Spark Plug Well Oil Leak Fix, Honda Accord - EricTheCarGuy 

Its 16 lb-ft for the 12mm, and 9 lb-ft for the 10 mm I have a workshop book and I checked the numbers thats the torques specs. Vote this comment up so people will see it.

Just did this job today on my 96 accord. This video was really helpful. 3 of my four spark plug wells were flooded with oil. Used a blunt tip syringe to get all the oil out of the spark plug wells before I unscrewed the spark plugs so it wouldn't get all down in the cylinders. Once I got to the seals, they were super brittle. If I hadn't known any better, I would have assumed they were made of cheap plastic. One huge mistake I made was taking all the fasteners out of the rocker arm assembly. I believe Eric even has a note not to do this. If you take them out/let them fall out, the mechanism is spring loaded and the rocker arms will slide along the bars and get all wacked out. I had to use a soft mallet to get the rocker arms back into alignment which took a decent amount of time. I called a few local mechanics and they had no idea what I was talking about when I asked if they could replace my lower spark plug seals under the rocker arms. Thanks to this video, I decided to just do it myself, saved money, and learned a few things.

Wonderful Eric! I have learned so much from your videos, especially this one. As a woman, it's very hard for me to walk into an auto shop and get a quote for a grand for just about anything that needs to be done. I'm not down with being ripped off and thanks to you I've saved thousands in repairs on all of my cars.

Confident, laid back, helps the viewers feel like they can accomplish what he's describing. All great attributes of a good instructor. When I have a choice, I'm going to pick Eric everytime. Good videos

Hi Eric, thanks to your video my brother and I were able to do this job on our own. All our spark plug wells were drowning in oil but car gave no noticeable symptoms. I only noticed when I decided to do a spark plug change. The spark plug gaskets were melted and all the o rings on the lower level brittle but looked fine at first. We followed all your instructions and it was a complete success...... keep up the good work. We appreciate your time and work to produce this video.......... I am driving a 97 Honda accord SE with 231000 miles. I will let you know when it reaches 460000 miles

Now that I've replaced the gasket under the rocker arm assembly, my 1995 Honda Odyssey no longer has oil seeping into the spark plug wells. Thank you for posting this video.

I still love watching this video. I did this job on my 96 Accord LX almost 10 years ago because of this video. I would have never had the balls to attempt it until watching this because I had never worked on my own car before. The seals no longer leaked for the 7+ years I had the car after that before it finally died at 318k. Thanks again Eric!!

Ok... so I was super nervous to tackle this project on my 94 accord but it turned out great! Thank you so much for your video on "what to do", "what not to do" and "what to expect". You just saved me and my family a huge mechanic bill! And, I know it was done correctly! You rock!!!

6:17 "Don't be scared." - How did he know what I was thinking? :-)

This was my first repair video I seen from you in 2012 when I was fixing my 88 Civic. Still watch this video just cause it's awesome! Cool to see where you came from.

Love your videos!!! You've saved me sooo much money since buying my 95 civic...so thank you. You need to mention one thing in regards to the gaskets. When calling your dealer/ local auto parts store for the COMPLETE gasket kit make sure that it includes the lower spark plug tube seals ( only thing I know to call them).....ONLY one store knew of which I was talking about (including dealer), the rest told me I just needed the valve cover gasket, 4 grommets, and 3 tube seals that came in kit. One place in particular, smyth near our neck of the woods, told me that he disagreed and that was all he needed when he did his tear down. In summary, fellow viewers be specific when requesting the gaskets and hopefully you don't run into an arrogant ass as I did. Thanks again for all the great videos Eric

The torque specs according to my Hanes Manual for the 10mm bolts are 108 in-lbs and the 12mm bolts are 16 ft-lbs. When I tried the spec described in this video I broke one of my 12mm bolts. For thos bolts all you really have to do is tighten the 12mm bolts to 16 ft-lbs and hand tighten the 10 mm bolts. Please make corrections so no one goes through the same. I love the vids and continue to view them. (1990 Honda Accord DX Fully Rebuilt)

