Lude Generation

So, after I've fixed a few oil leaks by replacing the: cam end seal plug, VTEC solenoid filter / gasket and valve cover gasket, my engine (or sieve) has developed another leak!

Oil is visible below the belts and is running down the side of the sump. Seems to be coming from inside that plastic housing thingy. Any suggestions what it might be?

In most likely order, balance shaft seal, cam seals, crank seal.

Most likely to be the rear balancer shaft housing seal, mine was leaking real bad. Just ordered a new seal for it. The rear shaft is geared and the housing has a seal. Either way ur gna have to tear down the covers.

^^^what these guys say

but i have seen a leak before from the dipstick tube - it can get pulled out of place or the oring at the bottom of the tube leaks - easy to fix and you dont need to take the covers off

If I were digging about in there I would think about doing a timing belt change at the same time. If you need to get to the balance shaft seal chances are you are going to have to take both the belts off anyway to get some room to work

I last checked the oil level on Wednesday and it was at max level. Since then, I've done about 85 - 90 miles. I noticed the leak yesterday while the car was up on a lift getting it's exhaust sorted. As of this evening, I can confirm that fortunately there seems to have been no oil loss since I last checked it on Wednesday.

However, it's still a concern, so it's booked in for diagnosis next Friday morning. Assuming it is down to the likely cause of a failed balancer shaft seal, roughly how many hours labour does it take to replace that?

Merlin wrote:If I were digging about in there I would think about doing a timing belt change at the same time. If you need to get to the balance shaft seal chances are you are going to have to take both the belts off anyway to get some room to work

That nicely brings me to my next question which you've already partly answered. While the independent Honda specialist is faffing around in that area, I suppose I should get both the timing belt and balancer belt replaced at the same time. While there, is there anything else worthwhile replacing? Is it a simple job to do the crankshaft seal at the same time or is that a lot more additional work?

I've just noticed something... I originally had the balancer shaft belt and timing belt replaced on 16/07/2007 @ 62,583 miles (along with the autotensior). I have another invoice which shows two "drive belts" being replaced on 13/06/2011 @ 107,723 miles. For the life of me, I really cannot remember why I would have had them replaced prematurely. But I'm thinking maybe the balancer shaft belt and timing belt were NOT replaced on 13/06/2011 and actually the auxiliary belts (PAS pump belt & air conditioning condenser belt) were replaced on that date as I can remember getting them done not so long ago. So maybe when the 13/06/2011 invoice says "drive belts", that might be a mistake. To further back this up, I was charged only £67.50 (excluding VAT) labour for that particular service. I would imagine that if the balancer shaft belt and timing belt were replaced, the labour charge would be more in line with the £162.50 (excluding VAT) labour charged on 16/07/2007 when the balancer shaft belt and timing belt were definitely replaced.

The point I'm getting at is…. It seems the belts were replaced over 6.5 years ago and my car is now approaching 131,000 miles. With this is mind, maybe I should cancel the diagnostic appointment and get the belts replaced anyway. While that's being done, I could get the balancer shaft seal replaced at the same time, and maybe prophylactically the crank shaft seal too if that doesn't involve a lot more work. Saves time and possibly money.

On a side note fella, to do the rear seal they will req the balancer shaft locking pin, hopefully they have one , as the gear housing has to be removed, then timed back up again after. If the cam belt set was replaced that long ago then yes, get that done as a priority.

If you know somewhere that will change the cambelt for £67.50, Let me know where it is please!

Seriously though, for that price yes it could only be the drive belts that were replaced, not the cam and balance belt so if they're due, just get them done and the seals at the same time.

So does the term "drive belts" refer to the PAS pump and air conditioning condenser belts? I thought the term "drive belts" referred to the timing and balancer shaft belts?

Anyway, change of plan. Instead of having the car booked in for diagnosis on Friday, it's now booked in on Monday for the belts to be changed along with the seals. The belts are due, or overdue, to be replaced. I've asked for the following parts to be ordered:

1x timing belt
1x balancer shaft belt
1x hydraulic autotensior
2x cam shaft seals
2x balancer shaft seals (are there two?)
1x crank shaft seal
1x dip stick pipe o-ring (thanks @vanzep)

I get the impression that while replacing the belts, it's a straight forward job to replace the above seals. Is that true or is there a lot more labour involved? If it is a lot more faffing, I could ask the garage to just replace whatever seal(s) is leaking, leave the rest and just give me the surplus parts which have been ordered. What do you think?

I checked the oil level again on Sunday (after washing the car while listening to the neighbours in the upstairs flat having coitus) and there still doesn't seem to have been any oil loss, so it's not majorly urgent, but still a concern.

CARRisma wrote:So does the term "drive belts" refer to the PAS pump and air conditioning condenser belts?

In a word: yes.
Any belt that drives auxiliaries only (alternator, water pump if not driven off the cambelt) is a drive belt.

I thought the term "drive belts" referred to the timing and balancer shaft belts?

Nope, they are straight forward timing belts and balancer shaft belts.


Exception would be on modern cars where absolutely everything you could possibly ever think of are run off one long belt, it's commonly known as a 'serpentine' belt (and Bollocks to changing one of those - that's why you're looking at about £1k upwards on a modern merc/Beemer, just to change the cambelt and why old 7series are so dirt cheap to buy!)