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FK2 Oil under the engine

Messages
275
Last week I scraped my air deflectors ,you know those rubber flaps in front of the front wheels.When I got home it was just turning dark so I had a look under the front of my ctr fk2. The deflectors were fine but as I was looking with my ultrafire led torch through the middle slits of the tray under the engine I could clearly see oil or some liquid sticking to the bottom of the engine. I could see that it wasnt dripping but maybe very slowly ran down the engine over time.so coincidentally my car was due for a vehicle health check so while it was in the Honda dealership I asked them to see if they could see were the leak was coming from. They took the undertray off to look for the leak and was told by the dealership that they would have to take the gearbox out to establish the source of the leak. The technician said he thought it wasn't the gearbox but the rear main oil seal. I was quoted just over £600.00 to take the gearbox out. Now since ive had the car it hasnt used a drop of oil so im obviously very concerned. The technician also said it might be a plug, i thought it might have been some oil thats run down from the last service but until the gearbox is out theres no way of telling. Has any member had a similar issue? or any thoughts as to what it could be? Ive never read of this happening before.Im going to get a second opinion but am not sure were from?
Any ideas or help from my fellow members would be gratefully welcome
Regards a very concerned and unhappy fk2 fred.
 
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In addition to my thread, i've had the car a year this coming october and have covered around 2000 miles yes thats correct as its a weekend car and just by chance noticed the oil/fluid at the bottom of the engine/gearbox i I say this because im not 100% sure what its on the bottom of the engine or gearbox.
I might ring the Honda dealer who did the last service to see if they have the service on record and might be able to shed some light on the matter for me.
Regards Fred.
 
Hi Fred,

That seems a bit overkill to me.

I'm a merc commercial tech and in the case of a slight oil leak I'd always brake cleaner any last signs of oil and then spray some oil detection spray everywhere. This is basically anti perspirant deodorant and leaves a white powdery film which shows oil really obviously rather than it running everywhere.

Once this is applied you then run the engine or drive it depending on the leak and assess where its coming from and the severity.

I'd say any garage would be able to do this or if you could jack it up to remove the under trays you'd be able to do it yourself fairly easily. To fob it off as gearbox out for a tiny leak seems overkill as once it's unable to be driven or run up to temp there's no going back to find the origin of the leak.

I hope this helps, it may well be spillage or remains of old oil.

Sent from my Mi MIX 3 using Tapatalk
 
Any main dealer service will be on the system anyway, £600 for dropping the gearbox is what they've charged for years and is usually their scare mongering tactic for risking a warranty claim.

Is the car still in it's 3 year warranty (not that means anything) have you noticed anything on your drive, if it sits all week then I would expect at least drips on the drive.

When I read drips my first thought was AC dripping which is normal, but if levels are fine and the car runs fine then I would say possible spillage at the last service.
If it was me I would go for a really long drive, get the engine above temp and then park it up for 2 weeks with cardboard underneath, if it's a leak you will soon see
 
Hi Fred,

That seems a bit overkill to me.

I'm a merc commercial tech and in the case of a slight oil leak I'd always brake cleaner any last signs of oil and then spray some oil detection spray everywhere. This is basically anti perspirant deodorant and leaves a white powdery film which shows oil really obviously rather than it running everywhere.

Once this is applied you then run the engine or drive it depending on the leak and assess where its coming from and the severity.

I'd say any garage would be able to do this or if you could jack it up to remove the under trays you'd be able to do it yourself fairly easily. To fob it off as gearbox out for a tiny leak seems overkill as once it's unable to be driven or run up to temp there's no going back to find the origin of the leak.

I hope this helps, it may well be spillage or remains of old oil.
Hi Norv, thanks for replying I agree with all you say and will definitely get a 2nd opinion. The thing is if say I hadn't scr.aped my air deflectors I wouldn't have been looking and wouldn't have seen the oil or whatever it is. I've been reading online that leaks can occur above and below the rear main seal.it could be a leaking oil a pressure sensor or a sump gasket or what's called a galley plug near the seal that causes the oil to come from the bell housing.Ive also read that dye can be added to the oil to locate the source. I just don't understand that if there was a leak the level on the dipstick surely would've dropped,but its moved from bang on to just below max in almost a year? I don't understand why they just didn't wipe it dry and for me to go back in say a week to see if is still dry or its wet again. I've been in touch with the Honda garage who carried out the last service. No leak was noted so it could be some oil from the last service.They recommend I get in touch with Honda customer support centre and they seemed concerned and asked for the names of the honda dealers I've been in touch with.The guy I spoke to gave me reference number and told me this would be passed on to Honda technical support.
I'll let you know how things go.
Once again many thanks for your help.
Regards Fred.



























Sent from my Mi MIX 3 using Tapatalk[/QUOTE
 
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Any main dealer service will be on the system anyway, £600 for dropping the gearbox is what they've charged for years and is usually their scare mongering tactic for risking a warranty claim.

Is the car still in it's 3 year warranty (not that means anything) have you noticed anything on your drive, if it sits all week then I would expect at least drips on the drive.

When I read drips my first thought was AC dripping which is normal, but if levels are fine and the car runs fine then I would say possible spillage at the last service.
If it was me I would go for a really long drive, get the engine above temp and then park it up for 2 weeks with cardboard underneath, if it's a leak you will soon see

Hi, No the cars out of warranty , and won't see anything on the drive as the cars fully covered by the aerodynamic panels under the car.I have taken it for a long drive and opened it up and when I got home it was dark so again looked under the car and the oil/ fluid was still there but it didn't seem to be dripping.If the oil might have been spillage from the last service last October wouldn't it have dried out by now?
I'm for the time being well? Peed off as the cars absolutely immaculate and love driving it and just want it to be OK.Ive read of the rear main oil seal going on civics but we're very old with many miles on but not with only 18000 miles covered.I will get another garage to have look before deciding what to do.I'll Let you know how I get on and many thanks for your help.
Regards Fred.
 
