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So I think my valve cover is leaking pretty bad and I'm having PCV issues. I was reading in the forums that many of you were able to fine the Mecaplast valve covers, who I think make the OEM ones, pretty cheap on Ebay. I was looking through ebay today and was having a tough time finding any from Mecaplast. Could any of you guys who have already gotten one perhaps help me out and send me the link of a mecaplast one, perhaps if the seller you got yours from is still there?
Thanks so much!! It'll be a huge help and save me some money from buying the OEM one!
I bought the 55.00 VC from Ebay 7-8 months ago. I have no oil leaking from valve cover or anywhere else on my 09 MCS w/ 58K on it. But now I'm smelling burnt oil coming through the vents . So I'm thinking the PCV is bad already with only putting 6K miles on it since I changed the VC. So I'm hesitant on buying another 55.00 ebay VC vs ECStuning HT version with the 3 year warranty.
If you smell oil vapors coming through ventilation system. Check for oil leak. FWIW - When I replaced my valve cover with ebay one, I also replaced the PCV hose that runs from rear of valve cover to intake. Its been 10K mikes since I replaced both, and I have no issues.
Motor is dry and clean, no leaks.... also don't have that pcv hose.
I have an oil catch can .... Installed it after I walnut blasted my valves and installed the cheapo VC from ebay. All seemed well until 2 days ago. Started smelling oil.
The air intake for HVAC system is behind battery (as I'm sure you probably already know). Any fuel and/or oil smells that make their way into HVAC system, most definitely are coming from engine bay. But, you stated that you have no detectable oil leaks. A defective/leaking valve cover would surly show signs of a leak. Looks like you have a puzzle on your hands...
Let us know if you are able to track it down. Good Luck!
Great another Mystery...lol.. I jacked the car up and nothing is wet... But one thing did changed and that is the liquid I'm getting out of the OCC. Before it was mostly water/fuel fix. Now it looks more like black oil. This is what made me think the pcv is bad.
I had just changed my oil a few months ago, and I checked the dip and it looked low. It was actually down 1.2QT and I maybe drove it 500 miles.
I just slapped a new valve cover on since all signs seemed to point to a PVC issue. Interesting thing was when I unplugged the (left) vacuum side I did notice a bit of oil residue on that pipe.
My catch can is on the boost side and it isn't seeing much. I noticed the car felt a little lethargic off the line too.
New cover went on and it felt better. I also did a little Seafoam on the intake too, and changed the oil again. See if that fixes it after a month of driving.
These valve covers seem to range from $50 to $400 but I opted to just get one from 1A Auto ~$160 since it had a warranty.
Last edited by mstatkus; Aug 18, 2019 at 01:40 PM.
Reason: warranty note
The cheap Chinese version seems to be less than ~£100 range (I'm guessing the QA will be hit/miss thing) and the OEM/OE quality version seems to be ~£150+.
