Front head seal question.

Hi all,
Don't really know much about this but I'm hoping you guys can give me a little advice. My daughter has a '93 Accord with approx. 300,000 km on it. Today she called me and told me the oil light was flickering but fortunately she was close to a gas station and had the oil checked there. It was barely reading on the stick. She added the oil and drove home. She later left and oil light was flickering again so she stopped at a fast lube shop and they said it was "pouring" out of the front head seal and that she was smart to have shut it down when she did. Anyway, I'll have it looked at tomorrow. Any opinions on what I should do? Is this going to be a huge job and be more $$ than the car is worth? Other than this it has been running fine.
Thanks in advance for any advice
Gary

Exactly what is leaking; a head gasket, valve cover gasket, main seal, etc.? Get a second opinion from an independent shop. You may find out that it's just a fault Oil Pressure Sending Unit. Engines with 186K miles, even Hondas, are bound to burn a quart or two of oil between changes.

There are not too many seals that can leak. Make sure which one is leaking.

1. Valve cover gasket -- easy to replace, but won't cause the oil to pour out.
2. Cam shaft seal -- not easy to replace, won't cause serious leak.
3. Dirtributor seal -- easy to replace, shouldn't cause serious leak.
4. Rear main seal -- need to remove tranny. It can leak seriously.
5. Front main seal -- not easy either. Can leak seriously.
6. Balancer shaft seal. Same as 3.
7. Oil pan gasket -- not easy to replace. If the bolts are loose or the gasket got broken, oil can leak out easily.
8. Oil drain bolt washer.

If you can find out where the oil comes out, it's easier to know what you need to do.

Normally, if it's 1 and 3, you can see oil trace by opening the hood. All others will leak beneath the car. If the oil comes out close to left wheel, then it could be 2, 5, 6. If it in the middle, could be 4, 7, 8.

For a car with that mileage, all the major seals should be hardened and deteriorated which cause leaks.

I had the same problem. Oil would pour out when engine was started.

My problem was the front balance shaft oil seal went bad. I also had the retainer plate replaced, which will keep the seal from popping out.

Because it was no extra labor I had Honda also replace my timing belt and water pump.

From what I've heard early 90 Accords had a tendency for the front balance shaft seal to pop out.