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Just recently I’ve been getting a few drops of what seems to be oil when my car is parked in my garage for a few hours.Its nothing much but a few drops a day.Anyways it’s been getting over my steering boot along with some around my oil filter.At first I took it to a mechanic and he said it was my steering rack but I found it kinda fishy.After doing some investigating myself for a few minutes I noticed that I believe that the leak is coming from above the passenger side steering rack.Can somebody PLEASE tell me what that part is called that is circled in red.It is located on top of the passenger side boot/passenger side compression arm.
I believe it’s the metal part where the valve covers go (sorry my engine knowledge is bad) but underneath it.the valve covers were replaced 3 weeks ago and haven’t had any issues since.there isn’t any oil sludge around the valve cover or spark plugs holes
Originally Posted by Ichiglo_
Just recently I’ve been getting a few drops of what seems to be oil when my car is parked in my garage for a few hours.Its nothing much but a few drops a day.Anyways it’s been getting over my steering boot along with some around my oil filter.At first I took it to a mechanic and he said it was my steering rack but I found it kinda fishy.After doing some investigating myself for a few minutes I noticed that I believe that the leak is coming from above the passenger side steering rack.Can somebody PLEASE tell me what that part is called that is circled in red.It is located on top of the passenger side boot/passenger side compression arm.
That's just a heat shield over the headers but the valve cover is directly above it. That back passenger cover is REALLY tight when putting the VCs back on, if they didn't unbolt all the EVAP stuff to make more room then there's a really good chance they didn't get the gasket on properly. If you're leaking motor oil that's probably what happened.
Did you have these leaks BEFORE getting the gasket fixed?
No visible leaks just a very oily driver side valve cover but my passenger side was always nice and dry.Now it’s my passenger side that has the problem
Originally Posted by cleric670@gmail
That's just a heat shield over the headers but the valve cover is directly above it. That back passenger cover is REALLY tight when putting the VCs back on, if they didn't unbolt all the EVAP stuff to make more room then there's a really good chance they didn't get the gasket on properly. If you're leaking motor oil that's probably what happened.
Did you have these leaks BEFORE getting the gasket fixed?
Like Cleric said: the passenger valve cover gasket. It's the only place that oil can come from on that side and hit your manifold shield. I would make sure and carb clean everything and let it run for 30 mins re check for leaks. Very hard to find leaks after driving since it gets blown around. But I have learned that oil leaks always go down and towards the rear of the car.
That's just a heat shield over the headers but the valve cover is directly above it. That back passenger cover is REALLY tight when putting the VCs back on, if they didn't unbolt all the EVAP stuff to make more room then there's a really good chance they didn't get the gasket on properly. If you're leaking motor oil that's probably what happened.
Did you have these leaks BEFORE getting the gasket fixed?
thank you you were right! Took my car to a Nissan dealership and they performed a Dye oil leak test and they confirmed it was my valve covers.Turns out it was both and they had told me that my previous mechanic added too much rtv and didn’t seal them up right.They also told me that there was no way to save them as the gaskets will rip during removing them.It was my fault for buying cheap valve covers from amazon for $30 each.They will be putting in OEM covers and gaskets and it’s going to cost me a fortune but oh well I don’t trust anyone around my area with my car so I’m going to trust the Nissan mechanics with it.Thank you so much cleric you really helped!
This is probably too late but you don't need to have the dealer hose you for all new parts and labor. The valve covers weren't your issue, it was they were improperly installed. The inexpensive VC's from Rockauto work great if they're installed correctly. Live and learn I suppose.
I ordered the cheap valve covers from rock auto, installed myself a couple weeks ago. I decided to buy the beck/arnley gaskets, and I'm glad I did; they were much better quality, fit slightly better, and the rivets that held them in place were deeper, holding them tighter in the groove to the valve cover.
G35 Sedan Leather Base, Z1 Plenum Spacer, Z Tube (Currently sold to a friend)
Yes, I always go quality for gaskets and order thru Rockauto. Pick FelPro, Victor Renz, Mahle, or Beck Anrley and look for updated part numbers when available.
Pretty sure I have a small valve cover leak on my driver's side cover near the front timing chain cover. But too small to worry about as replacing you run the risk of creating a bigger one if you don't get it right.
On a related note, I thought the factory valve cover was just RTV all the way around?
The factory covers use a standard rubber oring type gasket. They a extremely hard to get installed correctly. I have even seen valve covers leak after mechanic shops have installed them. The only way I will do it from now on is to rtv the gasket to the cover and bolt it to a spare head or mock engine and let it dry over night. Then it can not fall out of place on install.
