My valve cover gasket has started to allow some oil to seep through. I'm trying to figure out if this is symptomatic of something else or if the gasket is just dead...

For the past 10k miles I've noticed a very slight amount of oil pool on the bottom of the 2 right, front-side, valve cover bolts. It was like that for a while until recently when I did a cruise on the highway with some other local mazda members where I admitedly pushed it a bit. The next day I noticed a bunch of oil that had seeped down from the front of the valve cover, down the head, to the exhaust ports. I didn't lose much oil because the level is about the same. But it has me worried that there was an apparent sudden build in pressure. I've wiped the oil off since and notice more oil seeps out then before, usually noticeable after a day of pushing the car. Should I be worried?

 

Just replace the valve cover gasket and the PCV valve. I have replaced mine on my 1996 twice in 182,000 miles.

 

You absolutely want to be sure to replace the PCV valve as ES suggests, as this can be a contributing factor to valve cover gasket leaks.
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