How should I proceed with engine oil leak
 

Today when I took my 06 Acura tl to Honda dealership for oil change they informed me my car had oil leak and recommended me to take it to acura dealership for oil leak diagnostic. The car has 129k miles on it. Is it common to have oil leak at 129k? The diagnostic will be $110 if I di it at Honda deal ship. Should I be concern with the leak? How do I confirm the leak? Thanks in advance

It's not normal to have any leaks at any mileage.

Get the car up on a lift and look at the bottom of the engine area-- a leak will appear as a damp or wet spot.
If the damp area is large, you may have to clean it and then check several days later to look for the origin of the leak.

An independent mechanic can look for a leak as easily as a factory service tech, BTW.

After parking the car, immediately place some white paper or even paperboard under the engine and trans and inspect later. You'll be able to see the area of the leak, or at least the general location and the color of the fluid would determine the component to inspect. If the test proves positive and the amount is verified, small/large, then go from there. Remember, even the smallest drip will mushroom when contacting the paper.

as others have posted you should not have leaks even with the mileage. My tsx has no leaks (knock on wood) with almost 136K miles

Some cars leak. Including mine at 75k, my oil pump and power steering pump are leaking.
My oil pump has been leaking for 15k now. I will reseal it when I do my 105k.

The usual leaks I see are power steering pump, oil pump, rear main seal and axle seal.

Oil - Yellow/brown
- front main seal
- rear main seal
- rear seal case mating surface (silicone glue)
- front cam seal (x2)
- oil-pan mating surface (silicone glue)
- oil-pan drain plug
- oil pump mating surface (silicone glue)
- head gasket (x2)
- Valve cover gasket (x2)
- Camshaft thrust cover (x2)
- Oil filter
- Oil filter mount/VTEC solenoid
- Block & cylinder head sealing plugs

OP, where is the leak coming from, i.e. from what general location? Is it leaving a residue on the garage floor?

There is a theory that the engine jacking procedure that is done during the power steering hose safety recall is causing rear main seal leaks on some TLs.

thanks everyone for the inputs. i placed a large paper under the car overnight after driving home. the next morning i inpected the paper and there is no stain on the paper. can there be oil leak without the drips on the paper?

:nod: Yes, most slow and gasket leaks spread all over the engine and chassis before any fluid ever hits the ground. FWIW, that's much better than a bigger leak which drops fluid on the ground.

That's also why you should look for damp/wet-looking areas on the underside of the engine and chassis. If the leak has existed for some time, you may need to wipe or otherwise clean off the entire area to locate the exact source of the leak.

shoot if its not that bad then have them clean it off real good and watch it from time to time. check oil and trans fluid levels from time to time as well.

I think my Tacoma leaks a half a quart a month 200k and 12 yr old truck

If it's not bad enough to drip and you don't have to add oil, it's probably not worth fixing. I had seals that showed the beginning of weeping when the car had 10,000 miles on it and 100,000 miles later are still barely damp, never a drip or even what I would call wet yet the dealer made it sound like I had this huge leak that had to be fixed right away.

Look for yourself for signs of a leak. If you find a large area covered in oil and it's not obvious where it's coming from, clean it really well with degreaser or high pressure water and check it again a few days later.

thanks everyone for your input. i will look under the car when i get the chance to check for the location of the leak

I would check at the oil drain plug, the oil filter, oil pan gasket, power steering reservoir, brake fluid reservoir, and hoses.

Reviving this thread bc I'm having similar issues with my 07 TL-S...
shes at 45,000 right now and the leaks are happening.
Went to the dealership and they quoted me nearly 4k for the rear main seal, Oil pump housing leak, and power steering rack leak.

OP did you find out where your leaks are happening?

Wow! thats unfortunate only at 45k. If you were near 90K I would recommended doing your timing belt and water pump since the Oil pump is near the area. That would of saved you labor cost but you've got low miles. Oil pump and Water pump and timing belt runs around $1,400.00.

Not sure about the power steering rack. My power steering hose started leaking and it was covered by the recall. Well I had to call Acura care 1st since the dealership couldn't find my car in the recall list.

That seems odd that both the front AND rear main seals would be leaking. Sounds like they may be trying to screw you. It's the rear main seal that is a huge job. You have to drop the trans to do it. Front is easy and can be done with a timing belt swap. If you aren't leaking a large amount of oil, then maybe you should just let it go.

Agreed.

Also, if the car is leaking from both seals which isn't likely, check that the PCV system is working right. If you've installed a CAI on your car, check that nothing is capped off.

The tech only told me the rear main seal is leaking, not the front. Yea they told me about the whole process of taking the trans from the motor deal... they said a 15 hour job LOL. I had a local mechanic take a look and he didnt see much of a leak bc the tech cleaned it up back at the dealer... I'm gna try the paper towel idea and see if the leaks progress.

Nope dont have a CAI, but could you provide me with info where I could check the PCV system? (I'm not much of a technical guy :()

yes it is unfortunate @45k :whyme: I'm thinking of just going on a massive road trip to rack up miles and get to 105k hopefully not busting anything inbetween :wish:, but in all seriousness i'm at a point whether to stick with the problems and see if they turn out more serious, OR part with the car... :whyme:

I've thought about it to when I went through the problems. So far so good, there isn't any issues for now until I decide what car to get next.

