took my car into a local indie last week for what is clearly a leaky valve cover and/or cam tensioner seal.
after arriving to check the status (noticing that my car was suspiciously in the same parking space that i left it in... seat unadjusted... maybe just being paranoid), the mechanic tells me he couldn't find the exact source of the problem (apparently without looking at the oil clearly leaking out of the back of the driver's side head onto the exhaust manifold). he tells me he wants to put the car into (gulp) service position, disassemble the front of the motor and check the main seal.
he goes on to tell me about some oil on my radiator (that apparently leaks with such force as to clear any number of obstacles to get there).
i point out the fact that i'm not a moron.
he doesn't seem to believe me, because he tells me that the leak that is running down the back of the head and dripping off of the oil pan and sway bar is definitely coming from the front of the motor, and he wants two days(!) to take it apart and check it out (and do the timing belt while he's at it, 20k miles earlier than it needs to be).

so, the whole point of this story is that i made an appointment with someone else.

the problem is, my crank case pressure isn't venting. i tested and cleaned the suction pump, i tested the green check valve, and i replaced the entire pcv hose assembly. I am still leaking oil from the VC, and a tiny bit around the filler cap. My oil level at the dipstick is still all over the place, too.
i used to think that the CIS injection system in the old 5 cylinders was frustrating. this pcv system is getting to that point.