dru5o4

what i did to fix mines was soak the gasket in brake fluid over night, it plumped the gasket back up and put it back in and have not had any leaks since then. Did the same thing on my cousins s2000 and seemed to fix the issue as well. been a few months now with no leaks.

jkelley

hm, that sounds like kind of a cool fix. is there anybody that disagrees with this method? i would appreciate others' thoughts on this

SgtB

I don't recommend that at all. It's swelling because the brake fluid is breaking down the rubber.

dru5o4

ill check again and see how its holding up, i have heard about break fluid breaking it down but it seems to be working for me so far. from what i have researched that as long as you wipe off the brake fluid it shouldn't destroy the gasket once it has plumped up but i could be wrong, but ill still check on it.

peacekpr

Update: I cut out some oil and gas-rated butyl rubber for the "shim" approach. I figure this stuff was 1/64" thick. Results: no immediate leak with one thermal cycle. I will say I'm concerned that this material will eventually break down, so I still want to go for a permanent quality fix. I will be purchasing either some BUNA-N or Viton rubber sheet material from McMaster-Carr soon and trying that out. Any recommendations for thickness of the sheet material? I think that original OEM seal started out somewhere around 2.5mm-3mm thick, right? And after all of that, I still want to mill out a mold and cast a silicon gasket (made of red RTV). Just need that CAD model of the seal that Billman250 and SouthDakotaS2K have. :-)

Rather than brake fluid to plump up the seal, you should look into something like ATP Reseal. I've personally never used it, and I don't know how effective it is.

Wannabes2k2k11

I know it's expensive at $200 online, but instead of these hack fixes are you guys too cheap just buy a new vtec solenoid? Just buy a new part, maybe the only time you'll likely have to replace it anyway.

I don't understand how people spend so much time and money doing all types of preventive, and unnecessary replacement of parts. Buy ridiculously expensive fluids like it's an f1 car, yet from comments in this thread are to stingy to buy a shiny new solenoid so oil stops dribbling all over the side of the engine.

Just buy a new vtec solenoid, you'll be glad you did.

SgtB

Because not everybody is keen on disposing of a perfectly good part because of Honda's bullshit. They sell a defective part, and it WILL do it again, and again, no matter how many solenoids you buy. They should offer the gasket. Plain and simple. It's not about being stingy, it's just realizing that buying a new one isn't a fix. It's just like the timing chain tensioners. Replacing it only puts a dent in your pocket.

Wannabes2k2k11

I don't think it's a defective part, it's a small gasket exposed to high temperature. It won't last forever. Yea sucks you can't just buy the gasket. If having to buy a new solenoid only from honda is what it takes to repair it 100% for the long term, well then that's just how it is.

SgtB

They could have made that gasket last the life of the vehicle. They chose the wrong diameter and material.

Billman250

Working with another manufacturer from CT...will know more soon.