Pilot / HM Oil question

[tony1679]

My mom's '05 Honda Pilot 3.5L has recently developed a small oil leak. Within 4k miles, it developed an unusual "stuck lifter" type noise. Long story short, after taking it to the stealership, "an o-ring on the oil pump failed and is leaking oil onto the timing belt and tensioner." The previous owner used MS5K for <5k intervals. I have been doing 3-4k intervals using VML for about 20k now (currently ~125,000). It recently made a round trip from OKC to Las Vegas and back. My question is what would have caused this? Was it the VML (seal conditioners) or could it have been the long distance trip (heat)? Or perhaps just a random failure? I've never experienced a problem using VML so I highly doubt it was the oil (especially considering it is virtually spotless inside). What do you think?

 

[lawman1909]

Did the previous owner use any additives or engine cleaners? I have heard of engine cleaners doing that.

 

[tony1679]

Originally Posted By: lawman1909

Did the previous owner use any additives or engine cleaners? I have heard of engine cleaners doing that.

Not that I know of. But it was not mentioned. Would that cause a sudden failure 20k+ miles later? I would think not..?

 

[yonyon]

A "stuck lifter" noise in a Pilot is something you need to look into right away. If you do a search you'll probably find some information Trav has provided about VCM related problems. One of the guys I work with was handed a Pilot with a lifter tick that ended up with a broken camshaft.

 

[lawman1909]

It MAY have since they can cause premature failure of the sealants, conditioners, etc. It could have damaged it and now it has taken that long to actually become a problem.

 

[tony1679]

Originally Posted By: yonyon

A "stuck lifter" noise in a Pilot is something you need to look into right away. If you do a search you'll probably find some information Trav has provided about VCM related problems. One of the guys I work with was handed a Pilot with a lifter tick that ended up with a broken camshaft.

As I said above, the stealership stated the problem. They blamed the noise on the tensioner. The 2005 Pilot does not even have VCM. That is '06 and newer.

 

[yonyon]

Sorry. My mistake.

 

[Triton_330]

Did you change what weight/grade of oil it is using? If so, the noise might be because of that. As far as the burning, it could be an effect from that, or it could just be "just because" for no single reason besides age/miles.

 

[tony1679]

Originally Posted By: Triton_330

Did you change what weight/grade of oil it is using? If so, the noise might be because of that. As far as the burning, it could be an effect from that, or it could just be "just because" for no single reason besides age/miles.

....I'm confused. Where did you get "burning" from? And no, the Pilot has had 5W20 it's whole life.

 

[Clevy]

Now I absolutely agree that the best way to fix a gasket leak is properly by replacing the gasket however I've found that if the gasket isn't physically broken and missing and its leaking based on shrinkage and drying out then liqui-moly motor oil saver might buy you some time. Many here have found its an excellent stop leak. Because its an ester it naturally maintains positive gasket seals and being an ester also means its natural solvency will contribute to cleaning the engine internals and being naturally polar cold starts will be a bit easier and motor oil saver also raises tbn which means longer intervals. For 7 bucks its worth a try. Leave it in for as long as you can before draining. Maybe even M1 EP for 15000 miles and add motor oil saver for the whole run. FX4 ran over 20000 miles on AFE 0w-20 iirc,so 15000 in your application should be fine

 

[tony1679]

Originally Posted By: Clevy

Now I absolutely agree that the best way to fix a gasket leak is properly by replacing the gasket however I've found that if the gasket isn't physically broken and missing and its leaking based on shrinkage and drying out then liqui-moly motor oil saver might buy you some time. Many here have found its an excellent stop leak. Because its an ester it naturally maintains positive gasket seals and being an ester also means its natural solvency will contribute to cleaning the engine internals and being naturally polar cold starts will be a bit easier and motor oil saver also raises tbn which means longer intervals. For 7 bucks its worth a try. Leave it in for as long as you can before draining. Maybe even M1 EP for 15000 miles and add motor oil saver for the whole run. FX4 ran over 20000 miles on AFE 0w-20 iirc,so 15000 in your application should be fine

I do appreciate the input, but considering the timing belt and tensioner are on borrowed time due to this leak, everything will be replaced properly. I am not willing to gamble with a ~$50 belt failing and having a catastrophic engine failure $2000+. I know how to cure the problem. I am just wondering what caused it.