After 6 Years, Finally Saw My Engine

[Gforrest2]

I purchased this '03 Base in '09 with 80k miles. It now has 92k. I've never seen the engine until today. Yesterday, it through the 171 and 174 codes. After a few hours of searching, a failing AOS seemed to be the culprit in many of these cases. The car runs fine, no problems with the idle, no smoke, but the oil cap is very hard to remove - in fact, I couldn't remove it with the engine running. I decided to take a peak to see if there were any obvious signs, loose hose, etc. Was surprised to see both sides of the intake coated in oily gunk. Any ideas where this came from or what I should check first?

[Gforrest2]

Here's a shot of the AOS

[Top_Ramen]

You might want to take a look at your air filter while you're in there.

[Timco]

AOS is toast. That's where all that intake oil is from.

May be oil inside the intake. Mine had puddles of oil collecting.

[particlewave]

I hate to break it to you, but it's now 2015...that makes 9 years, not 6.

Only 12k miles in 9 years?!?!

[Gforrest2]

Originally Posted by particlewave

I hate to break it to you, but it's now 2015...that makes 9 years, not 6.

Only 12k miles in 9 years?!?!

My bad, bought in July '09. And yup, she's a garage queen.

[Gforrest2]

Originally Posted by Timco

AOS is toast. That's where all that intake oil is from.

May be oil inside the intake. Mine had puddles of oil collecting.

I thought a bad AOS let oil into the intake, fouling the plugs, causing smoke and a poor idle. How did all that grime coat the outside of the intake?

[Timco]

Originally Posted by Gforrest2

I thought a bad AOS let oil into the intake, fouling the plugs, causing smoke and a poor idle. How did all that grime coat the outside of the intake?

It leaks past the bands. It's just on the intake at the connections. Then the dirt absorbs it I'd imagine. Comes into the plenum in a mist?

All that should be dry and oil free. That's how mine looked.

[Gforrest2]

Done a lot of reading up on this - Pedro's Garage, 101 Projects, Bentley, here and on Rennlist. While I'm in there, should I replace the boots/hoses/vent lines as a preventative measure, even if they look good? What about clamps and o-rings, replace? And is it worth it to purchase one of those cable actuated hose clamp removers and if yes, are the Ebay $15 versions as good as the name brand $50 versions? (they look the same) Any tricks besides small hands, patience, and money for the swear jar . Oh, and it looks like the '03s and up use a different part. I get 996-107-026-01-M100 - and it's $30 cheaper than the '97-'02 version.