I think the next issue that you may want to brace yourself with is the motor mounts. Common issue...

I guess you've found that one out on your new thread you started. "" One helluva expensive repair estimate ""

ok today i found 2 spots of oil leak on the garage floor. one uner the engine and another one under the driver door. can the oil leak travel to the side of driver door while driving? oh well time to take it to the mechanic to have a look since it's time for oil change soon......

just had a mechanic take a look at the car and he said i had power steering pump leak and rear main seal leak. the leak is only few drops here and there. the car is at 145k miles. should i wait until the next timing belt/water pump service and get everything done? the mechanic said i can just cover the floor to catch the oil drips...

As far as t he rear main seal goes: I'd just keep an eye on it for now. Sometimes these "heal" themselves. Unless it's making a huge mess or shows a noticeable drop on the dipstick, I'd just live with it for the time being and see what happens.

Same goes for the PS leak as long as the leak isn't allowing too much air into the system. Are you sure it's the pump that's leaking or just a hose? Have you had the PS hose recall done?

it looks to me the leak comes from where the power steering o ring is located. i have already gotten the hose recall done already. it's not making a mess but it bugs me that my car has a leak lol. hopefully it'll hold up for another year before we trade it in for a bigger car for the family...

The O-ring was supposed to be replaced as part of the recall, but a lot of dealers didn't do it. That could be the issue. You can go back to the dealer and ask them to replace it under goodwill or just do it yourself. The part # is in the TSB.

Yes the recall was already done. I did the o ring replacement to fix the steering whining noise. Oh we'll I'm gonna leave it alone for now. Thanks for the inputs

Thread jack! Just cause there is no point in me starting a new thread :tongue:

I was cleaning my engine bay yesterday and came across a little leak, and not sure what I should do

Attachment 49712

I'm thinking that I either:
A. Ignore it
B. Change the washer and maybe bolt as well?
C. ?????

Looks to be hardly an issue at this point. I'd wipe it clean and watch it for a while. If it continues to leak, you could retorque the bolt, but be very careful!! It's very easy to snap those valve cover bolts. The torque spec is only 8.7 ft-lbs. If the bolt happens to bottom out before reaching 8.7 ft-lbs, stop!! You can also replace the bolt/washer assembly.

Thanks! Just wanted to make sure it wasn't an issue like "OMG YOUR ENGINE WILL ASPLODE!!!!" or something along those lines :tongue:

Im on the same boat here purchased the vehicle 3 months ago,came with a 90 day power train warranty a month later I noticed some sweating spots around the power steering pump(dealer replaced it wit a new pump)also started hearing clunking noise whenever i turn left(dealer also replaced passenger side front axle)now after a month noticed that my rear main seal is leaking its not pouring or anything I would say its just a minor leak for now(im scared bcoz it could get worse,unfortunately that warranty that i have doesnt cover the rear main seal(fought hard for it but no luck this time getting it repaired under warranty)

See post #23...

Engine oil leak after rack and pinion replaced.
 

I had my r&p replaced as well as an axle seal about a month and a half ago. I have noticed that I am losing a lot of oil now... Like, about 2 quarts low with a thousand miles left until another oil change is due. Could this have been the oil pan not being replaced properly? Love my CL, but she is starting to give me angina! :) 03 cl (160 k).

Btw... the oil pan is only about two years old.

Bringing this topic back on course since I have a slight oil leak. I see small spots on my garage floor but the dipstick level is good whenever I check it. I am suspecting the rear main seal might be the culprit. Has anyone tried stop leak products on the TL? I tried lucas in my prelude a couple years ago and IIRC it worked for the most part. Any input is appreciated, thanks.

http://www.lucasoil.com/products/dis...%20Stop%20Leak

I wouldn't use stop leak products if you intend to keep the car for any length of time.

I have leaks from my oil Filler housing gasket, Transmission cooler hoses, and power steering pump gaskets. Each has a different color fluid and location. As mentioned above, cleaning your engine / undercarriage well will give you the best chance at diagnosing the exact locations of the leaks, and how severe they are. Some leaks are relatively inexpensive DIYs, others not. I don't like leaks, but to me certain small leaks just aren't worth the expense to fix. Good luck!

If its a slow leak on the rear main just clean it at every oil change with a squirt of brake cleaner. Expensive repair, as far as ps leak, reseal your pump. Its like $15 for the kit. My 07 TL is leaking from the PS pump, oil pan, and ear main. I just bought it 5 month's ago. Im a mechanic at a Caddy dealer so i bought my TL there with a $1500 full AM warranty. Looks like im headed to the dealer too! 94k miles, id day shes due lol

^^^
Cleaning around the area of the rear main seal with brake cleaner, yes. But the seal itself can be damaged further by brake cleaner - its not meant to be used on rubber or plastic.

I'm very curious on getting more info on that because I just brought my TL in for a power steering hose recall repair and now, there are oil leakage that never existed before my car was brought in. Dealership is denying responsibility and if there are theories put there about the same issues I'm facing l, there could be a bigger issue at hand.

Just a rash of Aziners reporting rear main seal leaks after the PS safety recall was done.