oh and i doubt your missing that piece....its installed that way....you will see when u take the valve cover off.....but ya put some sealant on it to help...

 

there is a how to written by auditech79 in the DIY section that will help you

 

Well there is a gaping hole in the block where it looks like something is supposed to be there. There is nothing supporting the gasket in that place, and that's exactly where it's leaking. I didn't even now about it until I got the pcv hose tear fixed and repressure-tested the intake.

So where can I get this set? I don't really want to buy the entire head gasket set on Ecstuning. I see the valve cover gasket set, but not the tensionioner set by itself.

Thanks for the help guys, maybe I can finally get this solved and stop whining about it all the time ;-)

 

You need to do both at the same time. The valve cover and the set above are both like $45 shipped from ecs.

 

Well, I got the gaskets. Going to attempt the fix probably on thursday.

 

Well I got it done... it didn't fix my vac leak, but my boost levels are higher now. I've got some pics about the journey... and thanks to andrew for the idea on how to replace the gasket without removing cams :-) Once you remove the bolt underneath the valve cover that holds the tensioner in place, you can pry up the tensioner enough to remove the half-moon seal and metal gasket. Took me awhile get the new gasket in place, but the headache saved was well worth it. Here's the pics:

Valve cover after everything is removed:



Valve cover removed:



Inside the valve cover:



The method of gasket removal:



All went pretty smoothly, took me about 3 hours total with looking up pics to see how everything came apart in between. If there's any questions I will be happy to help.

 

looks like you need to get the soapy water out to find that leak.

 

glad to help

 

Hell, you only had to do yours like 4 times

 

thanks to the dealer for two of the reasons...