'88 Accord oil in distributor
Hello everyone.
I have a 1988 Accord DX (carbureted). For quite some time I have had the presence of oil in the distributor. Now there is so much that everything under the area of the distributor is wet. I once looked at an Accord like mine that was for sale and had the same problem. So I am hoping that maybe someone here has also had the same problem and can help me out with some advice. Aron |
Re: '88 Accord oil in distributor
For starters--
Many reports of oil in the distributor have occurred here. Read some of them at http://tinyurl.com/29vxt . (You can narrow this groups.google search to your 88 Accord, if you wish.) Then take a look at the exploded view of a distributor for your car at the Majestic online parts site: http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...catdisplay.jsp . Note especially the O-ring in the drawing. Replacement of the O-ring may or may not fix the leak, by my reading. I had some oil in my 1991 Civic LX's distributor cap last year. For other reasons, an independent shop replaced the entire distributor housing. That fixed the leak, but from my reading here it's the expensive route to go just for an oil leak. "Aron" <drenkav1912@earthlink.ten> wrote > I have a 1988 Accord DX (carbureted). For quite some time I have had the > presence of oil in the distributor. Now there is so much that everything > under the area of the distributor is wet. I once looked at an Accord like > mine that was for sale and had the same problem. So I am hoping that maybe > someone here has also had the same problem and can help me out with some > advice. |
Re: '88 Accord oil in distributor
Why not replace the 'O' ring in the shaft of the distributor, and see
if that fixes it? bob |
Re: '88 Accord oil in distributor
I did this years ago and there was little or no effect on oil leaking into
the distributor. I believe the O-ring prevents leaks to the outside of the housing. The problem that has gotten much worse lately and is concerning me is that oil is leaking into the inner workings of the distributor. It has gotten bad enough that oil is coming out of the distributor and getting all over everything under it. From following the link that Caroline posted, it looks like the problem is probably the bearing seal. But maybe I should replace that O-ring too. I last replaced it maybe 8 years ago. Thanks for the post. Aron "N.E.Ohio Bob" <rgstroud@neo.rr.com> wrote in message news:40D8686D.FDA401E6@neo.rr.com... > Why not replace the 'O' ring in the shaft of the distributor, and see > if that fixes it? bob |
Re: '88 Accord oil in distributor
Thanks for your post. I am getting a lot of good information from the
link. I had replaced the O-ring a long time ago and it had no real effect on the internal leak. It looks like the problem is that bearing seal that is elusive because it doesn't appear in the diagrams and isn't sold separately from the dealer. Aron "Caroline" <caroline10027remove@earthlink.net> wrote in message news:SNDBc.8877$bs4.6624@newsread3.news.atl.earthl ink.net... > For starters-- > > Many reports of oil in the distributor have occurred here. Read some of them at > http://tinyurl.com/29vxt . (You can narrow this groups.google search to your 88 > Accord, if you wish.) > > Then take a look at the exploded view of a distributor for your car at the > Majestic online parts site: > http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...catdisplay.jsp . Note > especially the O-ring in the drawing. Replacement of the O-ring may or may not > fix the leak, by my reading. > > I had some oil in my 1991 Civic LX's distributor cap last year. For other > reasons, an independent shop replaced the entire distributor housing. That fixed > the leak, but from my reading here it's the expensive route to go just for an > oil leak. > > "Aron" <drenkav1912@earthlink.ten> wrote > > I have a 1988 Accord DX (carbureted). For quite some time I have had the > > presence of oil in the distributor. Now there is so much that everything > > under the area of the distributor is wet. I once looked at an Accord like > > mine that was for sale and had the same problem. So I am hoping that maybe > > someone here has also had the same problem and can help me out with some > > advice. > > |
Re: '88 Accord oil in distributor
Aron wrote:
> > Thanks for your post. I am getting a lot of good information from the > link. I had replaced the O-ring a long time ago and it had no real effect > on the internal leak. It looks like the problem is that bearing seal that > is elusive because it doesn't appear in the diagrams and isn't sold > separately from the dealer. > Here's one possible solution. Buy a used distributor from a wrecking yard. Make sure that there's neither oil nor rust in the distributor. If necessary transfer your components over to the used distributor housing, e.g., ignitor, magnet, advance plate, vacuum advance. Lastly, make sure that the used distributor's mechanical advance moves freely. You should be able to turn the top of the distributor about 10-15° and have it smoothly spring back to position. It it doesn't move freely, then the top shaft of the distributor will need to removed, cleaned up, and relubed (the top shaft can be reinstalled in one of two positions, if you get it wrong you will not be able to time your car so use hash marks to mark its original orientation). Note that a functioning mechanical advance is important. Your engine may ping if the distributor is locked down. Pinging can destroy the piston ring lands over time. One final note, as you may be aware, the distributors for these cars came in two flavors, either Hitachi or Tek. Make sure that you get the right one for your car. Eric |
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