Hello AVID LEARNER,
That’s okay, you don’t have a lot of tools; everyone has to start somewhere. I started with a small toolset myself. I use Kobalt from Lowes for a lot of my sockets and extensions. You can get whole sets for decent money, and I have never broken any of them. Plus, anything Kobalt has a lifetime warranty. However, you don’t need a lot of tools to do the distributor or valve cover gasket.
Yes, there is a seal on the driver's side as well. However, the upper timing belt cover, inner timing cover, valve cover, cam sprocket, timing belt and motor mount all need to be removed to replace that seal.
There is a part of the valve cover gasket on both ends that have sharp corners that need RTV to completely seal so the leak could be there on the driver’s side. Because of the scope of work that needs to be done to change the seal on the driver’s side I think it is best to seal up a couple easier areas first.
As for a mechanic and how much they would charge to replace that, it depends on where you live, the shop's hourly rate, dealer or regular shop. The labor time is about an hour to replace the distributor and to rebuild it would be even more. So, they would probably charge you around there. Labor rate can vary widely though. I have seen shops that charge $70.00 an hour and others that charge $120 an hour.
So, if you bring your own part, it could be around $70-$120 but I would call shops near you and ask what they charge an hour.
Hondas are pretty easy to work so it’s a good vehicle to learn on but if you don’t feel comfortable it might be best to bring it to a shop. I will leave that for you to decide.
My advice is to take pictures with your phone before and after removing things and also make marks before removal so you can look back and see how they went together or how they lined up.
Your distributor being lined up is critical for your engine to run correctly or even start.
You can drive it after you clean it up but you will need to check your oil level frequently to make sure your engine has enough in it to prevent engine damage. I would also keep a close eye on the oil leaking out and make sure it isn’t going to get on the exhaust or anything that could start a fire.
So, I would start with the seal behind the distributor.
Make a mark with a paint pen across the gap between the cap and distributor body. I will add a pic of the one I use.
Leave the wires right on the distributor cap. The distributor on your vehicle can only be installed in 2 ways. So, snap a photo or 2 of how it is positioned. Remove the 2 or 3 screws (depends on the engine code) and gently slide the cap off.
If the seal is bad in the distributor, you will more than likely have oil in the distributor, inside the cap or the cap seal may be swollen as well.
If there is then the distributor will have to rebuilt in order to replace the second seal. In my opinion I would just get a whole new distributor at that point. To me it’s not worth rebuilding things anymore especially if your only vehicle. There is one on Rock Auto that is $148. To me this better than rebuilding it because it will be new and clean and won’t cause you anymore problems.
If there isn’t then you can just do the O-ring on the shaft. Unfortunately, with the amount of oil leaking chances are both gaskets are bad.
I am adding a picture of a box with compartments. I use these on jobs to organize and not lose hardware. I just put all the bolt of the saem type in each compartment and add a little piece of paper saying w3hat it when to. For example, “distributor to engine” or “distributor cap”.
One other thing is yes, the car is old so it is going to leak but a lot of times the PCV valve can be bad and cause pressure to build up in the crankcase from something called blow-by gasses. These gases build up and literally push the oil out of your engine. If you haven’t replaced it lately then I would grab one. I will add a picture of it for you. You will also need the grommet for it. These parts are also from Rock Auto for less than $5. This will help prevent future leaks.
Let me know what you find when you pull the distributor cap off and how you want to approach it and what you feel comfortable doing and just let me know. We can go from there.
Images (Click to make bigger)
SPONSORED LINKS
Friday, May 12th, 2023 AT 11:35 AM
