Well, just had the oil changed on my 2000 CR-V (thanks for the discussion on oil weight).
The only thing the shop pointed out was there’s an oil leak from somewhere in the engine that is getting onto the lower radiator hose.
I’ve had lots of seals and gaskets changed on the vehicle - water pump, timing belt (seals), cover gasket, etc.
Any thoughts on where an oil leak would come from that would drip onto the lower radiator hose. Oh, and do you think it’s worth having the shop clean the engine to find the leak. I use about a quart in between oil changes. Thanks guys.
Wow, I guess (it’s worth a try) if somebody is familiar with this make, model, generation, and has had similar problems, they could help, but usually an oil leak is quite a bit more difficult to diagnose in cyberspace than with the auto sitting right in front of you.
Just saying…
Was this little beauty driven through road salt in winter? Sometimes, power steering lines, transmission cooler lines, brake lines, and components are eaten up by salt and leak.
Otherwise, any 22 year-old car, worth its weight in salt (no pun intended) is probably going to leak from gaskets, seals, etcetera.
Oh, and if the vehicle had different engine options, which one have you?
A quart between changes isn’t much, not worth getting one’s panties in a wad over, as they say. I’d be tempted to just keep religiously checking and maintaining fluid levels of all the fluids and drive on.
Save the money you’d spend chasing all that trivia that goes wrong with an old car and save it for the inevitable newer replacement vehicle and pay cash.
CSA
The lower hose is tucked in on the lower part of the engine. Oil could come from almost anywhere and work it’s way to the hose. You can clean the engine yourself if so inclined and look for a trail leading to the hose after driving for awhile. Option 2 is paying a shop to do it. Option 3 a quart between changes is not bad at all. You can let it go as long as you check oil regularly.
Hi CSA,
I’ll have to check on which engine this has. No salt as it’s been in Florida since 2007. That’s the way I look it also, that is, regarding spending $ looking for a leak in a 269,000 mile engine.
thanks tcmichnorth.
269000 miles and 21 years old. Leave it alone. Unless the oil leak is easy to spot and simple and cheap to fix.the most I would do is clean off the hose well. The oil could be from an old leak you already had fixed.
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The only thing I will add to the discussion is that motor oil and radiator hoses don’t play well together, with the former deteriorating the latter. I would replaced the hose.
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considering vehicle age, that would not be a bad idea even if it was not soaked in oil, yet I would suggest to clean up and observe if any new oil shows up
my old beater Nissan also had that hose oily and I thought I need to take care of it, but as I was working to stop other oil leaks on the front cover and valve covers, I had it cleaned and for 2 years it’s as dry as a bone
Hey guys,
Thanks for the responses.
I inspected it myself and it’s not even the lower radiator hose, like the shop said (that’s bone dry), it’s another hose. I’ve attached a photo (do you guys know the purpose of this hose, I’ve checked schmatics and I’ve got no clue).
So , you guys suggested, I cleaned off the hose (It did look like old oil, greasy and hard). The hose is a bit soft, and maybe I should replace if I knew what it was. It seems like a vacum hose, not a hose that has fluid, so maybe it doesn’t even need replacing. ???
Any further help would be appreciated.
Mark
It’s the thinner hose almost in the middle of the pic
