Sooooo... I have an oil leak. It's been leaking for several months now, but it's only averaging a drip or two every few days. I'm trying to save my garage floor and have been parking my TL outside for the time being.

The drips are occurring on the passenger side near the oil pan drain. After church, I got under my car and took a few pictures.



Could it be that the drain plug threads are stripped or that the oil pan drain threads are stripped? I'm just hoping it's not a rear main seal leak. I took it to a local shop to get my last oil change and I'm just wondering if they overtightened and caused some damage.The driver's side underneath is dry as a bone.

I wiped up all of the oil with a shop rag and will check it again in a few days. Does anyone have any thoughts as to what maybe causing this?

My A/C has been acting up as well and I'm curious if I should just a take it to an Acura dealership to get a full service check.

 

Have you put a wrench on the drain plug to check its tightness? May be the opposite of what you are thinking - could be loose vs overtightened........ Honda dealer will e less expensive than Acura if you decide to go that route.

 

Sorry, I should have mentioned that. Yes, I checked to make sure it was tight and it definitely was. I obviously didn't torque on it much harder, because I didn't want to risk stripping the aluminum oil pan threads.

 

did you replace the drain plug washer? normally its the washer need to be replace. Beside that check your oil pump assembly its the most common leak on J series motor. FIY it will require removal of the TB/WP unit to get it reseal where on the book it took 12 hours.

 

I did not replace the plug's washer yet. I can try replacing that and see if that fixes my problems. brapp_kid7 did my pictures look similar to what was occurring?

truonghthe, I was hoping you wouldn't say that lol. I've seen this a lot on Acurazine as well.

I'll report back as soon as I replace the washer and let the car run for a few days.

 

I'm assuming it's a simple swap with Part 23?
https://www.acuraoemparts.com/auto-p...k-oil-pan-scat

Thinking through this further, I am wondering if I should just wait until my next oil change to do the swap. Like I said earlier, due to time constraints, I had my oil changed a few weeks by a local shop. I don't really want to drain my oil and perform an oil change again so soon if I don't have to.

 

I would get another oil change with a new washer and new drain bolt .

 

Part 23 is the washer you needed, I bought about 20 of them sucker at a time since now I have 3 cars that using the same part. As far as the oil pump assembly goes mine Base TL with 76k miles already leaked and I just waiting on the 105k service. However my TL-S is at 112k miles and yet no leak.

 

Honestly, I highly doubt it's the washer. Looking at your last picture, that leak is will above the drain plug. My bet is the oil pump.

 

I changed my oil a couple weeks ago and noticed when I jacked up the car there was oil leaking all over the pan and around the drain bolt. I went ahead with the oil change and cleaned it all up and replaced the bolt and washer. I bought it as a kit cause it was the same price as just for the washer. I didn't see any oil leaking out, I guess the last person to change the oil didn't change the washer. If you change your oil just replace the washer it's only like $2.

 

Needs an engine oil pump reseal. Possibly power steering pump reseal as well.

 

So, like I said, I did a very non-thorough job of cleaning up the oil. I drove it for three days and I got under the car tonight after work to see how things progressed. Here are the results:





You'll see that there is oil leaking well above the oil pan. With that said, It looks like it might be a bad oil pump seal. Now, I have to determine what should be fixed. I bought the car with 110,000 miles and the 105,000 service was done (timing belt, water pump, etc.). I currently have 135,000. Here are a list of things I am considering getting fixed while the engine is disassembled. Let me know your thoughts on the below:
-Replace oil pump (or just seal)?
-Replace timing belt?
-Replace water pump?

Other Seals
-Are there any other seals that should be replaced (rear main seal, crankshaft seal, etc.)?

Power Steering
-Are there any power steering issues I should take care of? I currently have the two power steering O-rings coming in the mail. I plan to replace the O-rings because I have a slight whine when it's cold outside.
-I heard about a power steering hose recall, but I believe that only is applicable for 2007 and 2008 models.
-I also heard many horror stories of rear main seal leaks occurring after the power steering hose recall was done

 

I messaged an old friend from high school about my issues. I knew he was a mechanic and ironically, he told me he's actually a certified Honda technician now. He just stopped by and confirmed that it was likely the oil pump seal. He said it would likely be $900 in labor if I went to his dealership.

I asked him if anything should be done with the timing belt and water pump and he told me that if it was done at 105K, he would not recommend doing it since it's only been 30,000 miles. However, I'm just not sure what to do. If I go to a dealership, I'll be paying an arm and a leg, especially for OEM Parts. I wonder if I can buy these "OEM" items and still have the dealership do it.

