[jmgardner]

Pulled my coil packs and the one from the left most cylinder had a good bit of oil on it. The other three looked very clean.
I looked into the 'hole' where the coil packs go and could see a slight bit of oil sitting on top of the rubber grommet/gasket that, I think, seals the inside of the valve cover from the inside of the coil pack tube.

Is this likely an incorrectly installed tube seal or maybe a bigger issue?

The engine has not been losing oil between changes but there are some minor signs of oil spray on the engine block, none near this tube.

I'm working on changing the valve cover out for a fancy powder coated one, that's what started this work.

TIA

 

[Chop_E]

Just a failed or rolled tube seal. Clean it up as well as you can and pop is some fresh tube seals with your new valve cover. Don’t forget the Hondabond on the corners where surfaces meet.

 

[jmgardner]

Just a failed or rolled tube seal. Clean it up as well as you can and pop is some fresh tube seals with your new valve cover. Don’t forget the Hondabond on the corners where surfaces meet.

Thanks Chop...
I've looked at a few videos for removing and replacing the valve cover but don't recall any of them having good video of dealing with the seals. Do you know of a video, or even a write up, showing the best practice to install the seals?

 

[ajchien]

I just searched YouTube and found a half dozen videos on tube seal changes. May be for an accord or s2000 or pilot, but it’s pretty much a similar process.

I personally smack the edge of the seal with a small chisel (instead of a screwdriver) until the edge of the seal pulls away from the valve cover, then use a pair of needle nose pliers and twist The seal out (rather than prying).

 

[Chop_E]

I don’t have any videos but I always use a ladyfinger pry bar to pull the old seals out. Old ones get hard and brittle with heat and age and they don’t like to come out. Just clean up the sockets after you get them out. A spritz of silicone spray it the sockets and then I hammer the new seals in with a plastic deadblow mallet. When you go to reinstall the valve cover, make sure the seals aren’t getting pinched. I like to use my thumbnail to make sure they are clear but a pocket screwdriver can work as well.

 

[jmgardner]

Thanks all.
As I'm changing the valve cover I really don't care about removing the old ones, just installing new ones on the new valve cover.
I'll check YouTube videos...

 

[DCM]

Yeah at the very least, put a smear of oil on the mating surfaces, they’re a very tight fit.

 

[jmgardner]

and in a further development... the Fel-Pro gasket kit I have has two different sizes of tube gaskets.
The smaller diameter one fits 'further' up into the valve cover and the larger fits right at the lip of the bottom of the socket (closer to the spark plug). I was under the impression that both, (8 total), were somehow used but the videos are only showing the use of 4 and they're all at the bottom of the socket... any idea why there are two sizes and which one would be best? (considering they both fit.) Are there two different sizes of tubes that came on the K24 and it will become evident once I remove my existing cover?

 

[DCM]

There are only 4, are you sure the remaining 4 aren’t replacement dust seals that fit the plug coils?

 

[jmgardner]

There are only 4, are you sure the remaining 4 aren’t replacement dust seals that fit the plug coils?

The smaller four (sample adjacent to the 3" mark) and closest to the camera are much larger than the rubber seals at the bottom end of the coil packs.

any ideas?

 

[DCM]

Odd, maybe their idea of a secondary seal? Either way I don’t think that one is necessary.

Also maybe you’d just placed the actual tube seal in the hole to take the pic, but those go in the other way up. There’s a YouTube vid where the guy does a how-to vid but he installs them the wrong way around.

 

[ajchien]

Not having them in hand is hard to tell, but I thought the same as DCM.…

that the smaller ones would fit on the coils. As they look like these: 30522-PFB-007 - Genuine Honda Seal, Plug Hole

and the larger ones fit into the valve cover, as they look like these: 12342-PCX-004 - Genuine Honda Seal, Spark Plug Tube (Nok)

 

[DCM]

My reasoning is just from having done a bunch of Honda vc gaskets in the past couple of years, and those are sometimes included in the gasket kits depending on brand

 

[jmgardner]

that the smaller ones would fit on the coils. As they look like these: 30522-PFB-007 - Genuine Honda Seal, Plug Hole

So I would need to remove the spark plug tubes in order to install the smaller ones?
I've seen several videos regarding the valve cover and haven't seen one yet where someone unscrews the tubes and replaces the seals at the bottom...or have I just not seen enough videos yet?

 

[DCM]

The tubes don’t come out.

 

[ajchien]

So I would need to remove the spark plug tubes in order to install the smaller ones?
I've seen several videos regarding the valve cover and haven't seen one yet where someone unscrews the tubes and replaces the seals at the bottom...or have I just not seen enough videos yet?

Take a coil out and see if the smaller ones match the ones on the coil. If they dont match, then ignore them… as they may fit a different car(? I’m just guessing on that. But it’s not unusual for some aftermarket brands to include things for multiple vehicles in one kit.)

i have a question for you ... what kind/brand of ratcheting wrench is that?

 

[jmgardner]

i have a question for you ... what kind/brand of ratcheting wrench is that?

Check it out... two wrenches with eight sizes on them. They're cooler than they are functional but work well for small jobs and lighten your tool load

 

[ajchien]

Check it out... two wrenches with eight sizes on them. They're cooler than they are functional but work well for small jobs and lighten your tool load

Ahh, thanks. I have seen those before. I passed on that variation bc the head thickness seemed counterproductive.

Anyway, were the extra seals for the coils?

 

[jmgardner]

Take a coil out and see if the smaller ones match the ones on the coil. If they dont match, then ignore them… as they may fit a different car(? I’m just guessing on that. But it’s not unusual for some aftermarket brands to include things for multiple vehicles in one kit.)

View attachment 215569

BINGO! That seems to be the correct answer for the extra seals.
I did not consider the coil packs since they came with the seals and until I pulled on one this morning, seemed to be part of the coil pack itself.
Now I know the small ones are 'spares'.

It is weird how many videos are out there and how many of them seem to contradict each other... I watched one guy pull the seals out with a massive pry bar, setting himself and his followers up for heartache and pain and more than one guy put the new seals in upside down. Only one video that I've seen talked about the proper orientation and even then the camera cut to and away from the seal so fast you couldn't see which side was up! One dude talked about gaming or some other irrelevant thing almost the whole time. Maybe I should make my own video to compete with all these other guys?

I appreciate everyone's help here! The existing valve cover has yet to be removed, but I'll take photos once I do.

 

[jmgardner]

Sooooo..... I finally found the correct orientation for the seals, installed the new valve cover with a new Fel-Pro gasket and replaced the existing coil packs.
After a couple of weeks I pulled the coil packs to make sure the seals weren't leaking and DADGUMIT the far left spark plug tube and coil pack were showing signs of fresh oil on them. The other three were nice and dry....
I thought I saw a nick in the original seal and was fingers crossed hoping that was the cause...but with a new, presumably correctly installed seal, it is still leaking. No oil seems to be getting past the upper seal (the one on the coil pack itself) BUT the seal that is on the bottom of the coil pack seems to be 'different' than the other three as it came off and stayed in the tube once. Since then it's been attached to the bottom of the coil pack but seems more pliable than the other three.
Any ideas on the cause?