D15, D16, D17 and Mini-Me swaps
User avatar
By Ahkten
#315072 Hey folks, so im not 100% sure if this is correct or not, but from what ive been reading/seeing on my car and on others that have the problem, i could potentially have a valve cover gasket leak.

if thats the case, have any of you guys experienced this before? If so, what should i be watching for/looking for? When i opened my hood to check my oil, i notced a small melted piece of rubber that was sticking out of my valve cover. its no longer there as its fallen off. could this be sealer? Or the actual gasket melting out? Is that even possible??

I will be posing a pic of where i think the leak is coming from.

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but i figure you folks are the best to ask!

Thanks in advance,
Nick
User avatar
By teal_dx
#315075 The gasket will usually have little tabs that stick out on the corner. There's no way the vc gasket could melt unless your engine was waaaaay too hot, like on fire.

If it's leaking, replace it :thumb:

Whatever you do, don't try to stop the leak by tightening the valve cover bolts down tighter because they break off easily and then your 10 min job just became an hr job of drilling out the broken bolt. :wink:
User avatar
By Ahkten
#315092 Thanks teal!! One other question, what are the perks to doing the gasket? Will my oil condumption be less?? Will my car idle better aswell? I find my car idles low when im at a stop light sometimes.
User avatar
By Honda4life
#315103 if your car idles low or your idle is off check your idle air control valve. Also check your throttle and see if your throttle is sticking or the cable has little slack or to much.
User avatar
By Punksz6
#315106 Benifits you won't have the oil leak and consumption will be better. When you do get one get OEM, in my opinion they are just better quality then ones from the auto parts and while your at it I would also change the tube seals or also called spark plug seals. There pretty cheap and will be better for you in the future. Also how many miles are on the motor? The idle prob like like stated by Honda4life could be another cause then the leak. Try checking the iacv,throttle body maybe even the gasket for the tb. Or your fast idle thermo valve if you have it. Let us know and we could then provide better help. :thumb:
User avatar
By Ahkten
#315139
Punksz6 wrote:Benifits you won't have the oil leak and consumption will be better. When you do get one get OEM, in my opinion they are just better quality then ones from the auto parts and while your at it I would also change the tube seals or also called spark plug seals. There pretty cheap and will be better for you in the future. Also how many miles are on the motor? The idle prob like like stated by Honda4life could be another cause then the leak. Try checking the iacv,throttle body maybe even the gasket for the tb. Or your fast idle thermo valve if you have it. Let us know and we could then provide better help. :thumb:


My car is sitting at 258XXX Kms. I'm not really sure why but there's a noticeable change in the idle when I A) Step on the brakes, B) Use my rear defrost. I was thinking initially that I could need a new battery as my current battery is 12 years old. could that be a contriubtor to it?
I have some issues starting in the morning and I read that oil could be making their way into the spark plugs causing less of a spark, or getting in the way of the spark.



I did do some reading that I should also do the tube seals, so I will be doing that :) I have some issues starting in the morning and I read that oil could be making their way into the spark plugs causing less of a spark, or getting in the way of the spark.