I guess in 4 years of driving the car daily (55K Miles) I never noticed it before. Only now that it has been sitting in the garage do I smell it. After 2 weeks I start the car and smell it.... a very light smell. It doesn't seem like a major seepage. I checked under the car on the floor and didn't see any fluids.

Correct me if I am wrong.... but I may just wait to fix this problem since it is minor. I may wait until it gets worse. I am afraid that if I fix it the problem will just come back anyway after a couple thousand miles. I still have 2 years left on my warranty anyway. Anyone agree with me? Did anyone have the seal replaced and the leak came back? If I can avoid bringing it to the dealer I will!

 

I like a clean engine comparment and would fix it as soon as convienent. the valve cover gasket is not hard to replace. I have heard that the V6 is glued down with no actual gasket? The V8 I am working on has black neoprene rubber gaskets.

 

Had mine replaced a year ago and no leaks so far with 4-5K miles after the new gasket. This is a common problem with these engines and you may not see a leak due to the large splash shield on the bottom on the engine.

 

I am assuming it is the valve cover.... I guess I need to inspect it further. Does anyone here get that slight smell if their car sits too long?

 

Found out my roadster has a slight leak on the front portion of the valve cover this past weekend.
Tightened the bolts a bit. No more leak.
Remember having to do this on the coupe before also.

 

Thanks for the tip! I did some web searching and read that you could try tightening the bolts. It is good to know it worked in your case. I will try that and be very gentle without putting too much force on it. I never noticed the smell before when I drove it everyday... so the leak must not be too bad.

 

Are there any specific instructions on the amount of torque to put on them?

Thanks.

 

there is a rubber gasket under the valve cover where it bolts to the head, the small access panel on top of the valve cover (where most leak from) is done with a mercedes rtv. do not crank on those small aluminum bolts as they will often snap off on you

if your under warranty still, bring it in and have them replce both complete valve covers along with the gaskets on the oil fill neck.

if your out of warranty we do an exchange on valve covers with the oil shedding flavor of the teflon coating which prevents the oil from clinging to the top of the cover and keeps the oil where we want it.

 

Common in this car, pour oil thru filter hole when changing oil, this prevents oil from sitting next to leaking gasket.

 

Can you explain your logic? I must have missed it.