Some extra notes on the process that might help: -If your spark plug wells are flooded with oil, taking off the valve cover first (and even the rocker assembly) gives better access to get the oil out with a syringe or towel. You do not need to remove the spark plugs to remove the valve cover or rocker assembly. -It is 9 ft lbs torque for the 10mm bolts and 16 ft lbs for the 12mm bolts, like that other comment and the Hanes manual says. -There is a tiny vertical hole on the left side of the rocker assembly where the valve cover gasket goes. I used a small screwdriver to pry the left side up from there. And, boy do I have a story to tell. One year ago, I had a shop change my timing belt on my 93 Accord (same model as this video). They said "hey there's oil in the spark plug wells" and would only charge me for the valve cover gasket part, not labor, so I agreed. Flash forward to a couple months ago, there is oil in the spark plug wells again and I find this video. The engine is also misfiring, which is why I checked the spark plugs. Turns out those lower seals were not replaced. I get down to them and they snap like cheap plastic. I guess the moral is don't trust anyone at all with your vehicle. Eric your video is a lifesaver and helped me do this so much. I had only dealt with some suspension parts before, never down and dirty inside the engine, so this gave me the confidence to do this right. One of the spark plug coils had a crack in it and I had no idea how old the spark plugs were, so I changed those out too. No leaks, and no misfiring any more. And I only used RTV on the corners of the valve cover gasket just like you said. :)

thank you Eric very helpful, I just finished replacing original Orings on 17yr old Honda Accord 292,000miles. your warning to loosen outside then inside bolts allowed rocker arm to lift straight out. your warning to check the alignment of rocker arms to valve stem or risk damaging valves was great. I hand cranked the engine and watched each rocker arm depress a valve stem before starting engine

THANK YOU ERIC! This was a fun job. I appreciate how you explain what's important and WHY it's important. This job went exactly like it was supposed to go--no surprises. It's the first time I saw inside of an engine. People kept telling me not to mess with it (even the guy at the parts store! Sexist!) but I'm glad I did. It wasn't that hard, and the lower tube seals were totally crumbling apart. And I learned a lot! With patience everything lined up perfectly and I'm completely confident that I did it right.

Thank you so much for the video. All the little hints and clues on what to look for when reinstalling worked out so perfectly. Everything went smooth. Thank you my man, Thank you!

You are the best RU-vid mechanic I've seen.

Thank you, Eric! My 91 Honda Accord had oil in the spark plug wells and I suspected the lower tube gaskets were the culprit. After removing the rocker arm assembly they appeared to be flattened and brittle. The valve cover gasket gave me the most problems. Regardless this video helped me all the way through. You’re the man!

My fiancé just fixed our Honda thanks to your awesome video.

"You know who I am." -Eric, 1.3M subs later

92 accord my engine was over heating. found a busted hose. But while looking seen the spark plug wore sticking up. Had oil in all 4 spark plug wells. went from a busted hose to changing head gasket to changing the cam to painting the car and now it's sitting with a for sale sign on it. also was converted from auto to a manual tranny from a 98 accord. non vtec with some balls.

Took mine to a mechanic, told him what was wrong and he said there is no gasket under the rocker, said thanks for the info and left lol. Followed your guide and all is peachy. Thanks Eric.

Been so long since I have seen one of these older videos pop up this shop was ages ago sometimes miss the style of content from back in the day @EricTheCarGuy

Would you mind posting a link to get the o-rings? I'm having trouble locating them. Thanks!!!!! And really great videos btw!

Its 9ft torque on the 10MM incase anyone breaks a bolt and needs to know

Man 12 yrs ago I’m just paying attention to 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽 I will now say Classic Eric the car guy! Hate I missed yah on the dragon, next time! Nice video g as always 🫡

Thank you for this video; I encountered this problem on my 92 accord ex with h23 IM. I kept thinking that my FITV and/or IAC was dirty again, or my EGR was clogged. Did all of these and my hesitation was still occuring; when the EGR system was cleaned, I started noticing the plug wire popping out. This job was a pain, mostly because I was semi-paying attention during the video and did not see the comment about the fasteners - took them out, lifted on cage and bam, ends came off. Took about 1.5-2hrs to fix it all.

hey people if your gonna do this job yourself make sure the camshaft is rotated to the right position before you remove the rocker arm assembly. the end of the cam has a flat slot that fits into the distributor if its pointing straight up and down and still under the tension of the timing belt you could pull the cam out with the rocker arms and screw the engine timing :(

So where can you find the replacement seals?

