So I was stopped at a traffic light this Monday, saw a little smoke creeping out of the gap between the front fender & bonnet (not much; but enough to be visible). Temperature was OK, but there was a noticeable smell, so I very gingerly drove the remaining 5 minutes to my home, stopped in the driveway, and popped the hood. Nothing visible... hmm. This morning I drove it again, noticed the smell (but did not see smoke), and thanks to better light and having a flashlight, I think I have found the source:


Now, I've not had oil drip into any parking spots where the vehicle spends time, and I've not needed to top up any oil since the last change (maybe a thousand miles ago) so I can't imagine this is much of a leak, but still, I wanted to get a feel of how much of an issue this looks like to the learned crowd here at JaguarForums. Big bad leak? Do I need to just re-apply torque to the bolts?

 

I would have to see if I could get a 1/2 turn out of it.
Not a terrible job to replace the whole gasket, if you have a god back.

 

I suggest not to underestimate the problem. i have the same issue wih my XK8 and dont got it solved despite at least three tries. It is the left bank, rear left corner of the valve cover and oil drips from the heat shield on to the header. Dont like the smell if it gets burned.

I changed the gasket twice, bought it from two different suppliers. After that i applied a small amount of heat resistant silicon seal around the area on the cylinder head. At last i investigated the valve cover for cracks or bendings, but it seems to be in perfect order.
I like to point out that i have done the work every time exactly as pescribed in the workshop manual, tightend the bolts in the right order and with the prescribed torque.

The issue occurs again steadily after a few hundred kilometers an i'm courious if someone got it solved.

 

The trouble is our plastic valve covers can have really small cracks and these gaps only open when engine is hot. The black colour makes oil stains tough to spot too.

Not cheap to replace either!

 

I've developed the same oil leak from my driver's side valve cover. I haven't replaced the gasket yet. If you ever solve it, please do share as I do not wish to replace the gasket and apply RTV every few hundred miles.

 

UPDATE:
I decided to put the car on jacks and take a look underneath. First thing I found was this (took a photo with my phone):


Couldn't really see much, so I decided to break out my $18 eBay ChinaScope
These first few images are from the underside of that bolt I photographed in the original post (between the block and - is that a heat shield?), with the camera crammed down in the tiny little gap. So the camera is pointed from the top of the engine bay, down into the engine compartment.


The rest of these photos are from crawled beneath the car, up into the engine compartment.



So again, I'm not really sure what the point of origination is from - I did try to get a half turn out of that bolt but it was tight. It did not budge even a millimeter.
The car isn't losing much oil - I haven't had to top it up, and the only clue anything's awry is that if I open the hood after the car has been run for a while, there is a smell of smoke (occasionally faintly visible) emanating from the rear US drivers' side of the block. Anyone got any thoughts on what the source of this leak is, and its severity?

 

I have a similar problem with my 99 XK8. It leaks oil that then burns on the exhaust: smelly and smoky. (I push the recirculate button on the climate control until it beeps, then the burnt oil smell does not enter the cockpit.)
I had also installed the cam cover gaskets exactly as noted in the service manual, but I still have leaks.
Look up "part load breather" a part on mine that needs to have a very specific cleaning process performed regularly. I don't know if you Jaguar has that, but it is worth investigating since that breather, if clogged, will create pressure that can cause the oil leak we are talking about..

 

Go easy on those cam cover bolts. Torque setting is only 9-11Nm.

Favourite must be the cam cover gasket. I would replace it together with the spark plug hole seals. Renew the isolator washers (NCA2575CA x14 per side) as it is these that hold the cam cover snug to the head. All this rubber bakes over time and loses the ability to form an effective seal.

The leak is more of an annoyance than a danger as you're not losing any significant amounts,

 

Exactly. Tightening the bolts any more than specified on these is counterproductive as that won't clamp it down any further. The bolts only go in so far. Its those little rubber washers that provide the clamping force and they've gone flat and hard over time. The leaks sometime reappear soon after a gasket replacement because some of the replacement rubber washers are not quite exactly the same shore hardness spec as the originals or may be too thin or something. I had some of unknown brand that came with a tensioner kit that were too soft, very spongy. They leaked and at the time I didn't know why, but I ordered a Felpro set to try again. Turned out those little rubber washers in the new set were considerably firmer rubber and that did the job.

 

probably that is exactly the point. i was wondering about the function of these rubber rings because they are obvious not in place for sealing reasons.

but you are right, they provide the down force for the valve cover. i will give it another try with new rubber rings on the bolts. thanks for the clue.

 

Pretty sure that the source is the valve cover gasket. And the bolts are always tight because of the tin spacers.