So ever since I bought the car I noticed this

Im wondering what this might be, has anyone had this problem before?

From under the car


Replaced stock Jpipe with ATLP so just waiting to see if I can see anything leaking there.
When I put the Jpipe in last night I seen some type of liquid on the underneath of the transmission. The trans cover thing under the car had liquid on it also.

I wipe it up and it still appears


I can smell it if I have my AC circulation turned off. I can smell a slight oil type burning. Hope this isnt a expensive repair, but maybe a gasket is bad?
Anyone can help with this please?
Thank you in advanced!

 

Looks like a simple valve cover gasket leaking engine oil. From the picture may be leaking out of the valve cover bolt hole. Not harmful to your engine, but a pain since it leaks down onto the exhaust manifold and smells.

It's helpful to clean the area with degreaser to locate the exact spot of the leak. I would first simply try to gently tighten all the valve cover bolts with a 10mm socket (I believe the torque is 7.2 ft-lbs). If the bolts are just loose, this might just stem the leak. The real solution is the replace the valve cover gasket--no big deal, but a bit of time. Hope this helps, good luck.

 

Thank you for the reply! You think replacing the gasket would be a easy enough DIY? Or should that be taken to a shop? You think I should get the gasket set they have, comes with valve cover, spark plug tube seals and grommets.
Ill try tightening it tonight. Hopefully that works, if not Ill be buying the gaskets for this.

 

Be very careful when tightening those bolts. Stop once you feel them bottom out or you reach 8.7 ft-lbs.

And since the intake manifold needs to be removed to get the valve comver off, replacing the gasket is not so simple of a DIY...

 

Replacing the valve cover gasket is the easy part--getting the valve covers off requires you to remove the intake plenum, and all that entails. If that's coming off, then you want to replace the seals for the intake. It's kind of a can of worms, but not the end of the world of you do your research, get the right gaskets in advance, and take your time putting everything back together. Lots of labor, minor gaskets costs. And as mentioned, don't over-torque or you'll hate yourself.

Here is great information, photos, and diagrams for this gasket replacement: https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/valve-adjustment-pics-854094/

Good luck.

 

The bolts are hard to break. Tighten until they bottom, its very noticeable and then stop.

I would start with just the bolt seal. It's quick and easy to replace. Usually gravity stops oil from flowing uphill so unless there's so much dirt that the oil is being soaked up to the top of the valvecover, its coming from the bolt.

 

Thank you guys for all the help. I did my 105k and. Don't think the mechanic replaced the gaskets. I'll try and ask around if anyone knows how to do it or has done it before.
If not ill have to tackle it myself. Also I don't think he did the valve adjustments when he did the 105k. Pretty upset with his service. Will this affect my engine? Should I get my valves adjusted ASAP?

 

I Hate Cars is right (again, dang it!). Replacing just the Valve Cover Bolt Seal first is the way to go. Get one from an Acura dealer for a few bucks. Replacing the leaky one should be easy if it's just a grommet-type seal, remove the bolt, just pull the old one out and press in a new one, then snug up the bolt. Should look something like this:

https://www.carpartsdiscount.com/aut...tml?3593=95333

Let us know how it goes.

 

Should I get the set? Comes with the gaskets for the spark plug area also

 

Bringing this thread up

I am having the same issue like the OP and I need to replace those valve cover gasket this weekend. Any idea what is the OEM part number for the whole set? How much the part usually cost and how much is the labor cost?

 

Not sure if anyone said it, but the nut holding the coil pack is missing. Atleast it looks like it. I cant really see on my phone

 

I just went to my dealer and they had the whole thing in stock. It was one package with the bolt seals, spark plug seals, and valve cover gaskets.

If you're going this far into it, you might as well do the valve adjustment or at least check the valve clearance if you haven't done so already.

 

Then how much it did cost to you the package IHC? Should I buy the spark plug too?

 

The coil pack bolt wasn't missing for mine. I replaced my gaskets and I used the kit I replaced the spark plug ones too. Every gasket on the valve cover was flat and hard. So it was leaking. But now I have 0 leaks. I also cleaned out my manifold while it was off.

 

Sorry I forgot to update everyone. Replaced all gaskets on the valve covers even spark plug ones. And perfect! No leaks anymore no burning oil smoke too. Thanks everyone for their help.

 

Let me ask a question if you don't mind.


I noticed a small droplets of oil on my valve cover which seems to be coming from the valve cover bolt ( like your picture depicts above ).
To replace those rubber O-rings, is it as simple as removing that bolt and sliding the new one in?

 

How much was it???

 

I forget but I think it was around $40, maybe cheaper. I'll check today, I might be way off. I get 20% off at my dealer because I told them Acura dealers always offer 20% off online so they gave it to me. The package they had included the spark plug tube gaskets too. If you mean the spark plugs themselves, there will never be an easier time to replace them.

 

my car had a similar leak 5k miles back when acura dealer overfilled engine oil. half inch over full mark on dip stick. oh it was smelly. now the oil level is ok, no more leaks and smells. car runs fine.

you can look eric the car guy's video on how to take everything apart here.

 

You could overfill the oil by 10 quarts and it's not going to cause a valve cover leak. Maybe they spilled oil when changing it. Mine is always a little above the full mark, since the car was brand new. No leaks.

 

anyone have a part number for these bolt seals?

 

Looks exactly like my car...did you take picture under my hood?

 

would anyone know the answer to this ? I have the slow oil escaping from the top of the bolt on the valve cover and would rather change the gasket and bolt instead of performing surgery. Or is getting the valve cover gasket kit the only solution ?

 

im having same issues, so vc gasket will fix yea?

 

So my valve cover bolts are also leaking oil like in the OP. I got the new sealing washers for them.

However when I take the bolt out, the bolt is notched at the bottom where it bottoms out on the block. (picture attached) So I am curious how I get the old washer off and put the new one on without damaging the rubber seal on the washer. Do I just man handle it through the rubber part of the washer. I just worry that is going to stretch the rubber too much and lead to the same issue I have now.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

The new rubber seals will be much more pliable than the old, hard ones that you're removing, so I simply slid them over the flange of the bolt. IIRC it helped to separate the metal washer from the rubber seal, made it much easier to slide them onto the bolt separately.

 

all of this!