Oil leak around VTEC spool valve

I watched a video on how to replace the gaskets on this, it looks super easy!
The problem is finding the gaskets, as it doesn't look like Honda sells them individually. And aftermarket ones are either out of stock or cheap Chinese ones with bad reviews.

I think the dealer was going to replace the entire VTEC Solenoid assembly, but even that doesn't explain the $775.00 price tag! I can find aftermarket solenoids with gaskets for under $100.00.

I have read that you have to be careful with torquing down the bolts or else you will damage the valve cover?

What is the proper torque spec on the bolts? I don't want to overtighten and damage anything.

Okay, I took a chance on some aftermarket (China) gaskets for $9.00 on Amazon. Based on the reviews, I took the mesh screen from the OEM gasket (existing gasket was brittle btw probably why it leaked) and put it into the new one. Something about the mesh size is what they said.

Anyways I hand tightened the bolts then half a turn more as you said, and cleaned all the grime from where it had leaked as best I could with degreaser and toothbrush.

Drove it to the next town and back, making sure to get the RPMs up and also go into ECO mode. Everything seemed to work fine. When I got home, I checked and didn't see any new oil leaks. Hopefully that fixed it!

Okay, I drove it to and from work today and noticed it was leaking again when I got home. Did some digging online, and most people said 6ft lbs on the bolts. I got a torque wrench and locked them down, hopefully it won't come loose again and leak.

I didn't take it apart again this time, just tightened up the bolts. But when I took it apart initially the metal plate was fine. Only issue I found initially was the bottom gasket (the one with the metal mesh filter) was brittle and fell apart.

Hopefully the issue this time was the bolts not being tight enough. Most people I found said if you overtighten them, you'll get check engine codes, so I was trying to be cautious.

Well, everything has been going swell until today when my check engine light came on and I noticed it never went into ECO mode, even on the highway. Code scanner says it's P3497 cylinder deactivation system bank 2. I don't see any oil leak around the VTEC solenoid anymore, could it be the solenoid itself failing?

Unfortunately, I do not have any of the tools listed there, only a basic code scanner. Is there another method I could use to test this? I cleared the code and cranked the engine and the CEL did not come back. If it helps, I was on the highway speed up to 65MPH when the light came on.

Okay, I drove it around today after clearing the code and it ran fine, no CEL and ECO mode worked as it should. I guess I'll just keep an eye on it and if it persists or gets worse, I'll try to test at that time.

Okay, so I've noticed the CEL only comes on when driving at highway speeds 55+. Typically, if I clear it, it will be fine until next time I am running at high speeds.

But today the CEL came on and it just felt like it was idling/running rough, especially at the lower speeds. Code still reads the same as before, even after clearing it just comes right back upon starting the engine. So, I suspect the VTEC solenoid has finally crapped out and it's stuck in "limp mode".

How bad is it to continue driving in limp mode until I can get the VTEC solenoid replaced? This is my only vehicle.

I'm getting P3497 on bank 2. Limp mode has poor acceleration and the engine sounds louder and vibration. But other than that, it drives fine. It's just rough because I guess it's not firing on all cylinders?

P2659 error has also popped up. Seems to be related to the VTEC solenoid as well.