Oil leak above oil filter

Forum: 

Hi. I have an oil leak that I thought was coming from the sump pan and on removing the pan I saw that the RTV was practically non-existent. I cleaned everything up, lay some fresh RTV around the flange and replaced it after 2-3 hours, letting the RTV cure a little.This morning after 22 hours of leaving the car alone, I changed the oil filter, air filter and the added fresh 5w/30 engine oil then started the engine. Oil poured onto the floor! Yikes! No fix there then. I turned the engine off and had a look under the car whilst my wife restarted the engine for just enough time for me to see the oil was running down to the left and above the oil filter, covering the sump pan bolts. I spent over 1 hour or more trying to remove the cover where the plugs are to make room to see just where the leak was coming from. I thought it might be the oil pressure switch, but I have no idea where that is and to be realistic, the oil light goes out after starting the engine, so I guess it might not be the switch. I welcome any thoughts/advice on this problem, as I have just spent quite a lot cash recently on two new tyres, front suspension shock absorbers and top mounts, wheel alignment, wheel balancing, new tyre valves, and hours of hard work for seemingly no result! Lol! I would also like to know how to remove the valve cover as I suspect this could be the problem as well. Thanks in advance for any assistance!

Valve cover oil seal

Hi. As nobody replied I had another go at removing my rocker or valve cover and after a lot more dismantling than I'd done previously, (mostly wiring and associated brackets) I managed to get the valve cover off. I found that there is a rubber seal set in a groove all around the cover and I have ordered a new one. It should arrive in time for me to put everything back together in time for my trip to Manchester next Monday! Further to my last comment I found out that after all my efforts to cure the oil leak by replacing the valve cover gasket and RTV sealant on the sump the problem was in fact a pin hole in the oil pipe that runs from the top of the engine and underneath to a point near the oil filter! Wish I have removed the bumper in the first place as I did this today and found the real culprit of the leak. Oh well, we live and learn eh? Lol!

Schaller