Oil leak, safe to drive semi-long trip??
 

Hi RS,

So my 07 Accord has an oil leak - rear main seal. It's been going on for about a month now, and every night there's a pretty decent sized patch of oil, and it seems to be getting a little worse, although this may just be my imagination. Oil level has not gone down at all since discovery.

It's a $10 part to replace, with 9.5 hours of labour...so I want to put it off until late winter is possible. :okay:

Now question - is it safe to drive on for extended periods of time? I know highway driving puts more stress on the car, and I'm wondering if such effects can cause a catastrophe with the type of leak I have.

Planning to go down to Bellevue or such, so it's not TOO bad.

Any input is appreciated!
TIA

Highway driving generally puts less stress on a car. Less braking, cornering, stop and go, engine stays at operating temp. Mechanically, as long as your oil is topped up, it should be okay.

From a safety standpoint, oil leaking on a hot exhaust is a fire hazard.

So many cars now a days have oil leaks and to me its now normal.. keep an eye on the oil level and check on every gas trip. Also keep a jug of oil in your car in case its needed for top up. Finally check the pcv valve to see if its functioning normally. if its stuck closed, more pressure inside the engine... im sure u know what happens after over a short period of time..

i would suggest you have bcaa just in case your car does break down.

You can drive with any size oil leak you want, just depends if you're going to stop and check/top it up.

^this. the POS work truck i used to drive at an old job had this problem (failed pcv valve). it was pissing oil out of the RMS at the tune of 1 litre every 2k kms. had to keep spare oil in the truck and keep topping it up whenever the oil pressure light came on in the dash.

Just spray the leaking area with flex seal!!!

OP, if your oil level is the same, are you sure it's not the front seal of the tranny?

*cough*

https://scontent-b-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/...5079_535_n.jpg

if you really want to play it safe, go to any lordco get a can of rislone rear main seal repair.

normally im 100% against a "repair in a bottle" but the amount of it ive sold and the positive feed back makes me feel safe to recommend it.

Got it diagnosed by both my regular mechanic, as well as Speed Syndicate...both said rear main seal.

Anyway, I drove down and back up, checked about 4 times during the day, and when I came home it was very barely lower. I did buy some no-leak while I was down there.

Thanks for the help everyone! Now time to save..:okay:

may carry extra oil to top it up and add engine oil stop additives?

http://barsproducts.com/ckeditor_ass..._seal_1040.jpg

Definitely will.

I think this is the first time I've ever thanked you...:troll:

i'm not denying that this stuff works, but i have to wonder what it will look like inside the engine if you were to tear it apart... is it just an additive that causes the seals to soften up and swell to stop leaking, or is it some gummy thing that plugs everything up?

they sell high mileage oils that advertise as being able to stop leaks like this as well, but i know little about them. might be a very high viscosity or something...

It Causes the seals to soften up and expand. i never use the stuff, i mean it might not be to bad use it once and get your seal changed and oil asap.. but use it over time and you will start to say bye bye to other seals (Front main, cam seals, valve stem seals etc.)

The stuff you put in the radiator on the other hand for stuff like head gasket repair will start to gum up the engine and cooling components a bit faster then normal....

Totally fine.

My old work truck used to leak like the exxon valdez. When I parked on site, I had to put a pan under to keep from staining the driveways.

I'd be driving along and you'd hear the lifters ticking more and more until it sounded like a sewing machine..time to top up! Open up the fill port and smoke would come out of the valve cover.

And she ran fine.

If I can literally drive the shit out of an Isuzu, then you should be fine on a smallish leak that just started.

:okay:

from what i understand, high mileage oils are usually advertised as a step between conventional and synthetic oil.

high mileage engines usually need more protection, but for people who do not want to pay for synthetic, you have an option to go for high mileage.

so not for oil leaks...

I wouldn't bother with the additives if you're going to replace the seal.

As Prolow said, sure it might soften/expand the leaky seal but it's going to do that to every other seal too. Plus, you don't know how the additive is going to effect other internal engine parts like bearings.

Throw down some cardboard and keep an eye on the oil level til you get it fixed, imo.

LUCAS ENGINE OIL STOP LEAK, QT.

"Leaking engines are usually older engines. LUCAS ENGINE OIL STOP LEAK is not only a leak stopper but also an excellent additive for worn engines. The user can expect less engine noise, higher oil pressure and less oil consumption as the Lucas additives fill the space between the worn parts."

http://www.buylucasoil.com/img/ENGIN...20%20QUART.jpg

The engine is at 140,xxx km...so it's not TOO high mileage.

Too add or not to add..lol

According to Castrol, engnines with 120,000km or more is considered high mileage.

No shit a company pushing high mileage oil would say something like that

120,000KM is high mileage? Try doubling that...

subjective. not knowing the history of your car, 140k kms of abuse could be enough to ruin a lot.