Can't figure out where I'm losing oil at...

[jwahl425]

hey, I'm burning (blue smole out the exhaust) which I believe is the piston rings, however what I don't understand is how oil can find its way ontop of my valve cover even with a secure dipstick that cannot come out. here are a few pics to show you what I mean:

 

[ROOKIE1]

It is either a crack in your valve cover or the oil cap you have .

 

[MrBoxx]

A: Oil cap. Check to make sure the O-ring is intact first, then check to see that it's not hard or deformed.

B: If you're really worried about getting oil in your engine bay, you'll lose that breather filter on the valve cover nipple. Replace it with a catch can or inline filter and reconnect the hose to the intake.

 

[project_tsi]

From the pics I'd assume its comming from the oil cap. Like Mr. Boxx stated, check the gasket, and double up on the gasket if you have to, to ensure a tight seal.

Either that, or you have a crack in the VC leaking.


Perhaps you should try a new VC gasket set, including new spark plug well seals, those could leak a bit. Check to ensure all your bolts are tightened properly as well.

 

[ilikespeeding]

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Missing bolt?

 

[MrBoxx]

It looks to me like the bolt is still there, just the lip of the head is keeping a small pool of oil on top of the head.

The other thing I was thinking was the spark plug well seals, as project_tsi mentioned. I wondered if oil could seep up between the boot and the well, but that would mean that one of the wells has a pool of oil in it, which would be bad. I would pull the spark plug boots (after cleaning up the oil mess a bit) and see if there's any oil in any of them.

 

[jwahl425]

I resealed the valve cover and checked the compression, 152 178 158 150, I'm still leaking oil on the valve cover too. yes, the bolt is stll there.

I also resealed the spark plug well seals, I used RTV high temp gasket maker, I made sure it was a good seal to, I'm thinking, could it possibly be one of the bolts letting oil through? oh, and the oil cap is brand new, the seal looks perfect, it is really hard to get it off when the engines warm though. the spark plug boots looked fine, no oil on them at all.

 

[luvmygst]

I had the same problem, you probably have a cracked valve cover. Its real easy to do. Is the oil just in the valley or is it on the other side of the oil cap also? I bought a whole new oil cap for like 7 bucks. Didnt help the VC leak though. I took it off and found the crack and welded it untill I can get another one. Good luck

 

[a_scobel]

I resealed the valve cover and checked the compression, 152 178 158 150, I'm still leaking oil on the valve cover too. yes, the bolt is stll there.

I also resealed the spark plug well seals, I used RTV high temp gasket maker, I made sure it was a good seal to, I'm thinking, could it possibly be one of the bolts letting oil through? oh, and the oil cap is brand new, the seal looks perfect, it is really hard to get it off when the engines warm though. the spark plug boots looked fine, no oil on them at all.

You're not supposed to use RTV on the spark plug gaskets, since it's a rubber gasket & will seal fine without it. I doubt it'd cause it to leak though.