S52 supercharged valve cover leak

[davidflrs]

I have an e36 m3 with m50 manifold and vf 350 supercharger running 6psi.

i installed the kit and after using the car at boost was getting an oil leak from the valve cover onto the headers and smoking. I put a new valve cover gasket cleaned all surfaces and reapplied oil resistant sealant on the half moons in rear and seams where vanos is. Torqued bolts again. Still having leaks.

The leaks were coming from the center of the valve cover and dripping down onto the headers. I then removed my ccv and installed a catch can in between the valve cover and the intake pipe on the supercharger so the valve cover still sees vacuuum. The catch can has the option to vent to air via a filter but I have that blocked off. I am still getting a leak under boost and only have oil pooling at cyl 1 an 6 right under the ignition coils.

I removed the valve cover to find any cracks and can’t see any. I did find that the gasket doesn’t seem to seal around the opening at 360 degrees. Has anybody come across this and have a fix? I ordered all new rubber grommets and washers and new gasket arriving tomorrow. Should I use more sealant around the opening to make the gasket seal 360 degrees?

I included pics of the gasket that goes in the center of the valve cover where the plugs go. The first and last hole (cyl 1 and 6) have notches built in to them. I feel like this is where the leaks are coming from.. any ideas?

[davidflrs]

Anybody experience anything similar or have any ideas?

[davidflrs]

Update: Incase somebody comes across similar issues in the future

Before I installed another new gasket and new grommets and washers I soaked the valve cover in water and de greased it again. Tried to hold water in it upside down and found a crack near cyl1.

Ordering a new valve cover now

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[DSTX17]

good test, thanks for the tip

[Z-Thrizzle]

I'm having a similar issue. Replaced the vcg and had it leaking again. Changed venting for the crankcase from atmosphere to vacuum via pre-supercharger intake pipe. I wanted to test how much vacuum the crankcase receives under idle condition by connecting a vacuum gauge to this intake pipe. The gauge remained at 0 even with some revs at idle. Not sure if this is normal. Maybe there will be vacuum with more air flow under boost. Will need to get a longer hose to use the vacuum gauge while driving.

Good idea with that water test. I may go ahead and order a new valve cover for myself. I won't be surprised if mine is warped or has a crack.

[davidflrs]

Do you have the leak in an isolated area? Or just where the gasket is, between valve cover and cylinder head?

My leak was dripping down onto the headers since the engine is slightly tilted that direction. I changed the gasket and it helped a little but still saw smoke from oil dripping onto the header. I was pretty convinced my ccv failed and was allows the crankcase to see boost. I’m still waiting for valve cover to come in so I can test the catch can solves that issue. Try to see if your leak is in a particular area and really stare at it with flash light and magnifying glass from the underside. My crack was really hard to see. I had the valve cover off twice to replace gaskets and looked both times and couldn’t see the crack. I guess the cracks are larger when the valve cover is torqued down and must flex somehow to extend the crack. If I try to gently flex the cover with my hands I can see the crack expand slightly. Check for a crack again. I much rather find a crack and replace the cover so I know the source and fix is done right. Fingers crossed that when I get the cover and install it solves my issue.

[Z-Thrizzle]

I need to clean everything off an double check where there oil is coming from. It seems to be all around the edge of the valve cover. The oil line connecting to the vanos is also leaking. So the leak could be coming from there and traveling around. I need to replace the o-rings there and stop that leak first.