Oil leak, rear valve cover area 2008 2.7l

I have a 2008 2.7L Taco. It had a noticeable oil smell when driving up an incline. The valve cover also had lots of oil on top of it....so, I changed the valve cover gaskets and used silicone on the little corners as recommended. The first time driving it I smelled oil when going uphill. On popping the hood there is oil on top of the valve cover where the coils go in. Is there a trick to installing these without leaking? Is there a common spot that would leak oil all over the top? Do I need to go back and silicone the whole thing to death? Your thoughts are welcome!

 

You say you changed the valve cover gaskets, but IIRC the spark plug seals are integral to the cover and can't be changed. A whole new cover (not to much $$) is the only way to correct leaking plug seals.

 

What if there is no oil in the spark plug ports?

 

So the gasket set I bought for my 2.7 was fel-pro and it had the outer gasket and one that ran all four plug holes. I did mine in 2018 no leaks. Did you check your cover for cracks?
Maybe the pcv?

 

When you say on top, do you mean above the spark plug wells?
Or down in the plug well, where you can only see it with the coils removed?

If it’s on top, Check the PCV and any hoses near the back of the head.

 

The gasket I installed was for both the outer and inner sections...Oil was all over the top of the valve cover center area. I didn't remove the spark plug boots to look for welling, but oil wasn't present in the spark plug coil chambers during installation. If I can't see anything obvious from the PCV I will have to pull it again and check for cracks. Thanks guys!

 

Sooooo....I pulled the valve cover again...after using silicone the rear of the seal no longer leaks, but I have found that I didn't put enough silicone down for the center gasket because I see oil leaking from the bolt holes. So, if you are doing this job on yours, use plenty of silicone the first time on everything. I will try to redo it again when I have time. Hopefully I can save the new gasket.

 

That third pic was my attempt to just goop the daylights out of the leaky bolt areas, but alas, I will need to pull it all over again....

 

Maybe I had a stinky new gasket to begin with....should've gone with name brand...

 

Update: redid with new gasket. I made sure I used the right amount of RTV Sealant, ¼” bead, especially in the center gasket spark plug port area. Worked great. Learn from me and do it right the first time.