My understanding is that these all (except the timing belt) are the parts that Honda uses based on the below thread:
https://acurazine.com/forums/third-g...in-kit-884762/

Does anyone happen to have the part number for the oil pump seal?

 

You'll probably pay $80 in seals and Hondabond if you go thru the dealer.
There is one seal behind the oil pump, one for the oil pick up, front crank seal, oil filter housing gasket and the rest is sealed with Hondabond.

 

When I had mt TB/WP done i went to honda dealer and brought bunch my own parts to replace and they did it but I asked in advance. They did not charge me any more to do the work but they did not warrant the parts and labor of course.

Ask them if they will use customer supplied parts.

 

I always bring my own part to the dealer for them to work on my car because they won't price match. I would bring only OEM part with Honda sticker and part # therefore they can't use the line "we can't use after market part" however for whatever reason the part(s) does not fit then be prepare to eat the labor cost since you brought the part to them (thank god it only happened to me once and they charged me $0), They do so much business with me now they only quoted me for labor.

As far as your situation I would keep the TB/WP but those two items need to be removed to gain access to the oil pump itself, the oil pump does not need to be replace its just the gasket kit that cost around $5 and Honda bond around the seal you paying mostly for the labor. BTW when you have the TB/WP off I would replace two cam seal and both belt tensioner.

Rear main seal isn't accessible from the oil pump unit, you will need to remove the transmission housing and pressure plate to gain access to the rear main seal. PS hose recall was for 04-08 TL if you have tin wrap around the outlet hose (the one goes behind your engine and firewall) then its has been done. I got my TL-S with PS hose recall done and yet no leak anywhere near the rear main seal but I the same time I bought the car at 58k miles and ONLY full synthetic oil was used.

 

An alternative is finding a good independent shop. Not sure about your area but there are tons around here. They can usually source OEM parts as well if you want.

 

If your transmission side is not moist, the rear main seal should be OK. Your oil pump small gasket is leaking, also power steering pump might also be leaking since when it leaks, it ends up on the same spot on the drain pan. Most likely it is your oil pump seal, honestly, if that is me, I would just leave it alone and wait for your next Timing Belt job to get it done, if you can live with that small leak, it will not ruin anything really, and the leak will not get worst. It's not worth to do that job specially if your TB service was just done not too long ago. My mechanic buddy told me he had that leak for about 200k miles on his odyssey and never had a problem.

 

Agree with Jeff above. I've had my oil seal leak for about 20k miles now and all you need to do is just keep an eye on oil levels and top off. Mine was found literally right after the 105k was done and the shop said it wasn't gonna get worse so they recommended waiting for the next 105k.

 

So, today I replaced my power steering o-rings, because I had some terrible whining in colder temperatures. Now, I noticed that I have some chirping, which sounds like its coming from the timing belt area. I just started noticing it a few days ago. From what I've read, it almost sounds like it could be the timing belt idler pully. I don't know for sure, but if that needs to be replaced, should I move forward with getting the timing belt, water pump, etc. replaced as well?

It looks like there is a TSB for idler pully. Here is the thread that I was reading:
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-p...ne-bay-843488/

I wanted to let my oil pump seal leak go, but it just seems like there are other issues going on now.

Her is a video highlighting the chirpping:

Let me know your thoughts!

Thanks in advance guys.

 

the oil leak: have u ruled out simple things like the oil pressure switch? VTEC spool valve? filter foot? looks like about the same area, id check that before biting the bullet on an oil pump
The belt: mist some water on the ribbed side and see if it quiets down, if it does its the belt if it doesn't its maybe a bearing and maybe need some more investigating into the ps pump.

 

You should place a cardboard underneath for the time being.

 

I have the same problem on my wife's car. Did you get an estimate from the dealer? Indy shop?

 

What about the friend who is a certified honda tech? Not interested in any tax free cash fir side work?

 

For the time being, I've just been using cardboard. I'll probably wait until the spring to do so. My friend said it's pretty difficult for him to do without bringing it to the shop. If he brings it to the shop, he said they frown upon doing personal jobs of that size, so it would probably be around 900-1,000 he said to run it through the dealer.

 

So it's been a few months and I just took my TL out of storage this past weekend. The oil pump seal leak is still present and I just called a local Honda dealership to get a quote. I was told about $800-900 to get just the oil pump seal replaced, as its about an 8 hour job. This is pretty much what I expected.

