Oil Leak Pics - Head/Cyl

[Jp-oh]

Hi have a look please at the pic below. I noticed this yesterday and had a mini panic attack. I pulled the lower and upper valve covers and all the head studs are rock solid; non budged an millimeter. Thoughts?

[lvporschepilot]

Lower valve cover leaks happen. Change the gaskets and maybe add a tiny bit of hondabond.

[Flojo]

that leak is not from the valve covers.
it comes from further behind/up.
maybe rather a leaking O-ring from oil return tube.
they harden in time due to thermal stress.

clean everything, then double check

to clean: soften gunk up with WD40, rinse with brake cleaner.
baken oven cleaner helps to remove the hard bits

[Jp-oh]

It did not seem to be coming from the valve covers though. I may be wrong.

[faapgar]

I would lean towards oil return tube seals.Warm up engine spray with Gunk degreaser,let sit 10 minutes then rinse.While motor is still warm use carb cleaner and spray the tube seals.Wait 30 minutes then spray again.Do both inner and outer seals.Carb cleaner swells the seals.Wait 4-5 hours then run and check.Cure lasts for more than one year.I have done this method many times for customers with 100% success.Ciao

[Jp-oh]

I gotta say that a) makes sense and b) is a sh$tload better than my original, paranoid guessessment.

[SkunkWorks]

And if that trick doesn't work, it's fairly easy to replace them in-situ with the collapsible return tube offerings from our host and elsewhere.

[proporsche]

my guess is some of the rocker pins-shaft are loose..I see you and somebody did the valve adjustment just now ,right?
Usually you should check for the pins to be in the right location and if they are tight...

The tubes,look from inside(center of the engine case) or with little mirror .If the seals are orange ,that means they are there for a long time..it even looks like non collapsible tubes still in place...

Ivan

[Nditiz1]

@Faagpar - I like this temp fix, especially if it is the return tubes. While it's not hard to replace with collapsible, if you recently changed the oil, who wants to dump it.

As Ivan said it could be the rocker shafts. I had a small, but steady leak on the driver side. It would rest at the rear of the valve cover off the cooling fins. I replaced the gasket as the shafts didn't look like they were leaking. I was about to give up on the red silcone gasket until I saw one of the shafts leaking. There is nothing between them and the outside world. If they are leaking you will notice oil, thinking it is the cover. I added the RSR seals to the one shaft, tightened up the cover, and the leak was finally gone. I'm facing a similar issue on my passenger side and have already replaced all 3 rockers with seals. I think one or 2 may still be leaking, time to recheck that torque. If you ever have any oil in between the cavities of the heads check the rocker shafts.

[FrankM_]

Originally Posted by Nditiz1

... I had a small, but steady leak on the driver side. It would rest at the rear of the valve cover off the cooling fins. I replaced the gasket as the shafts didn't look like they were leaking. I was about to give up on the red silcone gasket until I saw one of the shafts leaking. There is nothing between them and the outside world. If they are leaking you will notice oil, thinking it is the cover. I added the RSR seals to the one shaft, tightened up the cover, and the leak was finally gone. ...

I have the same leak on the driver side, already replaced the return tubes and the valve cover gasket.
Have the RSR seals for the rocker shafts on order, delivery somewhere next week.

Is there any specific procedure to position them / get it exactly right ? Torques ?
Do I need to do a valve adjustment following the installation of the seals ? (last one less than 2K miles ago) ?

[proporsche]

here is the pic how the pin HAVE to be....the valve adjustment will not change but double check the clearance at least by fingers for a play......
Ivan

[Trackrash]

I went through this on my old motor. It was leaking from between the heads and cam housing. If yours isn't dripping, I wouldn't worry.

Good luck, maybe in your case the above fixes will work.