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Interesting the car ran like crap with the aluminum cover, then ran just fine with an OEM-style plastic version. I've read so many horror stories with those aluminum covers, I swear they have to have a sub-50% hit rate for success.
I had decent success with the Aluminum Valve Cover for my N14 but the burrs and quality is definitely much to be desired. I would gladly pay $400 for a really decent cover...I am not paying $1200-2000 though. think the cover for the PCV diaphragm wasnt sitting how it should have been on mine, after replacing it with a stock diaphragm/cover the idle stopped dropping and now idles smoothly. I will set up a camera to watch the exhaust for smoke, if it continues I will buy a new original valve cover. I just purchased an evap smoke machine too...will be great for more diagnostics.
If it does turn out to be a crappy valve cover, Ill buy a new OWM Cover and develop a CF skin cover for it...
Since the Vanos cleaning and oil change 2 days ago, I have had the code pop up only once during idle yesterday and not since - but Im sure I will continue to get it here and there. I will be doing another oil change in a week and replace the check valves. It seems that the oil itself and build up was ultimately the issue. Thank you guys for all your help, I would of been chasing my tail for months without it and it is very much appreciated. I ordered a smoke machine to test the valve cover/pcv system and check over the entire engine when it arrives.
So I have only had the P13C0 code show back up when I was low on oil today, so I filled it up. Ive changed the valve cover this past week, added a catch can but I dropped one of the silicone gaskets down a oil drain hole in the head...so I had to drop the pan again.
I compression tested the engine, almost every cylinder was at 150psi aside from #4, which was 10-12psi less than the others.
I noticed that the pistons were COVERED in crap, all of them look like this:
I atill feel like the engine isnt as potent as it was before all this nonsense and Im getting the puff of blueish smoke when the engine is hot when accelerating from a stop. I have checked rhe PCV, Turbo and everything else I can think of and Im coming to the conclusion that the oil rings on the pistons are on the way out. I was going to rebuild the engine in the car but if Im doing that I wanred to go CP Pistons/Rods, King bearings, Cryo Timing Chain with a newly manufactured head...but the cost is outside my reach right now. I did however found an engine with 57k on it for half of the rebuild cost...but Id have to do the swap myself and Ill probably do the clutch before it goes in.
until one day I noticed I had a misfire right after new plugs and found the arm touching the element. Now I used a magnet.
