Most cars begin leaking fluids at some point in their life. One common leak is oil from the engine. There are a lot of different covers and gaskets that can leak over time, and they’re usually not bad enough to cause damage, but it’s still a good idea to fix them as soon as possible. But to fix them right, you have to actually take things apart.

I was looking over a Honda Civic during some routine service work, and noticed that this cover on the back of the engine was leaking oil. I could tell that somebody had “tried” to fix the leak by applying a bunch of liquid gasket to the outside of the cover. That doesn’t work.

When I removed the cover, it was obvious that it had never been removed. Adding gasket to the outside won’t stop the oil from leaking out, because that’s not where it’s sealing. It’s like trying to patch a leaking dam on a river by slapping some mortar on the outside of the crack, or sticking some duct tape on a leaking pipe.

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-Dan