Just found out a plugged PCV valve can make your seals blow out

Had a 2014 civic come in last month with oil leaking everywhere. Owner already replaced the valve cover gasket twice. Third times the charm right? Nope. I was about to do it again when I checked the PCV valve and it was totally clogged. Cleaned it out and the leak stopped. All that pressure had to go somewhere so it pushed past the seals. Wish I knew this years ago. Has anyone else chased a leak for this long before finding the real cause?

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2 Comments

kelly3853mo ago

Blame the PCV valve all you want but those seals would've held fine if they weren't already worn out. Sounds like the real issue was cheap gaskets or bad install work.

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the_avery3mo ago

Woah there, dude. You're jumping to "bad install work" like it's some kind of crime scene investigation. I mean, yeah, cheap gaskets are a thing, but it's a 15 year old car, not a space shuttle. Maybe the seals just hit their expiration date (you know, normal wear and tear) and the PCV valve was the final straw, not the root cause.

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