i used the spray and it really didnt help. would have been easier to just put it on the oil pan instead of the block and screwing in each bolt about halfway before tightening any so the pan hangs down a little and the gasket is still free.

if its your first time doing it, it will take a couple hours. If you work quickly, but its still your first time, it will still take awile. 2nd time? quite fast actually. It took me about 3 hours, but i prolly spent two and half of that lookin up into the block and cleaning the inside of the oil pan, as well as a few other random things that stalled me. (friends stopped over, took a break every once and awile, etc etc)

 

It's always hard for me to predict when the exhaust is involved. You might spend a lot of time with a couple stuck bolts on the header pipe.

 

Well, it went really well. All the bolts came off easily, even the exhaust ones. One little thing that I will note is that the exhaust pipe didn't pull all the way out of the way as I expected. I was only able to lower it about 4 inches until it hit the fame of the car. Even so, this was enough to remove the oil pan and clear everything. The old gasket was very brittle and cracked very easily. It came off in one piece and didn't leave any debris behind. I wiped the surface clean and then wiped it with a little brake cleaner sprayed on a paper towel to get all the oil off it. The oil pan was surprisingly clean (thanks Pennzoil) and had no build up in it. The whole thing only took me about two hours going at a slow pace. I also had to loosen the transmission cable cover to be able to remove the flywheel cover (little black sheet metal thing). Removing it made it easier to gain access to the right most two nuts that held the pan on. It all went back together pretty easily.

I also replaced the valve cover gasket at the same time because it was leaking down onto the block.. While I was at it I noticed that my upper radiator hose was about to BLOW!! That got replaced as well..... Did I mention that when removing the valve cover that the PCV valve cracked in two?? Replaced that as well....

You guys did a great job helping me through this. Thanks for telling me all the tips you had. It really made the job easier and gave me more confidence.

 

Congrats on getting it done, thanks for the follow-up it makes these posts a lot more usefull for people in the future. Good thing you caught that issue with the radiator hose! Did you check your other hoses as well to make sure they were ok?

 

No, I'll do that now. I hope this stops the oil leakage problems. I know I still have oil coming out the distributor but that should be very little now.

Any other places oil can leak out of?? Is there an oil sending switch? Where is it??

 

The oil pressure switch is above the oil filter. It's known for leaking...

Other places for oil to leak...
Distributor bearing would leak INSIDE the distributor, & eventually drip out from the distributor cap. Not replaceable, you gotta buy a new distributor.

The distributor O-ring would leak down the head, from the distributor. That's easy to replace, but it might be the cam cap alongside the distributor. Where the last cam cap bolts down to the head, you use a little HondaBond underneath that cam cap. The split line between that cam cap & the head itself forms the potential leak path.

I think the LX has a non-VTEC engine, but if I'm wrong, the VTEC spool valve is another possible leak. The gaskets where it bolts against the head are replaceable.

 

I don't have a VTEC engine.

If the oil pressure switch is above the oil filter that would expalin a lot of the leakage because it seems to be coming down the back of the engine onto the exhaust pipe and frame cross member.

Is replacing the oil pressure switch pretty easy? is there just a wire connected to it? Is it a some sort of screw into the block type switch?

 

Yes, the oil pressure switch is screwed into the block. Looks about the size of a 1/8" NPT pipe thread, but it's not really NPT.

Not sure about '93, but on newer Accords it's like this...

The pressure switch has a single wire with a big rubber boot around the switch. Drive up on ramps (make sure they're solid) & reach up from underneath. There isn't a very good view, so it's easier said than done.

The big rubber boot usually is difficult to peel off of the sensor, then you have to pull the wire without breaking it.

The sensor body is a big hex, so you'll want a big deep socket (I don't know what size). You can probably use a bigbox-end wrench, but I bet it'll be difficult to position the wrench.

 

The part is on order and I'll get it Thursday. I will try the install on Friday.

 

How tight is the oil pressure switch supposed to be tightened? I was also thinking of using some of that (for the life of me I can't remember the name of it) thin white rubbery film stuff that you put on threads of a bolt to stop it from leaking stuff. Is that a good idea??