94 accord only leaks oil when cold

Maintenance/Repairs
1

I noticed the last two winters oil spots show up in the drive and its only when the temputare dips below 30 or so if any warmer its not there just wandering if anyone else has experienced this

2

Are you seeing this in the snow?Alot of things leak more when they are cold too.

3

Try placing a sheet of posterboard under the car and see if you can tell exactly where it’s dripping from. That might lead to a solution.

4

Its coming from around the bottom of the timing belt cover it has me wondering if there is a seal in that area that might not be expanding when its cold because after initial warm up it stops until it sets long enough to cool down and starts leaking agian

5

There is. It’s called the “front main seal”. It’s a rubber seal around the front end of the crankshaft where the shaft sticks out to be joined with the sprocket that turns the timing belt (which turns the camshafts), the “harmonic balancer”, and the pulley(s) for the serpentine belt(s). It keep the oil in the oil pan as the crankcase spins. Well, except when it gets old and allows some of the oil out of the oil pan (crankcase). It has to do with turbulence, and pressure inside the crankcase, and some other junk. I’ll spare you the dissertation.

The oil is probably getting on the timing belt too. You should get it looked at promptly, because the oil can cause degradation of the belt’s rubber and failure of the belt.

6

Agree w/TSM above, this needs to be checked to make sure the timing belt isn’t being coated with oil. That could cause it to slip or break and damage the valves. If it is indeed the front seal, that isn’t too difficult of a job to replace. It is the rear main seal that’s the big job, as the transmission has to come out for that.

It’s quite possible also that the leak isn’t from the front seal, but somewhere else. It might just be the oil drain plug is leaking a little when it is cold. Oil gets blown all over the place by the 60 mph wind currents under the engine as you drive on the freeway.

7

You might be right, George, but if this vehicle is still on an old front main seal it’s done very, very well. Usually they get checked and often changed during the timing belt servicing.