I had removed the air/oil separator cover on the drivers side, part # 2720160134 just to check everything out and noticed a little bit of oil coming out from the gasket after I put it back on. I Happen to come across a Beck/Arnley on Amazon for $9.97 listed as Used-Like New. Figured id get it at least for the gasket. I just received it and took it apart to see how it works since I could not find any photos or info on what it actually looks like, i was thinking there was some sort of flap in there but instead its just plastic half circles similar to how the underside of it looks. No moveable parts to break or wear. Just found it interesting to see how it works. Im going to remove and clean the one thats on, its a Mercedes OE. I also found the torque spec, may be that is the reason the gasket seems to be leaking, or its just flattened and worn.









I had looked for just the replacement gasket but could not locate one. Shame they cant sell you just the gasket, seems like a waste replacing the whole thing when it can probably just be cleaned out.

 

FYI: I probably would not install this one in my car. The parts do not seem to fit together well, it doesnt snap in nicely instead its a little loose, seems higher on one side so I press the other side down and the other side pops up. The box is a little crushed but does not look like it was opened before, still taped on the top and bottom is glued. It was just in the box, no bag. The parts came apart very easily with no effort.

 

I removed the separator and was very disappointed to see how clean it was, I was hoping it was flooded with oil and gunk so cleaning it would make a difference. Instead it looks fine to me. Cleaned it with warm water and dish soap and reinstalled it. This time I used my new 1/4 torque wrench that I did not have the first time I removed it, im pretty sure the oil leaking was due to me not having the bolts tight enough. 106 in lbs is pretty tight for those small bolts, I know for a fact I did not put them on that tight the 1st time.


"used" separator. Looks clean to me.



I ended up reusing the original gasket after cleaning it good with dish soap. It is in good condition, not flattened like the breather cover gasket I recently replaced on the passenger side, that gasket seems to be made of a much softer material. I did not use the new gasket because it looks a little bit smaller, doesnt fit perfectly in the cover and just doesnt look right, looks stretched and twisted a little.


The new gasket leaves a gap on the top right corner. Seems a little bit too small.


really is a shame i cant find just the replacement gasket for this cover. i dont see why you would need to replace the cover itself instead of just cleaning it. I dont even really see why it would even have to be cleaned. I was going to try and remove the hose its attached to that goes tothe throttle body but it started raining here. The hard plstic line that feeds into it from the purge valve is stuck in there pretty good, I didnt want to force it and break anything. I may even buy a replacement, when i was cleaning it it seemed like the hose was leaving black marks all over the rag, like the hose is old and brittle. If its like this on the outside i wonder what the inside is like. I stuck a long q-tip in the hose at the open end and there was some oil in there.

 

Have you solved you problem? I have had oil loss due to it burning away for a long time now. I changed the crankcase oil separator on the passenger side (that part had seen better days), but I am still losing a lot of oil with no visible leak. Would it be worth a shot to change this part too? I also wanted to see what it looked like inside, but I did expect it to look more "advanced".

 

How many miles on your car? How often do you change your oil and filter? What oil do you use?

 

I had to read what I wrote.

My old/original cover is not leaking since I put it back on and properly torqued the bolts to 12nm.

I would not touch this cover on your car UNLESS it is actively leaking oil around it.

The reason I removed it was I saw oil all around the intake manifold and thought maybe the cover was faulty and filling with oil and getting into the throttle body and intake manifold. After I removed the cover I saw it was clean and working right.

How much oil are you losing? My engine has a little over 150,000 miles, I drive around 7,000 miles a year and between oil changes I will usually add 1/2 quart of oil. Even the Operators Manual mentions oil being burned is normal and to just keep topping it off.

I did find the oil filter housing gaskets were leaking and I replaced both of them.

Since i've started paying attention I noticed all the oil staining im seeing on the engine is staying basically the same, nothing really actively leaking.