Hi, I have a 1993 Honda Accord SE with a 2.2L. For the longest time I have had a small leak from the oil pan gasket but just recently I have developed a really bad oil leak. My car is pissing oil, pretty much. I think it is coming from the rear of the engine because it drops on to the exhaust pipe right at the "Y" collector.

At first I thought maybe it was a crankshaft seal or something like that but I popped off my valve cover and saw that my timing belt was nice and dry. If it was a crankshaft seal or anything near the timing belt area would there be eveidense on the belt? Especially at the rate this car is spewing oil? The belt looks bone dry, no signs of having oil soaked in.

I was reading in my "Haynes Book of Lies" about the oil cooler, which it says is located near the oil filter. I am thinking maybe something around there is leaking. I have not crawled under the car completely yet to take a look.

I'm pretty much fishing for ideas and maybe some advice from somebody who may have had this happen to them too.

Thanks a lot!

MiniGene

Check your oil filter it may be lose it does drip down right there in that spot

Along with the oil filter, make sure there isn't a double gasket... sometimes when you get your oil changed, the mechanic won't notice that the old gasket from the old filter is still stuck to the fitment, and that'll make the new gasket and filter not seal up properly.

Thanks for the ideas guys.

Well, I put it on my ramps and checked it out. It wasn't a loose oil filter. It was coming from above the oilfilter so I assumed it was the oil pressure sending unit which is right above. I tried to get a good look at it with a little mirror but I really couldn't. I couldn't even get my hands around it that well, just a couple of fingers. These things are hard to work on!

Anyway, I finally had time to take it to a shop today and they called me back told me what it was. I was wrong, it was the oil cooler that was leaking, not the sender.

Today is Friday and I should have my car back on Monday. I'll post the results after I pick it up.

Well, it was the oil cooler seals. When the Haynes Manual spoke about the oil cooler and its seals I was picturing something under the car with hoses to it and thin fins. Nope, the oil cooler is the piece that the oil filter screws onto-go figure.

Thankfully it didn't cost that much to fix; 66 bucks. I didn't take it to a stealership--I mean Dealership, 'cause I'm pretty sure they would have made my rear hurt.

I think a lot of people my be going to experience this leak. As with your experience, I thought it was from the filter. It went down to -4 this AM and that was all it took to blow this thing wide open. I wonder why they call the part an oil cooler, as it just looks like an extension to make filter maintenance easier (no fins, not much surface area, mounted to a hot engine, etc.) Anyhow, misery loves company, but thanks for your post, as now I know what search terms to use for parts or when talking to the dealer.

I had the same thing happen in cold weather. The oil cooler o-ring costs under $5, my mechanic charged me $91 for parts + supplies + labor. There is a good picture here of the oil cooler. It is smooth because it is water cooled (notice where the coolant hoses are attached). Now that I've Googled & read up on it, it sounds pretty simple to fix, but it still cold out there.

It is real simple to fix, the hollow tube that the filter screws onto (which lives in oil) is not hard to budge. Just be careful reinstalling, as it is a cast piece, not machined. Doesn't need to be torqued down real tight anyway, and the type of threads it has will give you a definite clue that you're done. ALSO, you don't need to disconnect those hoses, as there is more than enough flex to move the cooler away from the block, remove the old O ring, put the new one in place, and put the hollow tube back in. I went slow the first time, but having done it once, I can say with confidence that it would only add about 2 min. to an oil change - REALLY! It's that simple. Lastly, THANK YOU for pointing out that those hoses are for coolant, a fact which totally slipped by me. Even though the coolant is hot, it's still way below the temp of the oil, and now the whole design makes sense to me. Sorry to take so long replying, this was tagged as spam and almost lost