Leaking oil...

[MonkeyConQueso]

A bit of history to start with - my dealership caught an oil leak at the i-VTEC switch on the back of the engine @ 4500 miles. Apparently, the gasket was installed improperly on initial construction, or so they say. They had it replaced 2 days after they noticed.

Fast forward to today. I noticed that there were oil spots in my parking spot recently. Upon looking under the vehicle, there's most assuredly an oil leak happening. There's oil on the bottom of the block. It's a slow leak, because there's still oil in the engine, and I've been habitually checking oil every gas-up. It went from half way between the low and full dots on the dipstick about a week ago, to the low dot today. My last oil change was around 2000 miles ago too. I am taking it in to the dealership tomorrow to have them look at it, and I hope to hell it is the same problem, and the techs just didn't install it right. I don't have any mods that could cause an oil leak, so I'm good on that level.

The first dealership to replace it had mentioned that there were other Si's that came in with this same problem in Denver, CO. However, I have yet to hear anyone else with this problem. Anyone else have this happen?

I'm going to buy some oil on the way home today, just to fill it back up just in case it's getting worse (which it sure seems like it is with the amount of oil I'm missing...)

[Duce2k]

Good luck with that, keep us updated

[MonkeyConQueso]

Originally Posted by Duce2k

Good luck with that, keep us updated

Oh, I plan on it!

[Robare]

Early on I had an oil leak in my 06 SI...It looked like it was coming from the area of the oil cooler. After putting some dye in the oil I saw that it was coming from the timing chain case cover (small black cover with, I think 3 maybe 4 bolts) and while the car was in motion it would flow all the way to the oil filter area and drip ever so slightlly off of the back part of the filter. So, I took it to the dealer and they verified and replaced the gasket (well, not really a gasket, but a special grayish sealer of some sort). That was at about 6500 mi. Now at 17,300 mi.....I have had no problems. I, like you, am very anal about checking for leaks and this just made me even more anal .

[MonkeyConQueso]

Originally Posted by Robare

Early on I had an oil leak in my 06 SI...It looked like it was coming from the area of the oil cooler. After putting some dye in the oil I saw that it was coming from the timing chain case cover (small black cover with, I think 3 maybe 4 bolts) and while the car was in motion it would flow all the way to the oil filter area and drip ever so slightlly off of the back part of the filter. So, I took it to the dealer and they verified and replaced the gasket (well, not really a gasket, but a special grayish sealer of some sort). That was at about 6500 mi. Now at 17,300 mi.....I have had no problems. I, like you, am very anal about checking for leaks and this just made me even more anal .

Thanks Robare! I'll crawl under there and see if I can spot the leak point, but if not, then I will at least tell them that they should check the cover as well.

[MonkeyConQueso]

Update:

Hah. I'm laughing over here. Really.

Guess what it was? The oil drain plug. Yep. They didn't tighten it down enough, and it was leaking oil. Thankfully I check my oil levels and under my hood frequently for shit like this. I can only imagine if the drain plug had come completely off... Of course that's better than a gasket going I guess.

I need to get a garage I can work in with a lift or pit to do my own freaking oil changes. Apartment parking is not conducive to working on your own vehicle.

[racerex]

As we speak, my Si is in the shop for a slight oil leak around the oil cooler housing. The dealer has been trying to find the source of the leak over my last few visits to have it looked at. At first they thought that it may have been due to a bad oil filter (I knew that was not the case, as the leak appeared when using both a Honda and M1 filters) and then they moved on to a bad o-ring where the oil cooler housing mates to the block. After replacing the filter once and then replacing the o-ring, I was still getting a slight leak. I just got a call from the service manager and they’re going to replace the oil cooler housing and all the seals/o-rings. They think the leak is coming from a pressed seam in the oil cooler housing……apparently they cleaned the entire area around the housing and let the car run up on the lift to identify the source of the leak. We shall see.

[soxfan]

Originally Posted by MonkeyConQueso

Update:

Hah. I'm laughing over here. Really.

Guess what it was? The oil drain plug. Yep. They didn't tighten it down enough, and it was leaking oil. Thankfully I check my oil levels and under my hood frequently for shit like this. I can only imagine if the drain plug had come completely off... Of course that's better than a gasket going I guess.

I need to get a garage I can work in with a lift or pit to do my own freaking oil changes. Apartment parking is not conducive to working on your own vehicle.

always be suspicious of your dealership's service department. if they suspect that there is a serious problem with a car that is under warranty, they commonly attempt to convince you that it's something minor, claim to have fixed it, and send you on your way hoping that you'll leave with a false sense of security and never come back. did you watch them put your car on the lift and discover the supposedly loose drain plug with you present. i doubt it. continue to keep an eye on the oil leak. if it continues call Honda Care and raise hell.

i used to have a 2000 celica gts that had broken lift bolts (common problem with those engines). first they claimed that I was feeling a hesitation in the motor because I was hitting the rev limiter at 6000 rpm (obvious lie, it's 8000 rpm). then they said I had a clogged air filter (another lie). after complaining to toyota of na, they magically discovered the real problem. like I said, always be suspicious.

[jkocr2]

mine was seeping from where the valve cover meets the head back by the vtec solenoid. took it to honda 3times and they couldn't find anything finally i said **** it and took the damn thing off myself and put a good ole seal of hondabond on it. going to the track tonight so i'll check it periodically to make sure it's holding.