Thank You Eric for the videos. I bought Toyota Camry's for my two older daughters and am pretty comfortable working on them, I bought a 96 Accord with an F22B2 (?) for my youngest and will be doing this job along with setting the valves tomorrow. (I did the timing belt/water pump today). Thanks again.

Thanks so much for your help. I did this job about 3 months ago on my '93 LX. I ended up with 4 extra seals and couldn't figure out where they went. Now i know what they're for. Im going to tackle this job correctly thanks to you. Keep up the good work bud

Oh man... I got this exact problem with my accord... I wonder if I dare to tare the thing apart...

just recently fixed my head gasket but now it's like I'm getting fluid on my plugs

Old school ETCG, back when you kept it dirty! I miss that guy! God bless!!!

You are my new hero! I was crying b4 I watched ur vid and then again when I realized I needed a torque wrench, but my neighbor saw what I was doing, took pitty on this ol' girl and torqued it for me! he got the easy part, chipping the 20 yr old seals out was awful. Thanks for making my day easy, stress free and mobile!

will this leak cause my honda to kinda jerk around while driving ?

Video Edit Included: Thanks Eric for doing this video and all videos! It gave me the confidence to attempt this repair. You're the man!! I have a suggested edit for your consideration - a warning to leave the 12 mm bolts in the cam cage or it can slide apart!! I had no idea about this and it literally cost me hours. I don't know if all cam cages are like this or not, but my 1990 Honda Accord has a "hole" for the longer 12 mm mounting bolts on the one "rod" and then there is a "notch or half moon shape" on the end and end cap on the other "rod" that must be aligned perfectly or it ain't happening!

I have a 2000 Honda Accord with a 3.0 in it that the number three cylinder on that spark plug Port was quite full of oil. So I watched your video and got enough information off of what you did that I'm comfortable to go ahead with it now. I figured it was something along that line but I wasn't expecting the one under the cam pillars either. Thanks for your help great video.

Good video. Was able to do this job last night. Took longer than expected but I am also OCD about things and triple check everything. I wanted to add something to this video. When you take off the assembly to get to the bottom seals, leave the bolts in the assembly. He did this on this video but didn't stress the importance of it. When he takes it to the bench and flips it over, all the bolts fall out. Try to keep these bolt in place when you go to change the rings because the whole assembly is spring loaded and those bolts hold the assembly together. There are holes in the rods of the assembly for the bolts. All of these need to be lined up perfectly for you to put it back together and mount it back on the motor. I had the assembly open up under the tension of the springs because I took the bolts out of the holes. Save yourself a bunch of time and make sure to keep those bolts on there. Luckily when the assembly opened up I was able to put it back together with some extra time and didn't lose any parts. I could see the potential for this issue to go worse though. Making a 3 hour job a 10 hour job. Lol. Great video got it done no leaks and car is running smooth! No more oil in the spark plug wells.

I like Watching Eric’s old videos shows how much he’s progressed.

Your awesome brother you have that “I’m so f****** glad to be here” attitude. I can relate . Thanks this video helped me out for sure.

Thanks so much. It really help me when all else was failing. I looked and looked for a video that explains what other seals are involved. No more leak by replacing these 4 little gaskets on the bottom of the "Rib Cage"

I have a 1993 Honda Accord LX coupe 5 speed and previously a 1992 DX auto with a/c and a 2002 EX-L and I love watching you work on them. You have an innate way of connecting with your viewers and keeping my attention.

Thanks as always for an extremely helpful video. I performed this repair on my '96 Accord without problems, due to your help! Re-installing the rocker arm was the trickiest part for me, since alignment has to be exact for it to slip back into place. Valve adjustment wasn't fun, either, but fortunately only a few valves were out of recommended tolerances. Thanks again. Big smile when it started right up!

