My car has developed an oil leak within the last 1k miles. I just turned 171k, it still runs like a champ. I thought maybe it was the crush washer so i replaced that, then maybe i didnt tighten the oil filter, nope! So i crawled under my car and it is coming from what looks like in back of the oil pan(towards the back of my car) and above the cross member. My guess is the rear main seal? Does anyone have any experiences with this? I dont really want to sink alot of money into a car thats almost 14 years old and has 171k on it. Ive thought about that bars stop leak, but ive always been skeptical about stuff like that, id much rather fix the problem the right way.

 

The main seal is a known problem on older RL's and 1st gen 3.2 TL's.

I'd send a PM to Texashonda, he's very knowledgeable about these things and can give you an approximate cost.

https://acurazine.com/forums/members/texashonda-179635/ <--- TexasHonda's profile

 

Sounds like a rear seal from what you say. You could try cleaning the underside of the car with degreaser and verifying it is in fact coming from between the engine and transmission.


Is a BIG job. A big shop with lifts and proper tools would probably take 2 days to complete.

Are you running high milage oil? If not maybe give that a try for a couple of oil changes to see if it slows down or stops. Keeping an eye on your oil level all the time.

If not maybe running a thicker oil or at the very worst an additive like Lucas.


I figure to replace is propably going to be 1000+.

Theres alot of work in there.

If you do it yourself it will cost you about 35-65 dollars for the seal.

 

argh. I know its such a cheap fix to do yourself if you have the space avaliable. If the car wasnt fwd im sure it would be 100 times easier and id do it myself, as i usually do most of my work myself, BUT its not. Id rather stay away from additives, i feel lucky because my engine is fairly clean(my oil still comes out brown after 4k miles) Thanks Ken ill PM him....maybe ill just buy a new engine and while its out have the heads ported and polished along with the intake manifold....it might be cheaper seeing as how i can get one on ebay for around 500

 

Have you ever had overheating problem before?
What types of engine oil did you put it in? Have you fill it with 0W30? Acura recommend 5W30 for our RL.
But if you lives in not freaking cold place, replace the engine oil with 10W30 or 10W40. It will stop leak the engine oil such a minor leak like yours. 10W30 can be used in the temp region up to -4 degree in fahrenheit.
Give it a try!

 

Yes i just tried 0w30....but the leak started before that. I had been using 10w30. Ill most likely switch back to 5w30, and i cant run 10w30 in the winter(chicago) because there are those cold days when it is -10. The car has never had over heating problems(knock on wood), but i am having an issue with my coolant vanishing. I have a feeling my lower hose is leaking. Cars going to acura the 29th(had to wait to get a loaner). This car needs to last me at least until i get into pharmacy school, and my interior and exterior are in amazing condition for the year so ive decided to try and get everything taken care of.

 

I always used Mobil 1 5W30 fully synthetic oil on my 97 RL. I had a short period of overheating problem due to radiator hairline crack on top part of plastic which is a common problem with aged RLs. Aftermath I had a slight engine oil leaking.

Anyway, I had changed the oil to Mobil 1 0W30 once and I found there was somewhat serious engine oil leaking from all of seals. So, I replaced the oil to Mobil 1 10W30 and now there is no leaking at all. The lower the number, the lower the viscosity.

Sad that you can't use 10W30 for winter up at Chicago............
Try it as soon as winter gone!

 

97Rler, i had the hairline crack problem too. I replaced the radiator, but i recently developed a leak by the upper radiator hose, but i double clamped it and now its fine, but still the coolant is disappearing. Im guessing the lower hose is on its last leg.(the upper hose's interior cracked and it was the size of a tennis ball). So tomorrow ill try thicker oil and ill fix this leak, id hate dish out all the money its going to cost to replace the rear main seal. Thanks for your input

 

Any updates on the rear main seal?