Hello,
I have a 2011 Honda Accord V6 (100k mileage). Recently a mechanic told me that my engine oil is leaking on the alternator. Thus he recommended me to change the valve cover gasket ~ $600.
Is this an urgent issue to be fixed? Is this a common issue for Honda Accord?
Thank you very much!
Best regards,
Aaron
If it is actually leaking on the alternator, then yeah, I'd fix it. But $600 is a total ripoff. I do stuff like that myself.
Thank you.
If your valve cover is leaking I would go ahead and have it done. If you forget to keep an eye on your oil levels then you could run the engine with it low. It could damage the alternator. Also when you leak oil your car tends to leak the thin cleaner oil and leave the dirty and grimier stuff in the engine. Even if you add replacement oil the thicker stuff/sludge stays behind as it leaks out. Not so much on synthetic oil though. In the days of conventional oil the leaking ones always seemed to have more sludge in the engine, just an observation. Good Luck!
Thank you very much!
If it is leaking so that you have oil on the alternator, you better fix it sooner that later.
Thank you!
$600 sounds like BMW valve cover gasket pricing, not for a Honda, unless Honda's suddenly got that more complicate to take apart.
Eventually valve cover gaskets will wear out or dry out. I recently had to change mine out, but that was at 270K+ miles at 20+ years old.
I recommend taking a look yourself, and see if you can spot the leak, just to verify that there is actually a leak.
Thank you!
Thank you!