Good morning all, I have a 2007 Honda Ridgeline RT Automatic with 119k Miles with an oil leak. I've seen some oil spotting on my driveway and I can smell oil burning after exiting the truck. The Honda dealer service tech confirmed a leak from the oil pump after washing off the oil that had collected on the engine and oil pan. They want to charge me ~$1900 to replace the oil pump and $400 for something that goes along with it (I can't remember what he said, something about 4 components that should be replaced at the same time?). There aren't any DIY garages near me around Atlantic City or else I'd do it so, roughly how much do you think the job is worth? I know there's a lot of draining time, cleaning and resealing involved along with taking up a lift for a couple days.
Why are you taking an 18-year-old vehicle to the dealer for service? That is your most expensive and least reliable option.
This is the first time I've ever heard of replacing an oil pump to fix an oil leak. Is your oil pressure low? You should get another opinion from a good independent mechanic, even if you have to venture out of AC to the mainland. It would be no surprise at all to find that your oil leak is actually from a valve cover gasket, a much simpler and less expensive repair, or even a leaking oil drain plug. (UV dye can be used to find the actual source of the leak.)
@chucktobias I'll admit some posts here can astound me and this is a fine example. Can an oil pump leak externally?
The dealer will always charge the most because service is how they getcha.
The "book time" for changing an oil pump on that engine is 6.5h, which very easily racks up to $2,000 just in labour, and I wouldn't be surprised if it goes higher.
I recommend finding an independent mechanic with a good reputation. We have a couple recommendations in NY/NJ in our FAQ.
I'll admit some posts here can astound me and this is a fine example. Can an oil pump leak externally?
It is possible depending on the pump design. A couple of engines I know of personally would be the Rambler 195.6 six-cylinder engine in flathead and OHV form, and the Saab 2.3 4-cylinder engine. (The original Saab 2.0 is similar.)
The Rambler engine has an external oil pump mounted on the side of the engine, driven by the distributor shaft. (The last year for that engine was 1965.)
The Saab engine has the oil pump concentric with the front of the crankshaft and the cover has an o-ring that can fail. It's not difficult to fix once the crank pulley is removed since nothing else needs to be disassembled to get at the pump, and the pump does not need to be replaced, just the o-ring. (A large snap-ring plier is required.) I replaced that o-ring on my own car years ago. Pump replacement was most definitely not required.
The Honda pump also appears to be concentric with the front of the crank. I don't know how tough it is to get to any seals in there but I really doubt the pump has to be replaced to fix a leak. The source of the leak really needs to be verified by a good independent mechanic if @irnchef89 cannot do it him or herself. (Image from charm.li.)
@chucktobias Thanks for sharing.. I find this kind of thing interesting.
In my experience its unheard of for an oil pump on a honda ridgeline to go bad in 119 Thousand miles. I would change the PCV valve clean off the oil and watch it for a week..
