Valve cover gasket leak

mbalbritton

mbalbritton

#@$%!
Joined
Mar 22, 2005
Location
Lakeland, FL
Just curious after thinking about this one.

Wife’s ‘08 Accord with 3.5l V6 has developed a valve cover gasket leak after 220k miles. The cover has never been off and this is the factory sealed gasket. No big deal, easy to do, but having never been disturbed, why leak now? Just thermal expansion and contraction over the years? Or, maybe I should be investigating something else about it?

Can’t complain at 225k on it. This has been a great car and probably good for another 225k.
 
Pretty common for them to leak. They also have a VCM valve by the dipstick that leaks on to the alternator.
 
RHSCTJ said:
Pretty common for them to leak. They also have a VCM valve by the dipstick that leaks on to the alternator.
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That’s this guy over here right? That aluminum housing.
IMG_4876.jpeg
 
Yep. There are two gaskets in there. Always a good idea to change them before they start pouring oil on the alternator.
 
Heat cycles turns that rubber into plastic basically. As with the grommets on the bolts which then loose the hood down force.
 
So, I cleaned all around the solenoid and sent the wife out for some errands. She went to two or three places and put about 10 miles on it.

I checked it upon her return and sure enough oil already accumulating. So, off to the parts store and grabbed the gasket kit. $10 more than RockAuto, but same day service.

Cleaned everything, swapped the gaskets. Brake cleaned every damn thing after a thorough inspection of fluid paths. I’m thinking all of my leaking was coming from the solenoid. I should have had some oil in places it wasn’t if the valve cover gasket was leaking.

We’ll see.

Thanks for the tips! Might have saved me some extra work for now.
 
Check the intake tube if you haven't already replaced it. They get brittle and can crack when you take it off. Also, I like for the engine to be warm. Sometimes the valve cover gaskets get kind of baked in and it can be harder to get them out if they're cold.
 
Replaced that about 30k ago
RHSCTJ said:
Check the intake tube if you haven't already replaced it. They get brittle and can crack when you take it off. Also, I like for the engine to be warm. Sometimes the valve cover gaskets get kind of baked in and it can be harder to get them out if they're cold.
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Replaced that about 30k ago 😁
 
Well FAWK!

One thing is not like the other…
IMG_4935.jpeg



UPDATE: SOB! Front and rear are different and I picked the wrong one from RockAuto thinking I could save by buying just one side instead of a kit with both sides.
 
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One on the left looks like the cam carrier cover gasket for a K24, not a J35. Probably a wrong pull at the parts house. I ran a couple of Honda/ Acura shops in in central NC for a friend of mine for a while. Parts manager and techs always insisted on Honda genuine parts for gaskets, and even more so for ignition parts. I use mostly Fel-Pro stuff on any older American V8, Victor-Reinz/Mahle/Clevite on late model GM. My 335k 03 Accord 2.4 still only gets Honda parts. For the VTEC solenoid screen/gasket I used the Honda stuff but in a pinch might go with another brand, just can't say how they would hold up over time after install.
 
Speaking of leaking Acura's, my 07 TSX 275k miles has developed a leak here at this little cover plate. Any thing special I need to know? Looks to me just RTV.
 

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ncsutj said:
Speaking of leaking Acura's, my 07 TSX 275k miles has developed a leak here at this little cover plate. Any thing special I need to know? Looks to me just RTV.
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Gimmie a few and I'll get a part # there is a screen there
 
ncsutj said:
Speaking of leaking Acura's, my 07 TSX 275k miles has developed a leak here at this little cover plate. Any thing special I need to know? Looks to me just RTV.
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15845-RAA-A01 spool valve filter
 
Gojira94 said:
One on the left looks like the cam carrier cover gasket for a K24, not a J35. Probably a wrong pull at the parts house. I ran a couple of Honda/ Acura shops in in central NC for a friend of mine for a while. Parts manager and techs always insisted on Honda genuine parts for gaskets, and even more so for ignition parts. I use mostly Fel-Pro stuff on any older American V8, Victor-Reinz/Mahle/Clevite on late model GM. My 335k 03 Accord 2.4 still only gets Honda parts. For the VTEC solenoid screen/gasket I used the Honda stuff but in a pinch might go with another brand, just can't say how they would hold up over time after install.
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More like my dump ass ordered the rear valve cover gasket instead of the front valve cover gasket. RockAuto had them were you could order separately for $16. Ended having to run to Oriellys and get the full FelPro kit for $60.

Oh well, done now anyway.
 
ncsutj said:
Thanks man. Glad I asked. Anything else I should change while I do it?
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From looking at the pic it looks like the water pump is new. Your valve cover gasket looks kind of grimey to me. If it was mine, and you haven't already, I would change the spool valve filter on front, vtec gasket on back, and the valve cover gaskets at the same time just to clean everything up. But you can absolutely just change the spool valve filter and be fine.
 
RHSCTJ said:
From looking at the pic it looks like the water pump is new. Your valve cover gasket looks kind of grimey to me. If it was mine, and you haven't already, I would change the spool valve filter on front, vtec gasket on back, and the valve cover gaskets at the same time just to clean everything up. But you can absolutely just change the spool valve filter and be fine.
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Got all three of these changed. Man that vtec gasket is a pain in the dick to get to. The valve cover was definitely leaking more than i thought it was. Thanks for the information.
 
Well fuck me running, valve cover is leaking from the drivers side back corner now. Luckily Acura built this catch basin. Guess it's going to have to come back off. Tried snugging the bolts down a little more but afraid I'm going to strip it if I go any more.
 

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