Oil will never dry up, the only way to gauge how old the remains are is how much crud has stuck to it over the years.

You'll be amazing how fae a little spilt oil will go once its been hot, 5 or 10ml will leave quite a bit patch, so you wouldn't always notice the level drop.

Seals and things can weep or sweat oil which is normal, Mercedes generally say unless it's a drip it's serviceable as a rule.

I'd buy a couple of aerosol cans of brake cleaner, which the tray off and spray it everywhere to remove the traces of oil and check back in a month or so, by the sounds of it there will be nothing to report after that.

Fingers crossed for you!

Sent from my Mi MIX 3 using Tapatalk
 
Oil will never dry up, the only way to gauge how old the remains are is how much crud has stuck to it over the years.

You'll be amazing how fae a little spilt oil will go once its been hot, 5 or 10ml will leave quite a bit patch, so you wouldn't always notice the level drop.

Seals and things can weep or sweat oil which is normal, Mercedes generally say unless it's a drip it's serviceable as a rule.

I'd buy a couple of aerosol cans of brake cleaner, which the tray off and spray it everywhere to remove the traces of oil and check back in a month or so, by the sounds of it there will be nothing to report after that.

Fingers crossed for you!

Sent from my Mi MIX 3 using Tapatalk

Hi Norv, i cant understand why the techician didnt wipe or spray something on the oil wipe it to clear it and i could keep looking to see if it returns or go back in a couple of weeks and take the cover off and have a good look to see if its returned. Im on holiday shortly and when i get back Im going to ask the dealership to clear the oil off and as ive said above take it from there.Also i'll go somewhere else and see what they think. I think logically it could have been there for something time as in almost a year my oil level on the dip stick is right at the top.
Many thanks.Regards Fred. Ps Norv Im not sure what you mean when you say a little oil will leave big patch so i wouldnt even notice the level drop? Do you mean the patch underneath the car will get bigger. I would Do the things you suggest myself but havent any ramps to raise the car and would prefer someone with experience to Do this. Cheers Fred.
 
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i cant understand why the techician didnt wipe or spray something on the oil wipe it to clear it and i could keep looking to see if it returns or go back in a couple of weeks and take the cover off and have a good look to see if its returned.

if they dont clean it, they can claim a leak so they can charge you £600 for a gearbox pull.

i've a 'leak' on my engine... its when i spilt some after topping up from fitting the oil cooler. looks fresh, but been looking like that since i spilt it.
 
if they dont clean it, they can claim a leak so they can charge you £600 for a gearbox pull.

i've a 'leak' on my engine... its when i spilt some after topping up from fitting the oil cooler. looks fresh, but been looking like that since i spilt it.

Yes i know what youre saying. Do you honestly think they would take the gearbox out just to make £600.00?. Im a bit suspicious myself, maybe theyre being quite honest
Who knows. But Im still going to go down the road to ask them to wipe the oil mark off the bottom of the engine then see how soon it comes back, to me that seems a good first step. Surely my dipstick reading would drop if there was a leak which it hasnt. Once again i can't thank you enough for your help. Regards Fred.
 
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Hi Fred,

What I meant by the oil remark was even if you spill a few drops of oil at the top of the engine, once its hot it will run surprisingly far and looks far worse than it is.

So make that 25ml or so out of 4-5 litres and it would leave a big patch on the under tray and probably form drips.

Personally I'd take it to someone not at the dealership and explain you've seen oil, suspect spillage and could they clean it all off leaving it bone dry so you can reassess.

I'd imagine the labour costs to be nice and low for that.

Sent from my Mi MIX 3 using Tapatalk
 
Hi Fred,

What I meant by the oil remark was even if you spill a few drops of oil at the top of the engine, once its hot it will run surprisingly far and looks far worse than it is.

So make that 25ml or so out of 4-5 litres and it would leave a big patch on the under tray and probably form drips.

Personally I'd take it to someone not at the dealership and explain you've seen oil, suspect spillage and could they clean it all off leaving it bone dry so you can reassess.

I'd imagine the labour costs to be nice and low for that.

Sent from my Mi MIX 3 using Tapatalk

Hi Norv, Yes i'll do that, and let you know how things go on.Many thanks.
 
Don't be too trusting in dealers and certainly not HUK, HUK make out they're being helpful but all they do is collect as much info as possible and come up with such crap you end up walking away and dealing with it yourself, they can also make future dealer visits awkward (I've been there myself) I logged an issue, was asked if I want them to contact the dealer, I said no I only want to log in case of future issues....... Yep they rang the dealer :rolleyes:
 
Don't be too trusting in dealers and certainly not HUK, HUK make out they're being helpful but all they do is collect as much info as possible and come up with such crap you end up walking away and dealing with it yourself, they can also make future dealer visits awkward (I've been there myself) I logged an issue, was asked if I want them to contact the dealer, I said no I only want to log in case of future issues....... Yep they rang the dealer :rolleyes:

I see what you mean. Maybe thats why they wanted the names of the dealers i've been in touch with.I suppose on the face of it the dealers appear to be the friendly dealership but work to running a business and making lots of profit. They charge around £90.00 per hour labour which isnt cheap and I just wonder if thats why they wanted to take the gearbox out rather than investigating the leak step by step.
I'm sure that ill get to the bottom of the oil under the engine be it oil run down from a previous service or from top ups or if its the rear main oil seal. One things for sure it may take time but it will be resolved, i'll keep.you informed and look forward to speaking to you soon as a happy ctr fk2 owner
Regards Fred.
 
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