Hi all,

As I continue with my new hobby (saving money by working on my car myself), I want to fix an oil leak that seems to be getting worst. Below or two images of what I think is oil coming out through the front valve cover gasket. The first one is just below the Camshaft, oil leaking in to the alternator. The second is from the front of the valve cover. I've watched some Youtube videos on how to remove the cover and replace the gasket, but before I do that I wanted to get validation that this is the problem.

Please let me know your suggestions and point me towards any write ups for this process. Replacing the gasket seems like a 15 - 30 minute job, even for a noob like me. I recently replaced the O Ring on the Camshaft sensor, replace some hoses (water and air), one of the ignition coils and replaced the radiator fan. I think I'm getting the hang of this.

 

Certainly looks like a leaky VCG. Remove the engine cover to get a better look. If the front's leaking, the rear (a PITA to access) probably is, too.

Year & mileage?

 

This exact area I had just like that.
I replaced the gasket but it still sorta gets oily. Not on the side, but where the dipstick area.

I'm almost thinking the dipstick sorta lifts or somehow oil gets past it.
The seal sucks its really loose in that hole. Anyone else have this problem?

 

Check the PCV valve. There could be pressure building up and venting through the dipstick tube.

 

I think you have a valve cover seal leak. Mine looks worse and will be changed soon. Both our cars have a leak across the entire front and passenger side of the valve cover. The dipstick wouldn't be the cause. You can try changing the pcv, but be aware that the pcv hose will nearly always crack when you separate the pcv from the hose. I changed my pcv and it hasn't helped with the the oil leak.

 

I recently replace the pcv hose because it had cracked. I replaced it with a pcv hose I bought in Autozone which I cut and fitted in. I made sure that it wasn't crimping and should be OK. Hopefully that's not what caused this.

 

What caused this is old valve cover gaskets. It's just time and mileage.

My PCV comment was specifically for Donkeypunch who already swapped gaskets and is seeing oil around the dipstick.

 

Has it always been like this since you got the car? Sometimes if you pour oil without a funnel and miss, it can leak down and cause a mess, but the pics look like it's probably the VC gasket. I have 197K miles and only had to replace my rear VC with a 6th gen one. My front one is still good. I like removing the valve cover because you can see the valvetrain components.