BabyFace

Hello S2K enthusiasts

Since purchasing my 2000 AP1 (in august 2013) there has always been a slight oil leak from somewhere around the rocker cover, i would notice an oil mist effect on the Black spark plug cover (there would also be oil under it too) as well as some oil on the top face of the Head where it meets the VC (on the exhaust side near firewall), i can also smell the oil when it touches the headers.
Because of this i did a VC gasket job. new VC gasket, New spark plug tube seals, new washer/gromets and even new PCV + PCV o'ring.

Since this though the leak seams to have gotten worse, I believe the old rubbers/gaskets had Honda Bond beneath them to help constrain it.

I have left the black cover off lately and tried cleaning it all up so i could spot where the leak starts.
I have a few possibilities in mind, it looks like it may be starting from the washer/grommets i see some oil around them after driving, especially the front one then an oil mist looking trail that then seems to condense on the wall of the Spark Plug tunnel area, looks to then run off down the back of VC and onto the Head.

2nd possibility is a spark plug seal, i did have my father change these, i watched him use a slide hammer and smash the out then hammer in new ones, when i re installed the VC i made sure to use a blunt object to push the tube seals over the tube. I doubt it is this though because theres no oil on the inside walls of the tubes nor is there any on the coil packs.


Can anybody else confirm if the grommets are often rubbish, or if my diagnosis is missing something?

any help is appreciated, as its getting annoying now.

thanks for reading all this

darcyw

never needed honda bond on any of my valve cover gaskets, nor does the FSM mention. Be sure you used the correct torque spec in the proper sequence. On an older car of mine about 25 years ago i over torqued the valve cover bolts and cracked the cover itself- that could be a source of oil leakage. Or the seals weren't seated properly.

good luck

darcy

zeroptzero

The grommets are bulletproof if installed properly. Torque them to spec and they work flawlessly. Did you remove all of the Hondabond from the mating surfaces, Hondabond is not used in this application and it can cause leaks if left in place. It is easily scraped off.

BabyFace

there was no HB, on the surfaces when i tightened them.
And i did use the torque wrench when i first put them on.

Could it maybe be the spark plug seals then? but then theres no oil in the wells....

zeroptzero

post up some pics.

BabyFace

this is the VC off the car, as you can see the condition of the mating surfaces, its clean of HB but they look sort dirty too.
the shine is from degreaser i sprayed on then wiped off but thats the path of the oil aswell i believe it runs down the spark plug area and to the back then onto the head/exhaust.


How it looked when oily,notice oil around the spark plug well.

Just remembered but before the leak looked to be coming from the rear so i moved that grommet to the front, and now it looks like the oil is running all the way down.
hence why i think its a faulty grommet, but oil misting about can make it hard to see where the source is