Curious as to how many people might have had an issue with the Valve Cover Gasket leaking on their 3.5vq's??

I've had this NAGGING oil loss issue for the past 10-20k miles, and it seems to be getting worse since I switched to 5w-30 Mobil1. Loss has been minimal (1qt per 5k miles), but I recently lost 1qt in 2k miles, so I effectively DOUBLED my oil loss rate since the last change two months ago.
I have recently noticed that my front cylinder bank has noticable collection of oily grime right near the valve cover and the block. Could this be the culprit?! No leaking from the rear cyclinder bank gasket as far as I can tell....

Also, noticed a small POOL (yes, pool) of oil in the Spark Plug well just next to the oil fill portal. I'm not convinced this isn't from me spilling oil previously, but I can't remember spilling THIS much oil EVER during an oil fill -- I'm usually QUITE careful...and yes, the cap has been seated properly.

Anyway - anybody else have any similar issues?? Is it common for the Valve Cover Gasket to go THIS SOON?? (52k miles) Any leaking from the spark plug seats with such LOW mileage?? I'm HOPING I'm not amongst the elite of OILBurning Engines....ugh.

Input welcome.
Thanks.
gr

 

ive had an oil consumption problem for a long time...the dealership tried to fix the problem by replacing the valve covers and gaskets. DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM.

my story http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=486215

 

Sooner -
Did you have to pay for the dealer to change the Valve Covers? Where were you on the warranty when they did that? Were they even exhibiting signs of leaking, or was it just a stop-gap to avoid the REAL ISSUE?
We all KNOW what the issue is for some of us, I'm just wondering how many others have had leaky valve covers. I'm hoping this might be the cause of MY oil loss. WIshful thinking.

Thanks for chiming-in.
gr

 

the oil is coming from the small rubber gaskets built into the valve cover that slip over the spark plug chamber. All you have to do to fix it is remove the VC (a couple bolts and move some lines out of the way) and push those seals down over the metal spark plug chambers to create an oil-tight fit.

EDIT: The oil burning issue has nothing to do with this, though.

 

if you read my thread you will see that everything was covered under the powertrain warranty. they simply did the valve covers as band aid fix to avaoid fixing the real problem. they finally ran tests and the rings are bad but they are refusing the change the oil now. im in the middle of fighting it

 

good luck with the fight and keep us posted. ****ing nissan