MODS: This may be a SC induced problem, and if it is feel free to move to FI.

Searched, but found no posts relating to the same location as my leak.

Another problem after the install of my Vortech SC. I got this installed in December by a highly recommended tech at a Honda Dealership. I drove home (40miles) without going over 5K. The next morning I found a couple small drops of oil under the car. Thought it must have been overspill from refilling the oil after tapping the oil pan. I didnt drive it for a week until I got an emanage and went to the tuner. After a day of dyno tuning I came home and the next morning noticed a 3" diameter oil puddle. I checked the oil and it was full. The first tune was not very good, but I did drive about 50 miles on the tune (not hard except a couple of test runs to 9K). The day after the test runs I noticed a couple more drops, so I jacked up the car, cleaned off all the oil, and checked the level (still full). I let the car sit another week until I could take it to another tuner, he did magic on my car and it runs perfect now. But the next morning I found another 3 inch puddle. I traced the oil and it looked like it was coming from the oil pan tap. The highest point I could see oil was there. I took it back to the tech who installed it and he said it is seeping from behind the idler? pulley, but could not see a crack. This is the pulley a 115mm long bolt goes through to help secure the SC. He said it could not be from the install and that it would be 4-6 hours of labor to locate the crack and fill with HondaBond.

Has anyone else seen a leak here? The tech said he had no idea what it could be from, and that he has not seen a leak there before.

Do you think it is a crack or could it be something else?

I will probably take off the SC so I can look at it closer, I just want an opinion of what it might be before I go through all the work that way I know what to llok for and maybe order parts if needed.

 

More info: The tech had to rev the car at 5K for a couple minutes before he noticed the leak. When I drove it home I checked the oil, now 1 X below full and there was a 2inch puddle this morning.

 

You could add a florescent dye and get a UV light to pinpoint the leak.

Seems like an odd place to have a leak.

Did the valve cover get removed or the head? If so could be a faulty gasket right behind the pulley that is leaking down.

 

I am pretty sure the valve cover and head were not removed, only the oil pan. There was no leak prior to the install, and I first noticed oil the morning after I drove home from the dealership. The tech is pretty confident the leak is behind the pulley and it is from a crack. What gasket is behind the pulley?

Is it possible the bolt that went into the pulley cracked the case? It was not the supplied vortech bolt, but one from ACE hardware with the same pitch, diameter, but 5mm longer (120mm instead of 115mm). He used 2 washers to adjust for the length.

 

There is an O-ring that goes on the center bolt for the idler gear assembly but I don't know why that bolt would have ever been removed.

 

Does anybody know if that center bolt is removed during the SC install?

 

I can only speak for the Comptech and no, I never had to remove it. The only major bolt removal was the crank pulley.

 

It's not coming from the vtec solenoid mounting block is it?

 

Can I get that dye/light at autozone? I wish my tech would have specifically located it, it is so general "behind the idler pulley". But I guess he would have to take off the SC to get a better look. I did not see any oil around the VTEC solenoid, but I will look again when I get home tonight.

 

Since the Vortech install uses the idler pulley bolt as an attachment point for the blower, that bolt is replaced by a longer one, so it was removed and the new one put in its place. Pages 2, 18, 19 in the following:
http://www.vortechsuperchargers.com/...s/4hs218im.pdf

However, I highly doubt that's where the oil is leaking from. On mine, it has always been the oilpan tap for the return oil line. The threaded tap that goes into the oilpan is supposed to be sealed with an RTV silicone. If I were to do it again, I would use some gasket goo. That fitting can rotate and this will break the silicone seal. Gasket Goo is more flexible and can withstand a bit of movement and still hold a seal. Also, the fittings that go onto that oilpan tap should also be installed with some sort of teflon paste or even a careful winding of teflon tape.
To confirm or reject the oil coming from the idler pulley area, wrap some absorbant cloth (enough to soak up your typical spill) around the oilpan tap and wrap that with Saran Wrap or Aluminum foil to prevent spillage from elsewhere from being soaked up by the cloth. Go out and do what you need to do to make the leak happen again. If it's from the idler pulley, you'll see it on the floor. If it's only from the oilpan tap, the cloth will have soaked it up and you won't see any on the floor.