I noticed oil on the leak cover of my distributor (part #5 in the figure below) when I was changing out the rotor and distributor cap. The oil was on the lower section of the leak cover, on the inside and outside surfaces.

Does this indicate that I should replace the distributor o-ring (part #6)?

The car is a 1998 Civic LX. Thanks!

 

yes.. replace the o-ring

 

The o-ring 6 keeps oil from leaking out around the base and running down the outside of the engine. Oil inside the distributor means the internal shaft seal is bad. Honda does not sell that part separately but there may be third-party sources. Typically the whole bottom half of the distributor containing the seal is swapped for a rebuilt one.

 

Thanks, guys. There was oil inside the distributor as I described, but there was also oil on the underside of the distributor's exterior and oil on the parts below the distributor. So, it is possible that both the o-ring and internal seal are bad.

Yesterday I replaced the o-ring (Honda 30110-PA1-732, $2) and was surprised that it appeared to be in good condition, not flat or brittle. So extra thanks for the heads up on the internal shaft seal.

I found a YouTube video (see link below) that shows how to replace both the o-ring and the seal. Of course the o-ring is simple, and the shaft seal replacement looks straightforward. To me, an inexperienced home mechanic, the video seems well done and thorough. It is 28 min long. I hope my Tec distributor is put together the same way as the one in the video. Much cheaper to replace the seal ($5 to $9) myself than buy a distributor.

The shaft seal (Tec, not Hitachi) is Nok BH3888E (also BH3888EO) for non VTEC Civics from 1984 to 2000. (Warning: those dates are only as reliable as the ebay description I read).

- YouTube
by Bushougoma