[Xlynn81x]

I noticed a smell as we pulled into the drive yesterday and when I opened the hood there was a little smoke coming up from the back of the engine. It was running fine, no engine light or rough idling. I checked the fluids and everything looked ok. Any ideas what might be leaking back there? This car has been a trooper but I fear she’s almost done for. I’ve done ALOT of fixing her the last couple of years but at 220,000 I’m about to give up after this…

 

[672aq]

Looks like a leaking valve cover gasket. I'd degrease/powerwash that area, then take it for a couple drives to get a better look at where the leak is coming from.

If it's just a little leak from where that bolt is, snug it down just a bit (1/4 turn) to see if that stops it.

If that doesn't help, and it is leaking from the gasket, just replace it. Cheap part, kinda a pain to replace, dirty job, but DIYer do-able.

*You'll want to get the torque on these bolts spot on, or you risk another leak and/or squishing the gasket out of position.


—On another note, from the pictures, it looks like the heat shield (past the O² sensor) is touching the exhaust. You may want to check than and see why. Having the two dissimilar metals touching, with the high heat, will accelerate rusting. 👍