Help with this Engine component... 2000 Honda Prelude
 

Hey,

I have a 2000 Honda Prelude. Has a oil leak from somewhere, I believe NOT from the oil plug.

For those who know the engine, can you tell me what part this is (see Middle of photo). That particular area has some oil dispersed around that area. Which I presume is giving me a drop of oil in the garage every few days.

Thanks for any assistance!

couple more shots from a different angle would help

More photos would definitely help out but I'll try my best to help you out as I'm very familiar with Preludes.

It seems that you have an oil leak coming from your VTEC solenoid assembly. There is a gasket behind it that you probably need to get replaced. This is perhaps the biggest culprit for stock H22's. The VTEC solenoid assembly is located just behind your distributor, with the small cylinder sticking out of the top of it. It will require you to remove a few 10mm bolts. Oil will drain out of it, so get ready with some rags or a catch can.

HOW YOU CAN TELL: There will be oil/black gunk on the top of your transmission casing, and along the passenger side of the block.

Part #15825-P13-005

Shown as #13 & #15 on this diagram
http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...3s3001_e10.png

Some old pictures when I was replacing mine.
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...CSolenoid1.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...CSolenoid2.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...CSolenoid3.jpg

You might also have a cam cap seal leak. This little black plug is a pain in your butt. There are multiple O-ring replacements for these little guys (BLOX, Golden Eagle, Skunk2, ect), personally I recommend Rosko Racing cam cap seals. They are billet and have three rubber o-rings. I installed one in my Prelude and not a single drop of oil has leaked out since. It's a wise idea to use Hondabond sealing agent, although any high-temp sealer will work. You need to remove the valve cover, then remove the cam cap on top of it. Once the cam cap is off, you can replace it with a new one. BE SURE TO TORQUE THE CAP TO 7lbs-ft USING A TORQUE WRENCH!

HOW YOU CAN TELL: There will be black gunk/oil on the passenger side of the block, behind/next to the VTEC solenoid

Part #12513-P30-000

#8 in the diagram:
http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...3s3001_e10.png

a photo of my Rosko Racing cam cap seal
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...ngCamSeal1.jpg

H22 Engines are known to either leak or burn oil after at some point in their life and once it does, its best to find the problem and fix it so the leak or burn stops. Sometimes it can be expensive and others it can be fairly cheap.

Here are a few other common leak areas on the H22 engines

Often times, what happens is the o-ring will dry out after sitting for a while, crack, and then leak oil. To get to the seal, you need to remove the distributor from the cylinder head. Remove the three 8mm bolts from the distributor cap, remove the rotor by taking the setscrew out of the shaft (you may need to click the motor over until you can see this set screw), and unbolt the distributor from the shaft.

HOW YOU CAN TELL: There will be oil leaking on the passenger side of the block, typically black gunk will be pooled on top of your transmission.

Part #30110-PA1-732

#6 in the diagram:
http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...3001_e0510.png


This is the giant cover over the top of your engine and is quite easy to remove. There are a few 10mm crown nuts you'll have to remove then lift off of the top of the cylinder head. You can use a wide flat-blade screwdriver to help start pry it off. It's also advised to put a little high-temp silicone (Hondabond) in the sharp corners of the valve cover gasket as they don't like to seal very well by itself. It's also a good idea to replace the spark plug well seals, too. If you are mechanically inclined and your engine has many miles on it, you can also do a valve adjustment while you have the cover off.

HOW YOU CAN TELL: There will be oil/black gunk around the base of the valve cover, usually on the back or sides of the block.

Part numbers:
12341-P13-000 (cover gasket)
12342-PT2-000 (rubber seals for spark plug wells)

#3 & #4 on the diagram
http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...3s3001_e09.png

There are a few other places that the engine may leak at but they get to be bigger jobs such as the cam shaft seals, balance shaft seal and front and rear main seals. The ones I listed above are the easy ones. Let me know if you require more Prelude help!

Hope this helps
Cheers
Mike

I see coolant lines temp sensor and a coolant bleeder screw. None of which are related to oil. It would be best to clean the engine and monitor it closely to see where its coming from most likely above that. All the suggestions European posted are probable causes.

cam plug thingy and vtec solenoid are my bet

European.. Wow I wasn't expecting such a detailed reply. I really appreciate you taking the time to include descriptions, diagrams and P/Ns too. *big thumbs up*.

Phil@rise and ?uestlove.. Thank you for your replies too.!

Hey guys,

Just an update .. all is well after the gasket / o-ring changes. Also had my brakes serviced there too.

Thanks everyone and thank you European !

Cheers
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