I'm looking at a 2009 Sonata with the 2.4 4 cylinder in it and have a question about the valve cover on these things. I was an engine builder back in the 80's and have worked on a LOT of engines but the newer ones can be different.

The car's seller says that when he removes the oil fill cap there is some oil spatter coming out of it, and I'm concerned abut what it is from. On most of the engines I worked on in the past the valve covers had a baffle inside them where the oil cap goes, so as to prevent such a condition. Some did and some didn't.

Question: Does the 4 cylinder Hyundai engine have a baffle under where the oil cap goes, or doesn't it?

1. If it does then there shouldn't be any oil or oil mist coming out of the fill cap.

2. If there isn't, then I can see why some oil is getting splattered out of the valve cover.

So which is it - baffle or no baffle?

Thanks for any experienced help on this. I don't want to buy this thing if I'm looking at a $3500 hand grenade!!!

 

There's no baffle I can see in either of the 2.4L engines I own.

Here are some pics of the underside of 2.4L Theta II valve covers. Notice the oil fill hole opening on the bottom right of the valve cover, just under the right most spark plug hole:

 

Biy that sure messes people up when they want to check for blowby, doesn't it. I guess the moral to the story is: no compression coming out - no blowby, instead of the old oli present thing we all rely on?