Well, I was in for a big surprise when I went to change the valve cover gasket on my 1996 Accord.

(For those who didnt see my introductory post, I picked this thing up a week or so ago for $245 in non-running condition, and I have since got it running, but found a massive oil leak around the valve cover.)

The new gaskets arrived today, and when it finally stopped raining long enough, I went out to replace them on the Accord. I put a socket on the bolt, and to my surprise, they were all barely more than hand tight. I thought "well, maybe this is the problem altogether".

Nope! It was worse than that. When I got all four bolts out, I lifted the valve cover up to find... NO GASKET WHATSOEVER! This fool had removed the old gasket, and put the valve cover back on, albeit loosely. Why even bother taking the old gasket out when you didnt have the replacement ready to be installed?! Why fail to mention this to someone who says he's planning to fix the car up?

The guy specifically said he wanted me to get the car, because everyone else who called wanted to either scrap it or turn it into a race car "bomber" or whatever they're called. He said he wanted me to get it since I planned on putting it on the road again. So, that begs the question, why take the chance that I would unknowingly blow the engine because I didnt see the major oil leak caused by the missing gasket?!

Anyway, I got the new gasket installed, including the spark plug hole grommets, and all seems well. No more gushing oil. I didnt make it to the store to buy the oil for it, but I'm going in the morning. So, tomorrow it will get an oil/filter change. Supposedly, the relatively new water pump leaks, and I think it does, but I cant get the system up to pressure since the radiator cap is missing. I'll probably stop by the auto parts store and get one tomorrow as well.

It was low, but not too low on oil to run, so I cranked it up once I got everything back together. It was misfiring some, so I will pull the plugs out again (they're new, but the engine ran with the leaky gaskets after I installed them) and clean them, so hopefully that will cure the misfire.

If indeed it is the water pump that is leaking, unfortunately that will have to wait until I sell the GMC or go back to work, so I can buy the OEM version of the pump and timing belt (since the "new" pump failed so quickly, I have little faith in the timing belt that came with it). I have also found a set of OEM plug wires for $65, which it needs because there is electrical tape on two of them (which may also be causing the misfire, although it ran smoothly right after I installed the brand new NGKs).

Will keep this updated on my progress. I'm hell-bent on saving this little guy and getting more use out of him. He will roam the streets again, this time with an owner who actually gives a crap about his well-being, lol.

 

WOW, no gasket at all! That's a story that'll probably get repeated around here...

I've had spark plugs that never fired right after cleaning them up. Arcing across the porcelain makes tracks that are almost impossible to remove & allow arcing that much easier in the future.

Let us know how it goes.

 

I will man, and thank you for the suggestion.

Something else: There was some O rings that came with the valve cover gasket, I put the grommets in the grooves where they fit around the spark plug holes, cant seem to find where these thin O rings go. Any ideas?

 

Those go down below the camshaft bearing caps. So you could argue that they're not really "valve cover" gaskets.

That's a bigger job to replace those, but if you still get oil leaking into the sparkplug holes, then look halfway down those holes there's a split-line between the head itself & the cam-bearing-caps.

 

Thanks! I think I will have to do that.

 

For that job I'd get a shop manual. Cam-caps are one of the places where you ought to get the torque & sequence correct.

#19 are those O-rings. But first you get to take apart all the rockers & stuff above the camshaft. If you use this as an excuse to replace the timing belt that's fine. Otherwise, I'd probably try to figure out a way to hold the camshaft down so you don't lose the belt. Or do the rear bearing cap & get it back on to hold the camshaft, then do the other caps.

 

BTW, I didn't look back at your other posts... are you planning to do the timing belt? Already done?

If the PO didn't even leave you with a valvecover gasket, I bet he didn't give you a new timing belt either. It's an interference engine.

 

I looked at the timing belt (before I attempted to start the engine for the first time) and it looks new, however, his original reason for parking the car was because the recently-replaced water pump was leaking. So, I figured I would buy the OEM timing belt and water pump kit and have a shop install them. I will get them to do those seals at the same time.

The way I see it, if it was a poor quality water pump (he said "that would be the last time I buy a cheap water pump") failed so quickly, I dont much trust the belt that came with it.

This repair will have to wait until I go back to work, or sell my POS GMC pickup, as the money I have in the bank is to go to work on (I often have to travel for work, and they usually hold a week's pay). Since I have a reliable daily driver (the '05 Element), the Accord can wait.

 

Well, I got the new Honda genuine spark plug wires today, and installed them. It runs A LOT smoother, and I believe the old ones were original. The new ones seat fully down on the valve cover like they're supposed to, I believe that was $65 well spent.

I ordered two new tires (the same ones I asked about in the other forum), they are supposed to be here by Tuesday. I also ordered a new water pump, but it wont be here until the 10th.

The little Accord is coming along pretty well so far, and I'm enjoying fixing it up! I took it up the road again today, it sure runs a lot smoother and revs more freely.