Major oil leak

My honda prelude has been in storage for a month and before this there was no leak as I had an oil change a month before it went intoi storage. However, when I started it up for the first time yesterday there was grey/blue smoke and a smell, but seemed to go fine. Anyway I checked the oil at the garage and was told I needed 1 litre of oil, I put the oil in. When I got home I washed the car and it took a few hours for at least a good quarter of a litre of engine oil to leak under the car and it formed a pool under the passenger side towards the front of the car, quite a big pool (enough to notice) so I have not driven it since. I moved the car back a little way out the drive and it left a thin trail of oil...The oil light does not come on at all. Im too scared to turn the engine on now...

What could be the possible cause and location of this leak and can I repair it myself if I order parts? Any suggestions will do before I get it towed to a mechanic for a diagnosis and yes a bill$$$

See where its leaking from. It might be a seal or something.

Go to an autoparts store and get some florencent oil dye.

This dye will show up bright green or red under a black light.

Take a liter of oil, add the dye, shake it up, and then put it in the crank case.

Run the engine BRIEFLY, and then let it sit for 30 minutes.

Run the black light under and on top of the engine.

This should show you where the leak is.

Or, you could just watch where the oils spills out of.

I suggest you get some white rags and place them where you suspect the leaks are coming from. Let them sit there overnight, and you'll know where its coming from in the morning. If not, try other random places.

Or, you could just watch where the oils spills out of.

Sure... if it's hugely obvious and you've got a lift laying around.

You don't need a lift and it doesnt need to be obvious. See where the oil hits the ground and look up. Or do like SiGNAL748 said.

Oil change, now leak, could be the oil filter gasket. If the gasket from the old filter stayed on after the filter was removed, then there's a leak. If it is leaking from the filter area, it will leak onto the exhaust pipe and smoke and smell. If you have an oil cooler between the oil filter and the engine block, it's o-ring can leak also. (4th gen si's and vtec's)

Oil change, now leak, could be the oil filter gasket. If the gasket from the old filter stayed on after the filter was removed, then there's a leak. If it is leaking from the filter area, it will leak onto the exhaust pipe and smoke and smell. If you have an oil cooler between the oil filter and the engine block, it's o-ring can leak also. (4th gen si's and vtec's)

Good point, but that would only have the oil leak when the car was running.

I got the impression that the leak happened due to gravity without the engine on.

In so far as look where the oil leak is coming from by gravity and cardboard (what have you)... that doesn't seem to work well most of the time with an H22 or H23 series engine.

I've seen the cam plug leak a ton, spill oil everywhere down the side and back of the engine... making it look like the oil pan is leaking under the stiffener... or the tranny at the halfs.

The dye is professional and easy to do / use... and it's super easy to see and a blue / back pen light.

Hello All,

I am having a very similar problem with my 94 Si. My oil light came on this afternoon, so I pulled over immediately to get some oil and check things out.

I had to put two quarts in, and the oil still was not completely full. When I went to pull away, the oil I had just put in came gushing out. I went and checked my previous parking spot (in a friends car... the lude was stranded in the grocery store parking lot) where I was parked for a few days, and there was a large amount of fresh oil there.

Needing to have the car towed, there was a service station conveniently located 1 block from where the car was stranded. After getting the car up on the rack, the mechanic added some oil to try and recreate the problem. nothing happened until he started the car, then the oil started gushing out. It was coming straight down over the oil filter, although it was hard to tell if it was leaking from above or just from the filter. When the mechanic removed the oil filter, it seemed to be fine. He then concluded the problem was the oil switch or sensor, quoted me about $70, but called me back an hour later stating that this was not the problem, and that it might be a gasket behind the place that the oil filter screws onto.

I am now waiting to hear from him tomorrow, but I am concerned that he may not have too much experience with Hondas, so I am looking to see what the people at this forum think.

Any advice/ experience would be appreciated.

Thanks.

I wouldn't worry.. You don't need much "foriegn experience" to find an oil leak....

If the o-ring behind the oil cooler is leaking it should be inexpensive for the o-ring is only a couple-a-bucks.

If the o-ring behind the oil cooler is leaking it should be inexpensive for the o-ring is only a couple-a-bucks.


Thank you for the response. It actually was the o-ring behind the oil cooler... price was reasonable... around $150.

That's a pretty nasty little problem to have... If I hadn't stopped immediately, the engine would have been ruined since all of the oil was gone, and I'd probably be looking for a new car.

Thanks again.