[Robare]

Hey Racerex....I had the exact same problem (see post above). I thought it was the cooler housing leaking ...but it was all the way up at the chain cover leaking down and then over to the housing.... The chain cover area is very hard to see... have them give it a look.... good luck

[MonkeyConQueso]

Originally Posted by soxfan

always be suspicious of your dealership's service department. if they suspect that there is a serious problem with a car that is under warranty, they commonly attempt to convince you that it's something minor, claim to have fixed it, and send you on your way hoping that you'll leave with a false sense of security and never come back. did you watch them put your car on the lift and discover the supposedly loose drain plug with you present. i doubt it. continue to keep an eye on the oil leak. if it continues call Honda Care and raise hell.
<snip!>

Oh, I plan on keeping an eye out. I was not present since I had to get to work, but I have the tools and an anal retentive attitude with my car to keep an eye on it. I asked them to clean the engine block so I could keep an eye on it for leaks, so if they think they are getting away with something like that, then they are grossly mistaken.

Originally Posted by jkocr2

mine was seeping from where the valve cover meets the head back by the vtec solenoid. took it to honda 3times and they couldn't find anything finally i said **** it and took the damn thing off myself and put a good ole seal of hondabond on it. going to the track tonight so i'll check it periodically to make sure it's holding.

Yeah, I believe that's where my first leak came from. I'm hoping that soxfan isn't right, and it was just the oil plug... Any ways, good luck with the hondabond! I'm suprised they couldn't fix it themselves - that would warrant a call from me to Honda Care after 3 times....

[sjlarue]

Originally Posted by MonkeyConQueso

Update:

Hah. I'm laughing over here. Really.

Guess what it was? The oil drain plug. Yep. They didn't tighten it down enough, and it was leaking oil. Thankfully I check my oil levels and under my hood frequently for shit like this. I can only imagine if the drain plug had come completely off... Of course that's better than a gasket going I guess.

I need to get a garage I can work in with a lift or pit to do my own freaking oil changes. Apartment parking is not conducive to working on your own vehicle.

I used to take SUVs off of a rail car and park them in a past life. One day we pulled out the cars and under one was a puddle of oil and a drain plug. However when we checked the truck, it was there.....I feel sorry for the guy on the road two miles from the GM Dealer....


Reg the post. My Mech. charges $22 plus tacks for an oil change. Let me do the math...oil filter $5, oil $5 (yes I'm cheap), Removal and Disposal of oil free, unless you count gas to take it back to the Auto store... Keeping the landlord happy....about $12.

[rmfa]

Originally Posted by MonkeyConQueso

Update:

Hah. I'm laughing over here. Really.

Guess what it was? The oil drain plug. Yep. They didn't tighten it down enough, and it was leaking oil. Thankfully I check my oil levels and under my hood frequently for shit like this. I can only imagine if the drain plug had come completely off... Of course that's better than a gasket going I guess.

I need to get a garage I can work in with a lift or pit to do my own freaking oil changes. Apartment parking is not conducive to working on your own vehicle.

I was reading down the thread looking for someone to suggest this. This is always my first place to check...

[MonkeyConQueso]

Originally Posted by rmfa

I was reading down the thread looking for someone to suggest this. This is always my first place to check...

True that, but I noticed it yesterday and made the appt for today; didn't have time to jack the car up and check, which I regret now. I also gave them the benefit of the doubt, which is my mistake. I've mostly had amazingly good experiences with Honda service techs. This is the first bad one...oh, and it gets worse too!

Just went and picked it up. On the way down in the shuttle, I wondered if they "topped off the oil" (as the service advisor said) with Mobil1 Synth, or if they went straight to the coventional oils they use. Turns out, I was right, they didn't check my previous history or call and see what oil I used, and filled about a quart worth of conventional 5W-30. True, I'm not a standard consumer, so I didn't blame the tech for this. HOWEVER, I stated that I wasn't happy with this, and pointed out the fact that this was their fault that I even had it there today. The Advisor and the tech proceeded to converse between each other on how "oh no, it's alright, it should be fine!". I told them again that I was not happy with this outcome, and I would appreciate it if they re-filled with Mobil1. The Tech walked away at this point, and the Advisor attempted to argue another minute before giving in and getting another tech out to do the work.

I don't like this advisor at all now, and I didn't like him too much to begin with, so I may just switch dealerships instead of burning bridges by notifying a manager and asking for a different advisor. And also, I think I may just suck it up and do my oil changes myself, apartment living or not.

[sjlarue]

sorry almost double posted


see above

[MonkeyConQueso]

Originally Posted by sjlarue

I used to take SUVs off of a rail car and park them in a past life. One day we pulled out the cars and under one was a puddle of oil and a drain plug. However when we checked the truck, it was there.....I feel sorry for the guy on the road two miles from the GM Dealer....


Reg the post. My Mech. charges $22 plus tacks for an oil change. Let me do the math...oil filter $5, oil $5 (yes I'm cheap), Removal and Disposal of oil free, unless you count gas to take it back to the Auto store... Keeping the landlord happy....about $12.

Yeah, see your point and will probably follow the self oil change route. I have no problem doing it myself, but sometimes it's easier for my busy life to take it to the dealership. Obviously today put the stake in the heart though.

[Janizary]

Originally Posted by sjlarue

My Mech. charges $22 plus tacks for an oil change.

Tacks? What kind of tacks? The kind you play with as a kid, or the push pin types?

[rickhilbert]

Originally Posted by Janizary

Tacks? What kind of tacks? The kind you play with as a kid, or the push pin types?

[sjlarue]

Originally Posted by Janizary

Tacks? What kind of tacks? The kind you play with as a kid, or the push pin types?

The kind the government (fed,state, or local) leaves in your chair whenever you buy anything nonfood related.

[incongruent]

Just got a call from the dealership.... They spotted an oil leak near the timing chain. Seems to be a common problem?