Head Gasket Oil Leak???

[ViPER1313]

I seem to have an oil leak from where the rear head meets the block in the location shown below. The leak seems to be originating through the headgasket from the large oil drain on the rear of the head. The head is dry above the leak (at least that I could see / feel) making me doubt that its a valve cover gasket. The engine has 162k miles on it and has never been overheated in the past 40k miles I have owned it. The engine runs fine, doesn't burn oil, no oil in the antifreeze or vice versa. There are a few drops of oil along the crack between the head / block and a thin layer of oil staining the block below the leak. My questions are:

-Has anyone ever seen an SHO headgasket leak in this location before?
-How worried should I be if the gasket is leaking externally here?
-Is there somewhere else I should be looking for the oil to be coming from?

 

[AREA 91]

Anything's possible, but I doubt it would be the head gasket. I would look closer at the valve cove gasket and oil pressure sending unit.

 

[ViPER1313]

When I get a chance I will go out and take a picture. The only reason this was brought to my attention was because I had a trusted mechanic under my car trying to diagnose a clunk in the front suspension. He comes out and says "oh, your headgasket is leaking too." I said it was probably the valve cover gasket, he said he looked and didn't see any leaks from above the HG. I went under the car and pretty much verified what he said (I couldn't find any downward leaks either although I only looked for a minute or so.)

Like I said, how worried should I be? The mechanic said it happens to Hondas all the time, but I thought the headgaskets on these cars were almost bulletproof.

 

[doclees]

Hmm...any strange temp fluctuations? I would think from the pic of your engine you know what to look for. But you know oil can make some strange paths.

 

[93rev2sev]

I think the oil may have wicked from the oil pressure sending unit to the line where the head meets the block. The small gap between the head and the block might have been enough to stop the wicking?

Just an idea because I kinda dont think the head gasket can leak and not cause other problems?

Spray it down real good with brake cleaner(maybe even use a cut off tooth brush to clean it) and then rinse it off and let it dry. If it gets nice and clean, you can check again in a few days to see where it is coming from for sure.

 

[TimboSHO]

Just an idea because I kinda dont think the head gasket can leak and not cause other problems?

The head gasket can do a number of things. It can leak oil externally, leak anti-freeze externally, leak oil internally, and leak antifreeze internally. Any one or a combination of these can happen at once. I wouldn't be too worried if it is leaking oil that slightly if there are no other problems.

 

[ViPER1313]

If the leak is verified 100% as coming from the headgasket, would it be worth a shot re-torquing the head without removing it (1 bolt at a time), or should I just leave it as is?

 

[LOUDSHO92]

Is it flowing out or barely coming out? If it isnt much I proabably wouldnt worry too much.

 

[TimboSHO]

If it isnt much I proabably wouldnt worry too much.

Agreed. And you wouldn't want to over torque the heads either. Unless it gets much worse, I would just let it be.