Emergency oil questoin and advice needed --CDelena?
06-28-2001, 08:10 AM
#1
Moderator
Thread Starter
Emergency oil questoin and advice needed --CDelena?
On my way to work, my engine oil light on my Prelude (H23a) started blinking....I was shocked since I take extreme care with engine oil and filter work.
I pull the car over quick and shut off the car. I get under the car and notice oil slowly dripping from the drain bolt. Since I was about 150 yards from where I stopped to my job, I decided to drive to work where I got a better look and also noticed oil dripping from my oil filter.
I need an emergency oil change and am going to one of the Jiffy Lubes around the block. What are the possible results from going to a synthetic to a regular oil formula in case the Jiif Lube doesn't carry synthetics (BTW, I use a Castrol Synthetic in my lude...) If they do have a synthetic what are the possible reprecussions of using another brand synthetic?
Please help...thanks.
Are the reprecussions significant enough that even if I mix the blends that in under a 1000 miles I am going to get the engine over-hauled with newer stock internals?
I pull the car over quick and shut off the car. I get under the car and notice oil slowly dripping from the drain bolt. Since I was about 150 yards from where I stopped to my job, I decided to drive to work where I got a better look and also noticed oil dripping from my oil filter.
I need an emergency oil change and am going to one of the Jiffy Lubes around the block. What are the possible results from going to a synthetic to a regular oil formula in case the Jiif Lube doesn't carry synthetics (BTW, I use a Castrol Synthetic in my lude...) If they do have a synthetic what are the possible reprecussions of using another brand synthetic?
Please help...thanks.
Are the reprecussions significant enough that even if I mix the blends that in under a 1000 miles I am going to get the engine over-hauled with newer stock internals?
06-28-2001, 10:09 AM
#3
Moderator
Thread Starter
Just cam back from about a 10 minute drive and noticed my oil light "snaps" on when making right hand turns....which leads me to believe the oil is shifting to the left side of the oil pan, and the oil pump is either not getting the oil into the pump, or the oil pump is not pumping.
As far as the leaks, how possible (or I should say plausible) is it to have two seals fail?
Could this be something with the synthetic oil breakdown? <---Only thing I can think of is that recently it's been VERY humid here in Chicago.
Someone could have put some contaminents in my oil....I don't know how...the car is always garage kept and I don't have any enemies, unless they are jealous individuals?
As far as the leaks, how possible (or I should say plausible) is it to have two seals fail?
Could this be something with the synthetic oil breakdown? <---Only thing I can think of is that recently it's been VERY humid here in Chicago.
Someone could have put some contaminents in my oil....I don't know how...the car is always garage kept and I don't have any enemies, unless they are jealous individuals?
06-28-2001, 10:53 AM
#4
Registered User
Several notes here:
- Be very afraid. I've only seen the oil light come on in Hondas AFTER damage has already ocurred. This light is for oil pressure which means it only comes on once there is a critical condition. NEVER drive a Honda once the oil light comes on, pull over, shut it down, and look for the cause (or just tow it).
- It's rare to have two seals fail without a major problem (like sand in the oil). I doubt that's your issue.
- Jiffy Lube and other similar places are notoriously bad. They typicall employ people that aren't good enough for normal mechanical work. What's more likely is that they didn't put enough oil in it. This has happened more than once, I've personally had friends that have gotten new engines due to this (side note: I'm curious how many engines Jiffy Lube buys in a year).
- If the light comes on in hard corners, you likely already have bearing damage. The light is coming on because the sump is running dry. If this is happening, I can guarantee main bearing damage as well as likely pump damage. That is assuming of course that you don't have a loose connection to the pressure sending unit (which I doubt, but should be checked).
Why would you have damage?
- There have been known ring problems with the H22, and I assume the H23 isn't too different (see preludeonline.com).
- Hondas like to burn oil (more specifically, ingest) through the PCV. Moreso on VTECs than on the H23.
- The H23 does not have oil sprayers on the pistons. Extremely hard driving or racing can starve the bottom end of oil.