I'm at about 135k miles and I had the full 105k service done at around 110k right before I bought the car in 2015. I'm the kind of guy who likes peace of mind, so I'm thinking of getting this done. The technician I spoke with was extremely nice and said he wasn't sure if he would recommend doing the 105k service again just yet (water pump, timing belt, tensioners, pulleys, etc.). However, I wanted to take it to the forums to see what you guys think. I'm not sure what would be best. I forgot to ask how much additional it would cost to get this all done. I would have to assume maybe another $300 or so for all parts and additional labor? Would you do it? If so, here would be the additional items I think:

-Replace water pump
-Replace timing belt
-Replace timing belt auto tensioner
-Replace timing belt tensioner pully
-Replace Idler pully
-Replace serpentine belt (drive belt)
-Replace camshaft seal
-Replace crankshaft seal
-Coolant service

*Am I missing anything?

I also need my AC system professionally serviced as the R134a refrigerant levels are low and I'm not risking messing with this. I've heard too many horror stories and AC compressors are crazy expensive. This would be about $140. I'm okay with that.

Lastly, I broke my rear wheel lug stud last fall when I found out that I cross-threaded one of my studs. It happens. It sucks. It needs to be replaced. With the parking brake components in the way, the hub assembly will have to come out and it will cost about $125 to replace. Not the end of the world... I know that the stinking races often get stuck on the spindle, so i might just have them replace this too. I just replaced a hub assembly on a Chevy Cobalt with no issues though.

Let me know what you guys think. I have a tentative appointment for next week Monday, which I can easily cancel.

 

^^ looking to see what people say because i'm in the same exact boat, only about 30k miles since my 105k service but i need the same oil leaked stopped. going through same debate.

how do you check refrigerant levels? i've never had my AC service done

 

The oil leak is more of an annoyance than anything. It would be nice to just have it taken care of.

From what my buddy told me last fall (I'm trying to remember here), he looked at the AC compressor and noticed it wasn't cycling off, which is what I noticed too. He thinks that the system is not "cooling" enough for the compressor to turn off.

He said if the AC compressor clutch was broken, this might cause the compressor to run and not cycle on/off. However, if the clutch was broken, the refrigerant would purge out of the pressure release valve. If this is the case, then the low refrigerant levels would indicate that here are no leaks in other parts of the AC system. He said this doesn't seem likely, and that this would be the case though.

I will have to wait and see what they say. I'm getting a free diagnosis before I do anything.

 

Here is what I just received back form my old classmate who is a certified Honda technician:

"Yo Josh! I'm in training this week in lovely Ohio but here's my advice...I would just do the oil pump seal and forget about doing yet another 105k service. Unless the timing belt is covered in oil I would say it should be fine...at worst I would say you may need a new belt but for sure not the other stuff. We should be able to just pop a new stud in the rear bearing...that shouldn't (shouldn't...) Be an issue. Ask for me to do it and you'll get a good discount on parts and labor...I'm always amazed at how many people I see from church/friends that come in and don't ask me to work on their cars...it's cheaper for sure"

 

 

Hi,

Before taking your car for service, take a look at your PS pump. When I saw the pictures your posted, I thought that is exactly how my car looked several months ago.

I thought it was the oil pump as well but eventually found some "oil" stains that were higher than the oil pump. I finally discovered I had a medium sized leak from my PS pump and a tiny leak from a bad washer on my oil bolt. The pump cost less than $30 to fix in o-rings and several hours of time. If your pump looks like the attached image, there is a good chance it is a PS leak in addition/instead of an oil leak.

 

Hey, thanks for the input. My PS pump looks to be okay. Last summer I replaced both O-rings and put in a new reservoir. I believe that the PS pump was serviced during the recall era as well prior to me purchasing the car.

 

you will have to look further behind, as the pump tent to leak via the back plate.where the red arrow pointed.

 

Alrighty, I will take a second look tonight when I get back home and take the cover off.

 

BTW in the video the chirp cause by tensioner and you need a new belt. I just replaced both of my Base TL tensioner as they got noisy as hell.

 

So, after further investigation the PS pump doesn't look to be leaking. I see no signs.



As for the chirping, I"m not sure why it was occurring that day? There may have been a few drips of PS fluid on it and I remember after wiping it down thoroughly I never heard it again. I took another video to demonstrate that there is no noise:

 

I dropped her off this morning and the Honda dealership. Here's to hoping all goes well!

 

Check this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z6DqHLr5Rc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KP1QjfNM1mw