Just picked up an accord with this exact problem. Was wondering if there was an oil port that could leak in there. Thought it was coming from the top but had a feeling, there’d be a joint down there. Thanks for the video! Saved me some time and heartache

Thank you for the info. After changing the fuel pump by not pulling the tank, and still having an issue, I checked the plug area and found the leakage there in all locations. I'm new to Honka, so with each lesson I learn, it keeps me at peace as I go down the road, whenever that may be now. It could very well be an electronic issue since the oil in the plugs has been happening since I got the car last Jan. But I'll be back soon with my next issue on the 1992 Honda Accord. Thanks again.

hey Eric, thanks for this video. I had this same problem with my 96 accord and I just changed the upper and lower seals today. You definately gave me the confidence to attempt this myself and everything went together perfectly. I watched your video about 3 times before I did the job just to make sure I wasnt over looking anything! Thanks again man, your awesome!

So I just finished this and here's some advice: 1. Maybe this doesn't matter but I would suggest setting the timing wheel to the "up" position before removing the rocker assembly. In the end, my wells aren't flooding with oil anymore but I was concerned about pressure on the rocker assembly having done the procedure while cylinder one was up on the exhaust valves. 2. This engine is an F22B2. It is NOT similar to the F22B1 which is a VTEC engine. I tried tightening my B2 to the settings listed in the comments section and it still leaked oil. I set them to Eric's recommendations of 22 ft-lbs and 12 ft-lbs and it stopped leaking oil. F22B2 engines in my local junkyard were clicking at 26 lb-ft and 16 lb-ft. If you guys are breaking bolts, my guess is that you're doing so on a F22B1 using the F22B2 recommendations. 3. There are 2 bolts size 10mm on the distributor. DO NOT tighten these two to anything more that around 5 or 6 lb-ft. They WILL break if you try to get them to 10 lb-ft , I know because I snapped one. Again, THEY ARE NOT THE SAME KIND OF BOLTS THAT HOLD THE ROCKER ASSEMBLY DOWN! 4. I highly suggest using Indian Head shellac on the VCG. Makes it a lot easier than balancing spaghetti. 5. I was able to get away without tapping the assembly down with a hammer or placing sealant on the corner of the VC gasket. Dunno if you should, but I haven't noticed any leaks yet. 6. If you're replacing your spark plug O rings on a 5th gen Accord, you will probably have to change your SP seals, distributor oil seal, and distributor O ring as well. It's very possible that your heater core hose will need replaced also because when the distributor seal and O ring fail, the leaking oil rots out the heater hose. This causes a coolant leak and this slurry mixture rolls down hill and then rots the boots on your CV axles. Chances are that there's oil in your distributor cap, if so that will also cause misfires. Save time and grief by having all the rubber parts replaced at the same time. blast your dizzy out with brake clean, and hope for the best. 7. Advance Auto sells a set of the dizzy O ring and Oil seal together, they also sell a kit that consists of the VCG, SP seals, and SP O rings together. The latter product is not returnable once it is opened. If you're REALLY looking to be cheap, you might be able to gamble with rubber parts out of junkyard cars. Most are plasticized but I've found usable-quality dizzy o rings and spark plug seals before. All things considered, it's probably just best to replace all the rubber at the same time and use new parts. 8. It's a fantastic car. It's peppy, great on gasoline, lots of fun to drive, and they've been known to last over 400K miles with proper care.

Big Thanks Eric- this is exactly what the problem was on my 91 Honda Accord, the oil in the spark plugs and holes, new valve cover gasket and still leaking oil, and the engine had a miss at times, exactly what you said the problem was. Thanks again 🍻

Instead of doing this, I did Rislone/Bar's Leak Oil Treatment instead. So far so good, it's still doing great! I did that about 3+ Months ago, we will see in the Summer. Usually in the Summer, that is when you see this the most!

Mr car guy I am happy to say you are good at what you do.. Anyway I have a Honda accord 2.0 LSI on a 1997..2 door 165000 miles.... I was changing my spark plugs and have seen the same thing ...oil in the spark plugs.. thanks for this video because I am going to do it for myself and save some money... Your videos are a great help. Thanks and keep up the good work ... England , London ....

i had no prior knowledge in doing this, like you said in the video "dont be scared" well i was scared but thanks to you i was able to fix my co-workers car with this exact same problem, you are the best car guy on youtube, deinetly will keep coming back for further videos. thanks!

