I had the unfortunate experience of having my balancer shaft seal fail
on my '93 Accord. All the oil ran out of the engine and I was stranded
on the side of the road. The dealer installed a new seal, along with
new timing and balancer belts, a $600 service. That was at 192,000
miles. Well, unfortunately, at 236,000 miles, it looks like oil is
slowly leaking out of the bottom of the timing belt cover again. These
are the same symptoms I experienced before the seal blew out the last
time. My brother helped me remove the upper timing belt cover so we
could try to spot the leak. It's hard to see where the oil is coming
from by removing just the top cover, but the inside of the top cover
looks like it's been getting oil slinged on it by the timing belt (see
pics at www.rochesternet.com/accord), however the timing belt itself
appears fairly dry. Also, as you can see from the second and third
photos, the outside of the lower timing belt cover is completely
saturated with oil as if it had been leaking profusely. Again however,
the inside of the timing belt area is relatively clean, so we're a
little confused about what course of action we could take.

- Based on the photographic evidence provided
(www.rochesternet.com/accord), should we assume that the leakage is
coming from the balancer shaft seal and simply install the balancer
shaft seal retainer clip only (assuming the dealer didn't do it when
they reinstalled the seal), and leave the timing belt alone because it
doesn't appear to be saturated with oil?

- Should we tear everything apart and determine with 100% certainty
where the leak is coming from, and if it is the balancer shaft seal,
completely replace the timing and balancer belts, seal and install
retainer clip?

Thanks,
Jim Montanus
Rochester, New York