wear over time. Or maybe you too had some work done on your car
recently where the valve cover had to come off?

Updates welcome for the archive.

 

Check the oil pressure switch. It's often located right above the oil
filter, at least it is on the '88-'91 and the '95-'97 Civics. It's unlikely
that they changed it on the '93 model.

Eric

 

Thanks Eric. I got your message and had a close look above the oil
filter. There was oil on this switch and did not appear to be any
above it... I think we got it. I just finished changing the oil
pressure switch now. Thanks again for your reply, and all others who
replied to my question.

Tom