It should not be that it is synthetic oil, and it should be broken down. How often do you change oil? What filters do you use? If you were leaking around the drain, it is likely a stripped drain, loose drain, no crush washer, or something else (that looks like the drain). Honda front a rear main seals are known to leak with age and in a few cases seal failure may occur (this doesn't result in a leak, it usually results in all the oil being blown out within a few minutes).
Regardless, I suggest you take it to a dealer, or find someone to buy it. If the light was coming on as much as it did you likely have bearing damage. This could become MUCH more expensive if you wait to look at it (like when a bearing fails, the oil pump fails, or the crank snaps). I'd also find out how much oil you have and if you still have a leak or not, you might have issue with Jiffy Lube if your leak is gone and they didn't top it off (you may get a new engine from them!).
- Be very afraid. I've only seen the oil light come on in Hondas AFTER damage has already ocurred. This light is for oil pressure which means it only comes on once there is a critical condition. NEVER drive a Honda once the oil light comes on, pull over, shut it down, and look for the cause (or just tow it).
- It's rare to have two seals fail without a major problem (like sand in the oil). I doubt that's your issue.
- Jiffy Lube and other similar places are notoriously bad. They typicall employ people that aren't good enough for normal mechanical work. What's more likely is that they didn't put enough oil in it. This has happened more than once, I've personally had friends that have gotten new engines due to this (side note: I'm curious how many engines Jiffy Lube buys in a year).
- If the light comes on in hard corners, you likely already have bearing damage. The light is coming on because the sump is running dry. If this is happening, I can guarantee main bearing damage as well as likely pump damage. That is assuming of course that you don't have a loose connection to the pressure sending unit (which I doubt, but should be checked).
Why would you have damage?
- There have been known ring problems with the H22, and I assume the H23 isn't too different (see preludeonline.com).
- Hondas like to burn oil (more specifically, ingest) through the PCV. Moreso on VTECs than on the H23.
- The H23 does not have oil sprayers on the pistons. Extremely hard driving or racing can starve the bottom end of oil.
It should not be that it is synthetic oil, and it should be broken down. How often do you change oil? What filters do you use? If you were leaking around the drain, it is likely a stripped drain, loose drain, no crush washer, or something else (that looks like the drain). Honda front a rear main seals are known to leak with age and in a few cases seal failure may occur (this doesn't result in a leak, it usually results in all the oil being blown out within a few minutes).
Regardless, I suggest you take it to a dealer, or find someone to buy it. If the light was coming on as much as it did you likely have bearing damage. This could become MUCH more expensive if you wait to look at it (like when a bearing fails, the oil pump fails, or the crank snaps). I'd also find out how much oil you have and if you still have a leak or not, you might have issue with Jiffy Lube if your leak is gone and they didn't top it off (you may get a new engine from them!).
06-28-2001, 11:05 AM
#5
Moderator
Thread Starter
Marrucci,
I have yet to go to Jiffy Lube, I tend to stay away from anything but dealer servive techs. However, the light came on (more like blinking) only this morning. That's why I panicked. I didn't want to drive the car home 20 miles with the light blinking.
As far as past oil and filter changes, I've been doing them for the life of the car and am pretty meticulous about it. I use OEM Honda oil filter and change it and the oil every 3000 miles if not before....
I am still going to Jiffy Lube after work for a quick oil change, just to make sure everything is ok for the drive home.
And yes, the H23 is known to burn/consume oil like no other (aside the H22). I am adding about a quart of synthetic every other week.
The car has just turned 70k miles on the odometer and will turn 8 years old this July...I've had her every last day and put on every last mile on that car. I think I am too attached to sell the car, so if the engine fails then it's just a good reason for me to replace it with a H22a (hopefully I can source an ECU from Japan or Europe so that I can retain the 4ws with the new vtec mod).
Other than that, with the oil change later today, within the next 1000 miles, I will have the engine get a complete tune-up so that it is running like new.
Thanks for the advice guys.
Urmil
I have yet to go to Jiffy Lube, I tend to stay away from anything but dealer servive techs. However, the light came on (more like blinking) only this morning. That's why I panicked. I didn't want to drive the car home 20 miles with the light blinking.
As far as past oil and filter changes, I've been doing them for the life of the car and am pretty meticulous about it. I use OEM Honda oil filter and change it and the oil every 3000 miles if not before....
