oil under engine cover and pcv valve hose

cthomasparr · Post by **cthomasparr** » Sat Apr 03, 2010 10:12 pm

I did a tune up yesterday on my 2004 vibe with A/T. First I struggled with how exactly to get the two rear plastic retainers off the engine cover. I hate when manufacturers save 2 cents to go with a platic, probably replacable, fastener. Even my hanes manual didnt say twist or pry to get these off. I pried and twisted and they look like the typical plastic fastener with plastic tangs to grab the threads.Anyhow, my real question was about the cover and the large amount of oil in the padding under the cover, particularly by the pcv valve. The pcv tube was also a mess... covered with oil to the right of the engine cover. The engine filler area was not soaked with oil. Anyone know how this area got to be that way? I took out the pcv valve and it was ok. I also noticed that there was one extra hole in the valve cover near the right driver side plastic fastener hole. I wondered if this could actually puff out oily air from the engine, but it appears it does not.Thanks

northvibe · Post by **northvibe** » Sun Apr 04, 2010 9:24 am

do you have pictures?

cthomasparr · Post by **cthomasparr** » Sun Apr 04, 2010 10:29 am

unfortunately I don't have pics, and I cleaned it up anyway. Just wondering how oil would get in that padding underneath the engine cover. I have only had the car for a little while, so maybe somebody spilled oil when filling? not sure. was just checking to see if there was something I should pay attention to before I put the cover back. Thanks

cthomasparr · Post by **cthomasparr** » Sun Apr 04, 2010 10:31 am

I am probably not being clear enough. sorry. When I took the cover off, the pieces of white padding underneath that are part of the cover were ok, except for the pad right next to the pCV valve. This padding was brown and soaked with oil.

northvibe · Post by **northvibe** » Sun Apr 04, 2010 12:22 pm

is that near the oil cap on top of the engine? if so the previous owner probably spilled oil everywhere trying to pour it in with out a funnel.

cthomasparr · Post by **cthomasparr** » Sun Apr 04, 2010 9:56 pm

you are probably right. Come to think of it, that material went from the front to the back of the cover right next to the oil filler and probably would pick up any oil that dripped there and tried to run down that channel where the spark plugs are. What I saw was probably 5 years of messy oil changes. That stuff did hold oil like a sponge.