1st timer

My car is leaking oil between the tranny and engine.The oil leaking is engine oil.
Besides the oil leak can I leave it like this for now? Or should I have it fixed asap?Seems to leak more oil after some spirited driving.
It's not leaking from the drain plug or filter,could it be anything else?

01tl4tl

remove the inspection cover- 2 10mm bolts- sits between trans and engine under the car
If engien oil is leaking from there- its rear main seal
As its name implies....
and will leak main part of oil quantity in seconds when it goes fully
That could be anytime!

Requires remove transmission and flywheel to access seal- then $8.77 iirc for the seal
Several hours home labor- dealer gets 4 hours to remove and replace the trans as guide
Dont fix it and it will blow up- making the car nearly worthless
Pay em now or payem later~

ChrisQ1980

Don't let it go, and don't add any stop leak. Bring it in and get it fixed.

JCharged

iTrader: (5)

Fix it like yesterday. Ask Lance (L'S TL) ...sorry bro had to.

Stimpy

i did mine last month. even with problems that involved towing(full price) and repair charges from problems i incurred - i still saved $400 over the $717 quoted me by my local honda tech.

1st timer

Do i trust a local mechanic or do i bring it to the stealership? Stealer quoted me 9hrs of labour.

01tl4tl

in person or on the phone?
Go talk with the service MANAGER!!! its only 4 hours book time for R&R trans, and maybe a half hour for R&R flywheel and a few minutes to replace the seal

If your local honda/acura private shop has experience with the trans removal, have them do it.
Otherwise its the dealer- who does them all the time and will do it right, but not without a chat with the boss to see whats up!

1st timer

What's R&R? So what you're saying is that it should not take more than 6 hours
for the whole job.

6MTUA5

iTrader: (2)

Remove and replace?

Rajca

iTrader: (8)

remove and reinstall

fsttyms1

Removal and Reinstall. The job is a 4 to 6 hr job..

1st timer

I noticed that when i drive "normally",there's barely any leaking but when I drive
a little "spirited" it leaks alot more. Why?

Stimpy

i'm no expert on this, but i would deduce that since that's the main seal between trans and engine crankshaft, any spirited driving would directly cause more "spirited" pressure/stress on the seal. anybody feel free to correct me on this if needed.

1st timer

Mechanic told me to add a "stop leak" to the oil!

Rajca

iTrader: (8)

wont fix it, theirs no such thing as a "mechanic in a bottle".

ArTL-S

I got mine fixed at the Acura dealer for 485 out the door and they washed my car so keep talking and searching

1st timer

How many hours did they take for the whole repair?

ArTL-S

my reciept says 3.5 hrs of labor

1st timer

3.5 hrs to remove the tranny,replace seal and replace tranny?
They're quoting me more than double for the same job. I got to go talk the manager over there,that's ridiculous!

01tl4tl

go to a private honda-acura repair shop, or a different dealer if they are that bad to double the price on you
Maybe it takes longer to remove and reinstall on canada cars?!?

TX-Miner

The higher one revs the engine, the higher oil pressure hence the leakage. Also longer driving times usually equals hotter oil that is thinner than cool oil, and again more leakage. I had a G20 that barely leaked driving around town and to/from work but it I put it on the highway, would lose a quart in 400 miles. I changed it when I changed the clutch.
The most important thing to do is check your oil level. Don't let it get low. Those of use who are a little more seasoned remember the days when all cars leaked oil from the rear main. It wasn't until Honda and Toyota came to the US that consumers realized oil leaks were not normal.
I'm not advocating driving it with an oil leak, but having an oil leak tends to motivate one to check the oil level regularly. Far better than most of us (my self included) that don't bother becuase we've become spoiled by oil tight engines.

Miner

TLer trash

Don't overlook your pcv valve/pcv system. If you replace the valve use oe.

1st timer

Why? How do i know it needs changing

01tl4tl

if it doesnt rattle when you shake it, its plugged
Look at the diagram under the hood to locate
That would cause higher than normal internal crankcase pressure and push out seals,
but the wearout of the rear main is not an unusual event with high miles

note- warm oil does not get thinner than the number listed on the can- 20 or 30
That is its viscosity at 200 F, normal operating temp
(the low number is viscosity/flowabilty at 32F)

Longer drives would heat the rubber seal more- allowing more leakange
and higher rpm =- higher oil pressure= not good on weak seal
I am surprised the OP has not fixed this yet- next week we will read- how hard is it to install a junkyard motor???

TLer trash

There was a recent posting on a tech forum I frequent that sounded a lot like yours...... leaking more when driven hard. The culprit was an aftermarket pcv valve. The oe one is cheap enough that I'd just get one and try it.

1st timer

leaking from where?

01tl4tl

remove the 2, 10mm head bolts on the inspection cover under the engine/trans connection
If there is engine oil running down and dripping out from there, you have leakage from the rear main seal- its a critical part

IF the PCV = Positive Crankcase Ventilation, were to stick closed- excess pressure that is normally vented up to the intake snout into the TB and engine----
all that stays inside the crankcase- builds excess pressure and pop goes the seal

In the normal process of internal combustion- these pressures occur and are made of partially burnt fuel, oil vapor and water residue in the `lower end` of the engine.
Thats why its routed back to the intake and reburned- emission control

if the TL is like normal cars- its a small part on the line from the valve cover to the TB and it should have a slide device inside- shake it and it rattles

Experts?? experienced with this part--is this correct on TL, i havent had to deal with that part of my car~

1st timer

Where is the pcv valve?Is there a diy for it? How do i know if it needs replacing?

01tl4tl

look under the hood and read my post above- there is a metal pipe running from the valve cover to the rubber thing that goes from the air filter to the engine
cant miss it-
look at the diagram under the hood- it shows where everything is
shake the pcv- if it shakes its good- if its stuck its not

TLer trash

It was leaking from the rear crank seal.

1st timer

So from the front vavle cover on the right,there's a double metal pipe that goes to the air intake? What do i shake?
Can you see it here?

Stimpy

right above the positive battery cable?

1st timer

I removed the little cap that's being held by 2x 10mm screws between the engine and tranny and found no oil in there at all. Where else should I look?
By removing the cap i saw the torque converter,is this the right cap?

EL19

iTrader: (4)

LOL Its all good, I know I pulled a douche move. It benefited me though because I got a brand spankin new motor out of it for free.

BTW the way it was the Front Main seal on mine. The one right behind the crank pulley. It blew right off and oil pressure dropped and threw a rod right through the block. I was boosted (SC) though.

I had to get the rear main seal done on my ES300 and I was able to drive it for abotu 2 months before I got it fixed, but I would recommend getting it done asap.

1st timer

Can someone confirm if it's the torque converter cap I'm supposed to remove?

Stimpy

yeah thats the right cover - at least thats the one that i looked at when determining that it was the rear main seal that needed replacing in my situation.

can you be more specific as to where its leaking from? all you said was that it's coming from in between the engine and transmission...

1st timer

The oil pan is clean,there's alot of oil exactly where the tranny meets the motor.
should of taken pics while it was lifted. Going to take pics tomorrow when I jack it.And where the hell is the pcv valve???? Does the 00 TL even have one?

01tl4tl

check the emission diagram on the sticker- under hood

1st timer

I did,there's no pcv valve showing on the diagram.

01tl4tl

well thats odd!
the metal line you found going to the rubber snout from the valve cover is what you want to check
remove it and make sure its clear all the way thru--shoot carb cleaner thru it, onto a rag