I am still going to Jiffy Lube after work for a quick oil change, just to make sure everything is ok for the drive home.
And yes, the H23 is known to burn/consume oil like no other (aside the H22). I am adding about a quart of synthetic every other week.
The car has just turned 70k miles on the odometer and will turn 8 years old this July...I've had her every last day and put on every last mile on that car. I think I am too attached to sell the car, so if the engine fails then it's just a good reason for me to replace it with a H22a (hopefully I can source an ECU from Japan or Europe so that I can retain the 4ws with the new vtec mod).
Other than that, with the oil change later today, within the next 1000 miles, I will have the engine get a complete tune-up so that it is running like new.
Thanks for the advice guys.
Urmil
06-28-2001, 01:13 PM
#7
Moderator
Thread Starter
Marrucci,
Awesome, thanks for the info. Just as a follow up, I'm burning about a quart every 500-700 miles, which I do know is alot.
That's why I was going to get the engine overhauled: replace all seals, belts, valves, valve springs, etc.
I don't drive the car hard like I used to before all the body work (which I got done about a year ago), and even when I did, I kept up all the maintenance on the engine and ran it with care (ex. I made sure that I didn't run the engine hard until it warmed up, no showboating with wheel spin, hardly any street racing, and a handful of track events and auto-x events.
I've checked the oil level and look good to drive over to Jiffy Lube and I hope they muck something up....if they do, it'd take car of the expense of a new engine...I'm hoping that I don't/won't need a new engine. The H23a is more that sufficient for the kind of driving I do, but wouldn't mind a VTEC swap.
As far as the 4ws ECU from Europe or Japan, are you sure both 4ws computer and the ECU don't have a two way communication? If the 4ws computer doesn't get the info it's looking for from the ECU, it turns itself off and locks up the rear hydro assembly. The other idea I came up with is if I do a VTEC implant, do I need a VTEC ECU? Can't I just somehow get the VTEC solenoid to actuate at a certain rev point with some set up electronic signal? <---actually this sounds kinda off the wall, but is it possible?
BTW, here's a pic of my two babies:
Awesome, thanks for the info. Just as a follow up, I'm burning about a quart every 500-700 miles, which I do know is alot.
That's why I was going to get the engine overhauled: replace all seals, belts, valves, valve springs, etc.
I don't drive the car hard like I used to before all the body work (which I got done about a year ago), and even when I did, I kept up all the maintenance on the engine and ran it with care (ex. I made sure that I didn't run the engine hard until it warmed up, no showboating with wheel spin, hardly any street racing, and a handful of track events and auto-x events.
I've checked the oil level and look good to drive over to Jiffy Lube and I hope they muck something up....if they do, it'd take car of the expense of a new engine...I'm hoping that I don't/won't need a new engine. The H23a is more that sufficient for the kind of driving I do, but wouldn't mind a VTEC swap.
As far as the 4ws ECU from Europe or Japan, are you sure both 4ws computer and the ECU don't have a two way communication? If the 4ws computer doesn't get the info it's looking for from the ECU, it turns itself off and locks up the rear hydro assembly. The other idea I came up with is if I do a VTEC implant, do I need a VTEC ECU? Can't I just somehow get the VTEC solenoid to actuate at a certain rev point with some set up electronic signal? <---actually this sounds kinda off the wall, but is it possible?
BTW, here's a pic of my two babies:
Trending Topics
06-29-2001, 03:34 AM
#8
Registered User
Urmil, I would never DRIVE to JiffyLube with the oil light on. What did the dipstick show? You said it showed "enough." Once I had the oil light come on in my Dodge Dart when too much gasoline got into the oil and thinned it down. But nothing was dripping.
I'd take a taxicab to the gas station, buy some oil and put it in, and THEN drive to the JiffyLube (or home) and change the oil, replacing the filter and the aluminum crush washer on the drain and perhaps fixing the problem.
As far as the engine transplant, I think you're looking for way too much trouble. There was a long thread about this on the Prelude board in www.honda-acura.net .
