I have a 2000 civic si and it's taking an extra 1 to 1 1/2 quarts of oil per 3k oil change. I checked the oil pan for leaks and the transmission side has residue on it. it's not leaking enough to cause a puddle. i also checked the spark plugs and the plug in cylinder three had a little oil build-up. can anyone help me zero in on the leak? it's been bothering me for a couple months now. help is appreciated!

 

well the higher you tend to keep your RPMs the more oil the motor can burn.....
but if you dont see any exterior leaks then the rings might just be geting old and worn.
try some ENGINE RESTORE stuff in the oil which might help alittle.

 

but there is oil on the transmission side of the oil pan. it's moist on that side but the other side is dry. there is no oil on the ground however

 

Rear main seal leaking/seeping?

 

this is gonna sound stupid but where is the rear main seal located and what do i have to take off to get to it?

 

The seal is circled in red. I believe you need to remove the transmission and the flywheel to access.

 

ok good. i was actually planning on doing a clutch and flywheel upgrade anyways so this happened at the right time. is there oil getting into my transmission and will it cause it to mess up or go bad? this info is much appreciated! this forum rocks!

 

Oil is leaking from behind the flywheel and should be draining out of the weep hole of bell housing. The leak will not affect the transmission but could potentially splatter on the clutch, although I don't think this is a real concern.

 

Alot of people dont realize the importance of changing out the rear main seal when doing a clutch. Most mechanics dont even bring it up.....You must tell them to do it!!

 

dito... with the rear main. really easy to pop out and pop new one in..

but if the oil leak is ontop of the tranny then its probably coming from the distributor O ring, or if towards the rear it might also be the Vtec solinoid needing a new gasket as well.

oil seals are really easy to swap out just takes alittle work to get to the rear main.LOL
and if you pull the distributor to replace the Oring be sure to mark the distributor then you can just pull it out and stick it right back on really close to the previous setting, if not youll need to check/adjust the timing.