Took a look around the engine bay this weekend and noticed some seepage from the valve cover gasket....again. Looking over my service records, it looks like this has been happening every 20-30k miles for about 10 years or so. Brand doesn't seem to make a difference - I've used the Reinz, Fel-pro, and Elring gaskets.

It's really not too bad. The biggest build up of grime is near the half circle dip on the timing cover. I could leave it for a while, but the part is cheap enough that I'll probably do it around my next oil change.

How often is everyone else replacing this gasket?

I just find it odd since other seals like the notorious crank position sensor o-ring and oil pan gasket are still bone dry after many years and miles.

 

19 years and over 100K miles on mine. It's only just started showing a small amount of seepage.
It sounds like your VC might be warped.

 

The gasket is rubber, yeah? Can you just give it a little bit extra squeeze on the bolts? Also, make sure its seated correctly in the cover grooves.

 

Thanks, I think that was true for my first 100k or so too. I'll check it with my straight edge next time it's off. Car has never overheated - got close after a coolant change one time though and didn't get enough of the air out of the system.

 

I'll double check the bolts, but I think the plastic of the cover touches the cylinder head when it's tightened, so it's not likely to compress the gasket any more or at all. Definitely was seated in the grooves correctly.

I've thought about giving RTV gasket maker a try, but that stuff would be a pain to scrape off next the cover needs to come off.

 

Ended up replacing the cover gasket last weekend with a Fel-Pro one. Didn't bother switching out the spark plug tube seals. Tried to wipe all oil residue off the head and the groove in the cover since Fel-Pro says to install clean and dry.

I noticed a few very minor imperfections on the cylinder head (is a used JCW head I bought, not original to the car), but I don't think that's where the oil was getting through. Just based on how the cover came off, I think the trace amounts of oil were probably passing on the cover side through the groove where the gasket sits. The old gasket was pretty stuck to the head.

If it ends up seeping again in a few years, I'll probably just buy a new cover, and will try to remember to come back to this thread for an update.