1994 Honda Civic. Below the engine and surrounding parts up front are coated with thick oil and dirt. We have a light drip seems to be coming from the left side "passengers side" of engine area. I'm not car savvy so I don't know what parts Im looking at so I took some simple green and a tooth brush and hot hose water to clean all the seams and bolts where the oil is accumulating. I'm hoping that after we drive the car and place some cardboard under the engine we will find the leak. What would be the most likely leak coming from the left side you think?
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Honestly, too hard to tell until you clean it (as you have) and detect where the leak originates from. One fairly common cause of an oil leak is the distributor and o-ring, but this is a total guess. Your process thus far has been a good one, follow through.
So we cleaned it. Looks like the oil is still coming out the right side between the distributor and the engine block. I read could be an o-ring seal? How hard is that to do ourselves?
Bingo. It's typically the o-ring on the distributor...as I suspected. This is fairly common. SOMETIMES though, the distributor itself will need replaced. But, the O-ring is a great start and isn't terribly costly. Good luck!
Also good idea to check outer axle - constant velocity joint - if residue is viscous.
Just so you'll know .. Left side is normally the drivers side - for US vehicles .. Left and right is like how it would be if sitting on a horse.
Thanks, that's why I said passenger side because I had no idea. I'm a mom trying to help my son figure out and pin point the issues without taking it to a repair shop for 100's of dollars. If I can pin point it, find videos on repair if easy enough do it ourselves otherwise will be able to get quotes on exactly the issue.
So we cleaned it. Looks like the oil is still coming out the right side between the distributor and the engine block. I read could be an o-ring seal? How hard is that to do ourselves?
Bingo. It's typically the o-ring on the distributor...as I suspected. This is fairly common. SOMETIMES though, the distributor itself will need replaced. But, the O-ring is a great start and isn't terribly costly. Good luck!