As I recall, Japan had 4ws and VTEC '93 and '94 Preludes, so perhaps you could get a Japanese ECU set up for that.
I had a '88 Prelude 4ws and went to the '93 Prelude VTEC and never regretted it. My '93 Prelude VTEC has about 44,000 miles on it and I love it. I keep thinking about having a couple dings taken out and having it repainted blue-green pearl.
I'd take a taxicab to the gas station, buy some oil and put it in, and THEN drive to the JiffyLube (or home) and change the oil, replacing the filter and the aluminum crush washer on the drain and perhaps fixing the problem.
As far as the engine transplant, I think you're looking for way too much trouble. There was a long thread about this on the Prelude board in www.honda-acura.net .
As I recall, Japan had 4ws and VTEC '93 and '94 Preludes, so perhaps you could get a Japanese ECU set up for that.
I had a '88 Prelude 4ws and went to the '93 Prelude VTEC and never regretted it. My '93 Prelude VTEC has about 44,000 miles on it and I love it. I keep thinking about having a couple dings taken out and having it repainted blue-green pearl.
06-29-2001, 04:19 AM
#9
Registered User
Luder94, Barry,
I did a considerable amount of research on this- I was looking to put 4WS into my '99 Prelude. I'll have to go back to my notes, or through my '93 Service Manual, but I'm 99% sure that there is one line shared by the two computers: the Check Engine Light line. This is so the 4WS ECU knows that there is a problem with the main ECU, and it will go into "limp" mode as well. There are a lot of other "shared" wires as well as extra sensors, like lines for the ABS wheel sensors, the Brake light line, and the steering angle sensors, wheel angle sensors, rear rack wiring... the list goes on. Since you have all the wiring in place, you should only need to plug in the new ECU.
Where your problem will come in is that your car is OBD1. Unless you want to rewire the computer harness, you will need an OBD1 Prelude ECU. That would be '93 to '95. You may have to add 1 or 2 wires into the engine bay for VTEC- the VTEC "enable" pressure switch, and the VTEC control solenoid. I can get you the contacts you need to wire this just like stock- just let me know.
You can use your stock computer to control the VTEC plant IF you get it reprogrammed. Otherwise your fuel map will be WAY off and you may very well detonate and cause physical damage. You'd also still be in the same boat for wiring the VTEC stuff.
My opinion would be for a low-mile JDM H22A instead of an overhaul- I think it will cost you less, plus you get more power : ) I'm surprised you don't agree, having an S2 for your other car!
I did a considerable amount of research on this- I was looking to put 4WS into my '99 Prelude. I'll have to go back to my notes, or through my '93 Service Manual, but I'm 99% sure that there is one line shared by the two computers: the Check Engine Light line. This is so the 4WS ECU knows that there is a problem with the main ECU, and it will go into "limp" mode as well. There are a lot of other "shared" wires as well as extra sensors, like lines for the ABS wheel sensors, the Brake light line, and the steering angle sensors, wheel angle sensors, rear rack wiring... the list goes on. Since you have all the wiring in place, you should only need to plug in the new ECU.
Where your problem will come in is that your car is OBD1. Unless you want to rewire the computer harness, you will need an OBD1 Prelude ECU. That would be '93 to '95. You may have to add 1 or 2 wires into the engine bay for VTEC- the VTEC "enable" pressure switch, and the VTEC control solenoid. I can get you the contacts you need to wire this just like stock- just let me know.
You can use your stock computer to control the VTEC plant IF you get it reprogrammed. Otherwise your fuel map will be WAY off and you may very well detonate and cause physical damage. You'd also still be in the same boat for wiring the VTEC stuff.
My opinion would be for a low-mile JDM H22A instead of an overhaul- I think it will cost you less, plus you get more power : ) I'm surprised you don't agree, having an S2 for your other car!
06-29-2001, 11:11 PM
#10
Registered User
You might try just swapping heads. Many racers are creating the "frankenstein"motors. If I'm not mistaken, the vtec head should match up with your block, you just HAVE TO make sure you connect the vtec oil line! There's a shop in So Cal called Atomic Motorsports that deal with prelude engines. I talked to them about swaping on our 92 lude and they said that it isn't too difficult.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