I think Eric's videos provide a great starting point for us fix-it guys. I however do not expect them to be a be-all end-all solution to all my problems therefore I do consult the specific tech spec's for my vehicles and appreciate what his experiences provide at face value. Thanks Eric

I don't see how you can stay so mellow when things aren't going your way I always use foul language and call the parts real bad names

Thank you so much for this video. I just did this yesterday. It took me longer than it took you but because of your video it made it way easier. Mine were leaking much worse than in this video. Everything went well except that I made the mistake of removing the screws of the cam cage to make it easier to pull off. It worked, but then the cam cage came apart on me. Figures. With some patience I managed to get it back together, but anybody who is reading this DON'T REMOVE THE LONG SCREWS!!!

I followed your video to repair the sparkplug seals on my 92 accord. Very helpful. I would only add that you should have said to not let the bolts fall out of the rocker shaft. It was a pain to get back together.

Just had this problem with my remanufactured head I appreciate the content I saw the issue and remembered this video so back I come!

I just performed this exact service on this exact car in 2023. These things just keep on going!

Hey maestro Eric you are the best in cars mechanic god blessed and stay dirty thanks again for keep us teaching be safe

Thank you Eric. I managed to get my rings replaced as well ad the top seals, and I did the valve cover gasket as well. Now Im looking at your videos for starter switches and fuel relay switches. You give me the confidence to be able to do these things on my own.

Eric, Thanks for this super awesome video. I did both the upper and lower seals yesterday on my step-daughters 1996 Accord DX. This video was spot on and answered many questions that a shop manual cannot touch...I learned a lot. Cheers,

Thanks Eric, you saved me some money. Just finished this repair on my 1997 accord. Couldn't have done it without your instructions. The o rings were rock hard and shattered like plastic!.

Ericthecarguy, i bought an accord and I did because i knew if something went wrong with it i can simply go to your forums or watch some of your tutorials/videos ;D thanks dude! you got the best info.

Thank you Erick , i have a 1995 2.2 Accord wagon and needs this service ; you help me a lot .

@Flyingsheep That's why I didn't take them out in the video, should have mentioned that. Glad you got it fixed though, thanks for your comment.

Erick, you are my excessive teacher from now! You are a great teacher ever I met in youtube.!!!

Thanks so much , Eric ! I've been waiting all winter to do this on my "92 Accord.

@trixxxstr I'm happy to help, thanks for your comments.

@wkbogan Actually if you have the VTEC engine I don't believe it has this set up, I think it uses tubes that go all the way into the head instead of this split design. If you have a leak in that type I would start with the valve cover seals, make sure they are installed correctly as it can be confusing to determine how those go in.

@NTL1991 I don't like that either that's why I try to put as much info into my videos as I can. Thanks for the comment.

i just did it. 16 on the 12 and 10 on the 10s... this video was awesome i had this problem and the shop wanted over 300 i got the parts along with new plugs and wires for just under 100.. thanks for the video it was a life saver.

But wait there's more! I changed my gaskets 3 years ago and now I'm realizing I missed the other o-rings! Oil is leaking into the spark plug cylinders. Oh joy! 😜😃 Your videos are always very informative and help a lot! Thank you!

My 97' Odyssey started missing. The plug wells were filling with oil from leaking gaskets. Sopped it out with paper towels and long surgical forceps. That was it. Runs perfect. Easy to do when needed. FREE.

Excellent video my friend! I'm probably going to have to do this cuz im getting oil on my plugs. I haven't tried just the valve cover gasket and the grommets alone and am thinking about just going ahead and doing it all off gate.

@captainvlog I've just seen it a lot is all. Thanks for the comment.

@Zubirrex I call them tube seals. I recommend getting them from Honda as they seem to work the best.

Only ten minutes in, and ive decided you're an excellent teacher!

Methodical, explained well and clearly, and cautions you to be careful and take your time. Unless you are sure.... get help!

Thanks for the video, it was a huge help and easy to follow and understand. I made a mistake, I tightened the bolts for the cover too much and broke one of the bolts, but you did mention not to do that, I wish I had paid more attention.

@chismca Thank you very much for that comment I really appreciate it.

