hi everyone...

i just joined and was looking to get some assistance... i've got a r56 2007 mini s that is out of warranty... here's my problem

about 3 days ago i got a check engine light... i read the code and it said p115c with a note saying 'fuel and air metering'... just to make sure it wasn't a fluke, i cleared the code and drove it just fine for the next 3 days... until i got another cel... i expected to get the same one but this time it was p1497... from my google research, this code is likely some sort of vacuum leak somewhere... and it seems the common place is the valve cover...

the next day is when i also started to notice a hissing sound coming from the engine bay... and when i shut the engine off... it hisses slowly and sounds like it's winding down... almost sounds like the turbo is spooling... i've put my ear all around to try and pin point the sound and it seems to be coming from the middle of the valve cover... between the left 2 spark plugs...

i looked all around to see if i could see a noticeable crack but wasn't able to locate one... i did however saw some oil residue on the bottom right corner of the valve cover... bottom right corner meaning... if i had the hood open, and i'm looking down at the valve cover... it would be the bottom right edge...

i'm guessing that's not a great sign...

i also found while looking around the engine bay is that the last place that did my oil change apparently opened up the airbox to replace the air filter... but didn't put the cover on correctly... the front was screwed down, but the back of it wasn't inserted into the proper places... so it was slightly lifted up... enough for me to see a piece of the filter... although it was a little unsettling to see that... it was an easy fix... i dusted off the filter before putting the cover back on properly...

the sound i'm hearing from the engine bay is exactly like the one from this youtube video


so what i'm planning to do is purchase a new valve cover and valve cover gasket from the dealership... and replace them myself... from some write ups i've seen and videos i've watched, it doesn't seem to be a high level of difficulty as long as i have the right tools and i'm careful not to over torque...

i would love to hear some other members opinion on my problem... and any tips you can give me for venturing on with this repair...

is it possible that it's not the valve cover that's the problem even though the sound is almost exactly the same as the video?

 

My car was doing the exact same as yours. I replaced the valve cover on Sunday and all is well. It was the PCV valve that failed.

 

Same here...got p115c then cleaned the maf and it disappeared and threw p1497 with a rough idle...did changing the valve cover solve your problem?

 

Also having the same issues: P1497 with vacuum leak and rough idle. Did replacing the valve cover work?