So in mid July I replaced the valve cover gaskets. .cleaned everything as best as I could. .used Victor gaskets. The driver one was leaking a little in the rear but over all not bad. .the passenger side was leaking everywhere including the spark plug tubes. ..but mainly in the rear. .everything has been dry but last night I noticed both sides moist mainly the passenger side. ..bolts are still tight and bolt seals dry. .is this just the norm? ?

 

It should not leak any oil from those gaskets. Sounds like a warped valve cover. I had this issue a couple years ago - 3 gasket changes didn't fix it, but a new valve cover fixed it. There is a possibility it could be from some aftermarket gaskets according to my mechanic, but if it's leaking really bad a new cover is only 2-300 bucks (depending on the model and side), and it comes with new oe rubber.

 

They are sometimes cracked from over tightening, and if you didn't follow the proper sequence and/or torque that could cause a leak.

 

I was careful to go in the correct order and not overtighten..it hadn't appeared anyone else had been in there. .i looked closely for cracks and didn't see any. ..I'd think it there was a problem with the cover it would have shown sooner then 4 months later. .it's not really leaking just moist there. .my wife does a lot of sustained highway driving as well.

 

The cracks could be very very tiny (as would the bend if warped), and it would leak only small amounts of oil. As long as it's not a lot, and you don't have vacuum leaks, you could just leave it I would think.

 

Did you ever remedy the leak? I have had two X308 Jaguars and both seem to leak from the rear of the driver side (LHS) valve/cam cover. I changed the gasket on my first X308 several times and even tried sealant.

My current X308 was leaking badly when I bought it so I redid both sides the first day. I used the Victor gaskets as well, but used a generous supply of RTV because I did NOT want this one leaking. No problems for about 4 to 5 thousand miles and then....again....the rear of the drivers side gasket started leaking.

Just today I finally spent the money and bought a Genuine Jaguar gasket for the drivers side and installed it. I used NO RTV, except in the two spots where it's called for. The gasket cost three times as much as the Victor, and that's from a discount source online. I am waiting for the RTV to dry for a couple of hours and then I'll go for a spin.

The gasket quality is the only variable I have not yet accounted for, so if it in fact resolves my problem I will let you know.

Good luck

 

Did you replace the ISOLATORS?

I think there are 14 per cam cover.
They provide the 'downforce' on the cover.

They get crushed over time and provide less pressure on the gasket(s).

bob

 

I did always replace the isolators in the past. I did not this time because the ones on there are only a few months and a few thousand miles old. They still felt like new rubber.

 

From my personal experience, the aftermarket gaskets leak after a short time and can only be corrected using the the original Jaguar gaskets and spark plug boss seals.

 

Wow! I asked the same exact question some years ago with similar answers, but as I discovered, not all of those little grommets or "isolators" are created equal. As an update to that earlier thread, mine are still holding.

 

I did replace all the isolators and torqued them correctly. .I looked pretty close for cracks and saw none. .from what I could tell no one had been in there before. ..at this point I'm ignoring it. .if it's leaking it's minor with just minor wetting of the area. .there's a chance it's old oil from before as that area was pretty dirty and I couldn't clean it that well. .if it is leaking it's not from the bolts but where the cover meets the head. ..I'll be curious if the genuine jaguar gasket seems any better. .

 

After I installed the Jaguar gasket I went for a spirited 5 mile drive; cover was smoking in the same place. I loosened and re-torqued the cam cover bolts with less torque and went for another 5 mile spirited drive; no smoke this time.

Not a definitive result, but until next week when I have time to drive it again that's all the results I have.

 

Hmm interesting. .I didn't think I had over tighten them but maybe. .the other thing is there's no smoke or odour of oil so maybe mine isn't really a leak. .I could definitely smell oil before. .keep us posted