Thanks! I've had my '96 Accord since 2008, and I'm about to have to replace these seals for the second time. I appreciate the recommendations for no sealant and to tap the rocker assembly to be sure it's seated properly.

great job. in the case of replacing or reusing a valve cover gasket, i always use yellow weathersrip after washing it with solvent and when it gets dry again; it helps to hold the gasket in place so you could concentrate on the install. there are times where these valve covers fit in thighly and there are wires or other metal accesories on its way, and the weatherstrip will do its job perfectly. the silicon in the corners is a must always. but i still operate old school kind of, and besides the weatherstrip and the silicon ( toyota silicon), i always gave it soft blow with a hamer along the lips of the gasket, making sure every centimeter of it goes into its well, close to what you did to the rocker arm assy, so the gasket stays in place - after leaving the weatherstrip inside the gaskets' confinement to dry out a little bit (5 to 10 min). right after that i put a fine shellack coating along the gaskets, even on top of the silicon. it wouldn't harm any sensors or increase any gases at all. i do it mainly to preserve the gasket longer on the engine and to cover any imperfections, if there are any. you made it simple on a highly technical procedure no apt for cardiacs. thanks for your time 😄

I just did this job on my 93 honda Accord with success. Pay attention to the note added by Eric at 9:19 to save you an extra headache. Also, I bought one of the Felpro silicone gasket kits from Autozone and they have all the parts you need to do the job (O-rings, top seals, grommets, and valve cover gasket). But the valve cover gasket is not a good fit (slightly to big) and is a PAIN to get on. Next time I'm buying an OEM gasket. Thanks again Eric!

@projectcortez I'm happy to help, thanks for the comment.

@s0nnyburnett This is actually a common problem especially on engines that got infrequent oil changes, I would change the seals both top and bottom and see if the condition still exists.

Thank you for the good demo on the Honda Accord. I gonna do my own without worrying.

Are you secretly jinxing my car I think I have had to do every Honda accord repair you have made a video for I don't know what I would've done without your vids thank you I just can't believe how simple these cars are "with your videos of course" to work on I actually enjoy it these things may be easier than a small block chevy

@jrmym2 It's been getting harder to keep up but I'm glad I was able to make the correction. Thanks for your comments.

I did this job on my 90 accord and it was so simple thanks to you, I had never been under a hood prior to this and I was able to finish it, thanks so much man I really appreciate you putting this up!!!

Man I wish I would have seen this vid 7 years ago. I went to a couple of so-called mechanics who weren't able to fix this problem on my 91 Accord. Fantastic videos Eric - subscribed!

Thanks for this vid - '92 Vigor has been suffering from this for years and I didn't know these seals existed. Bought the parts and did it after seeing the vid. (A bit tougher on a 20V engine). Couldn't get the cam assembly out so just rotated a little with one end still sticking into the head a little. Old O-rings were hard and brittle. 223k miles.

@EricTheCarGuy No problem Eric! Your videos and tips have made me attempt more DIY repairs that seemed more daunting than they really were.

thanks for this video, very helpful. my dad and i seem to have performed the job effectively on our 1991 honda concerto using this video and the workshop manual. we had some difficulty with the rocker assembly, but as you repeatedly said, dont force anything, check why it is not threading, which we did and sorted it out in the end. overall, could have saved us around 750 dollars so big thanks.

man im gonna try this tomorrow on my Honda civic 91 dx, im getting a little desperate trying to get it running again, i noticed there is a lot of oil on the spark plugs. Thank you for the detailed instructions, im very dumb with cars

@llerar1000 Good luck and thanks for the comment, take your time on that valve adjustment and you should be fine.

You don't need to let the engine cool down?! I let mine sit for two hours, three are covered in oil, and now I have two hours fewer to replace them before work tomorrow!

@hutchakai Yes I believe this would also work on that engine. The seals are referred to as 'spark plug well seals' to the best of my knowledge. I recommend getting them from Honda as they have the best parts for this repair.

@SLEEPER98RT That answer is actually a bit longer than I have space for here but if you like watch the video I did on VTEC to give you some better idea of how the system works. Your right, that does sound like a good idea for a future video. Thanks for the comment.

I really think all other mechanics hate eric about now. He's teaching everyone how to do it right, and by themselves.

Great video Eric. Following your steps I just completed this job on my car. All 4 of my plug tubes were absolutely drowning in oil.