I noticed an oil leak after doing the AV6 swap. Pre-swap, I had a leak from the rear main seal (which is fixed now) but now there's another leak. Any idea what could be causing the leak?

I attached some images of where the leak is coming from. The photos show the progression of the leak.

 

Yeaaa, I wouldn't be so sure about that.

 

I've got the same problem. I took the small coverplate off and found no oil on the surfaces inside (ruling out rear main seal) so I suspect mine is certainly coming from up higher, or on the other side of the engine and just running down to the lowest points (about where the trans and engine meet) as it vibrates.

Might want to try the same. cCstrol SuperClean is really good at cutting away at all the oil (and grime) form the bottom of your engine...just make sure to wear gloves. this should help you locate where the oil is coming from.

 

Why's that??

Last time I had the rear main leak, there was oil inside when i took off the small plate. I took it off and it's dry inside and left it out to see if there was any oil leaking from there but that doesn't seem to be the case....

 

I took the small plate off as well and it's dry.. no sign of oil anywhere, that's why i ruled it out too. I don't see any oil leaking from higher up out the outside or from what i can see..

 

When I did My J35 swap I had the same leak even after changing the rear main seal while the motor was on the stand. Turns out it was an O-ring on the inside of the back cover plate above the real main seal. (#21 below). Because of its location, it leaks down around the sides of the bell housing and makes its way towards the bottom cover plate area. Very difficult to pinpoint.

In speaking with an old timer Acura tech, he mentioned that when they do rear main seals they just replace the entire cover plate(#4 below) which only costs around $40, plus a tube of Hondabond, and has the O-ring and main seal already installed.

This may or may not be your problem. In my case, the motor had been sitting on a shelf for a number of years so it stood to reason that it could be culprit.I yanked the trans and installed the new plate. Been dry as a bone since.


The following link is for the J35 but the parts numbers are identical to the J32. https://www.oemacuraparts.com/v-2002...-block-oil-pan

 

Shit replacing that whole plate is a pro move!!! I can't believe i haven't seen it suggested more often

 

I appreciate the response. I will have to look into this... I'll update this threat if/when i get everything all said and done.

 

Yeah, wish I had known about it while I had the motor on the stand.

 

Still not sure that the seal is the culprit for the OP here. In one of the pics I see oil coming from up high where the oil pan bolts are; I personally would give the engine a good clean and run it to inspect where oil is coming from.

@jaaaydeeem Did you check all the other notorious locations for oil leaks?

• cam thrust seal
• valve cover seal
• dipstick seal
• vtec sensor seal
• oil filter housing seal

I would put anything involving removal of my transmission LAST, second to anything involving removal of the oil pan (such as the oil pan seal itself or oil pump seals which require removal of pan).

Best of luck on your diagnosis.

 

I agree with you wholeheartedly whitetiger. Eliminate the easy culprits first. I had resealed the oil pan and went through at least 4 cans of brake clean before pulling the trigger on the trans removal.

 

^^

• cam thrust seal
  • Definitely replace for both cams. Takes only a few minutes.
• valve cover seal
  • Replace front and rear for sure.
• dipstick seal
  • Wrong side of engine
• vtec sensor seal
  • Wrong side of engine

I agree that you should replace all other seals before considering trans removal. The only other things to think of are the oil pain seal or the head gasket, but the head gasket would be very strange.

 

Thanks for this, i'll check these seals before jumping the gun on the trans for sure!! Sounds like i'll be busy on my days off!!

Appreciate everyone's input and responses! I'll let you guys know what i find!

 

Did some cleaning underneath the car and checked the valve seals and cam seals. No leaks from there. Jacked up the car, wiped everything down with some brake cleaner, let the car sit for roughly 3 hours and came back...



The leak from the drain bolt is a known issue... I plan on changing the whole pan. I did change the bolt and washer twice already but still leaking. As far as where the other leak is coming from, I'm still trying to figure that out..










I still haven't gotten around to checking the dipstick seal....

 

It's still hard to say...after looking further: since you are replacing the drain pan, might as well do the oil pump side of the engine?

I can say that after looking at the video below on the layout of the cover plate for the rear main seal that I would have definitely done the whole plate (and replaced the associated o-ring) vs just the seal (in case you went that route too). The video clearly shows how an old o-ring here could give oil a way to run down the side of the engine as Iggy pointed out earlier...they should definitely have this info in the AV6 Swap thread as it isn't as obvious as I wished it were. My biggest apprehension of mis-applying the Honda bond is now far outweighed by having to take the whole trans out again.