Dave,

I remember a couple of years back, we had a member that was told the same thing. To replace the whole valve cover!

I'm sure that it is only the common breather cover leak. I've now done 3 of them. The latest just this morning! If a dealership does it, they will remove the leaking cover, wipe off the surfaces, and stick it back together.

I wish I had taken photos. Sorry.

Not good enough. Once the breather cover is removed, I very carefully remove all traces of old sealant and degrease both the breather and valve cover surfaces that will be touching the sealant. And I mean really degrease. And remove the old sealant from the screw-hole areas, too.

Fill the groove in the breather cover with sealant and strike it off flush like screeding concrete. Just fill the groove, no more. Apply sealant around the screw holes. Just look carefully at how it fits together. Don't use too much-it will just come loose. Inside the engine. You are supposed to replace the M5 screws as part of the service procedure. Do it. They are aluminum and I would be very leery of using them again. McMaster-Carr carries them.

M5 X 16mm long. McMaster-Carr #92855A516
The torque spec is quite low, on the order of 10 in-lbs. If that much.
I also add lockwashers to this assembly. McMaster-Carr #90895A027

Be very careful not to plug the very small holes in the breather cap leading to the hose barbs. Those are our version of Positive Crankcase Ventilation vales. No valves, just properly-sized holes. It works fine so long as no non-synthetic oil is used. It will condense and thicken-clogging the holes. Just like in the VC's I just re-conditioned for a friend.

Please chime in, anyone, if you have more info.