leaking slight oil from Valve Cover
 

As the tittle says it looks like if someone spit oil down to the headers heat shield and everything else around it (Just very minimal nothing exagerating). My question is can I just pour in a Oil Leak sealer? Also why does this happen, why does the valve cover gasket get shot? Its my DD with some spirited driving, I'm to the point where I just want to rid of my car, changing the gaskets was a hastle last time I did em.

First thing to do would be just to tighten down on them if they are loose. I need to take a look at them. I have to ask, did you put RTV everywhere? It is only needed in certain places if at all.

Re-torquing the fasteners may do the trick.

I will try and get some pics to you guys, but I will also try Re-torquing the fastners, didn't think of that while i under my Gloomy Cloud of "WHYYYY Mee!??" hahahaha! Thx and ill get back to you guys ASAP

I don't know your skill level so no offence, but did you do it right? The gasket shouldn't fail if installed according to the manufactiurer's installation instructions i.e. the gasket should last quite a while. Leak sealer could work but the best fix is to determine the cause and repair/replace as required.

I wouldn't touch that leak sealer type stuff, if you mean the kind you add to your engine oil. Especially not for a relatively-superficial issue like a valve cover gasket.

Where exactly is the leak?

a freshly installed valve cover gasket shouldn't leak, key things on the vhr gaskets for proper install is to make sure the old silicone is gone, and to follow the instructions in the manual on how and where to apply new silicone, and to follow the torque sequence. the gasket is pretty thick so when you tighten it down it is possible to tighten it on an angle which is bad for the gasket.

I don't know if OP means the last time he changed valve covers on any car, or on the Z...

he changed his valve cover gasket pics are in his nitrous thread

http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/...psc992dfa1.jpg

http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/...ps60399ac8.jpg

Well haven't had a chance to update lately and check on my Z...valve covers are fine no oil leaks but I did found this though^^^^ Do Our motor monts have fluid in them??? <'--Dumb question but its worth a **** and I'm about to check if I have an oil leak on my oil cooler lines after this is posted.

the mounts are liquid filled but it doesn't look blown, most likely oil from somewhere else like the fittings or sandwhich plate seals if you have an oil cooler. you might just need to take the filter off and tighten the nut that holds the sandwich plate on.

Edit: also thats not slight oil thats a **** ton of oil

^^^exactly! thats not a little oil man!

hopefully not too much of it got in the alternator, it tends to make dirt stick and the dirt can short stuff if it gets run around in there.

http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/...ps96af28ee.jpg
http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/...psc43c9a01.jpg
[IMG]http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/...psfac55f4f.jpg[/IMG]


Well as you can see started digging more down took off the undershroud (slightly difficult without jack stands but do able) and yea undershroud was pretty much filled with dirt and some oil....I was able to clean the alternator which was my main concern though. So in order to fix this leak before I go running on to my local autoparts store and buying a leak sealer hahahaha jk jk jk...what is needed? O rings?? Or whatexactly? And in order to fix this I will have to drain my oil correct in order to do it?

Just saw your post, yea im gonna need to drain it then take off filter and look for those bolts yoir talking about. I had it "proffecially installed" but that was about a year ago though

Check to make sure the two male an fittings are tight where they go into the aluminum sandwhich plate as well. They are aluminum so dont reef on them but they should be tight. Worse case you would need the two washer seals under those fittings and maybe the face seal under the samich plate.

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I hate those style of fittings, they are notorious for leaking.

Personally , I would wash her down, brake kleen the general area you think the leak is coming from, wipe it down and fire her up while she's on the hoist/ramps and watch close.

Before buying any parts, I'd try snugging everything up. As mentioned above there is the pipe nipple that holds the adapter plate on. The fittings may need to be loosened, cleaned, and properly tightened. They're pickier than most people realize, especially on the initial install. If over-tightened, the ferrule will not seal properly. Make sure everything is tightened to spec - too tight can be as bad as too loose. If that doesn't fix the leak, then start worrying about replacing parts.

I like the latter comment; not so much the former.

Edit: I misidentified the connectors, so the following doesn't apply in this case. See 1slow370's comment below. Sorry about that.
The main reason compression tubing fittings fail is because of improper installation - usually over-tightening. A close second is over-tightening during reassembly. Follow the manufacturer's procedure for installing the fittings (usually hand-tight plus 1/8 to 1/2 turn depending on size) and you will have very few leaks. When re-assembling, just snug the nut up - it doesn't have to be as tight as many people think.

what compression tube fittings? they are an flares, when you take them off put them back on just as tight as a new instal. bad advice is worse than no advice

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Thanks for straightening that out. :tiphat:

Your avatar is broken :p

oh and if the leak is coming from the fittings themselves that rarely happens, but it could be that the o-rings in the swivel fittings are worn out. usually doesn't happen but it it can and you would have to replace the leaking fitting. This probably isn't the case but it COULD happen.

works just fine for me ;)

Needing to bring this back up again. My car recently had it's 90 000 kilometer service (or 56k miles). The dealership said they found oil on a spark plug while replacing it as part of the service. They advised that the valve cover gasket needs to be replaced, however, the parts are only set to arrive 3rd week in December. I wanted to know if the vehicle is safe to be driven around until the parts arrive. Thanks:tiphat:

Way too much oil as mentioned. Might start with Centre threaded tube that holds sandwich plate onto engine and if it's tight then look into getting a new seal for the plate. If you clean off the oil all around filter and plate you might be able to see where it's leaking with engine running. As you know it should be fixed soon before a failure. Good luck and please post your finding so as to help others. Good luck.

Will do, I drove it to work this morning so I'll check for any oil on the ground later. Can't comment on low oil level yet as an oil change was done 2 days ago. However, I did get a faint burning smell which did not last too long, which I'm assuming may be a small bit of oil burning off on the manifold after the engine warmed up. Yesterday afternoon, oil temp gauge reached 95 degrees Celsius (203 Fahrenheit) while in traffic, was not driving hard at all.

Off topic, I also noticed that a clicking sound was coming from the rear when I;
1. Put the car into Drive from Neutral, Park, Reverse
2. Put the car into Reverse from Neutral, Park, Drive
3. Just before the vehicle comes to a complete stop
4. Intermittent on take-off

Thankfully, I was able to find a service bulletin regarding this, was for the 350Z, but still rectified the issue with my car. Link to TSB below

http://s000.tinyupload.com/?file_id=...38939742024398

there are these paper looking O ring seals that supposed to come with those male adapters or compression steel braded hose connectors, it looks as they r missing in the pic, that's why ur leaking oil, no matter how much you tighten they will always leak.

Parts have not arrived as yet, but I will let the dealership know when I go there again.

Late Reply: Just curious if you ever got this resolved? What was ultimately the source and what fixed it? Thanks in advance!

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