Have an 89 Toyota Cressida with a 7MGE DOHC 6 engine. For a while I've had a chronic, persistent oil leak on the passenger valve cover. On the driver side, I hand tighten the valve cover seat of the pants, no particular special effort, no problems. On the driver side I can't get it to seal. Where I always notice it is at the front by the hump for the cam shaft end. At first I thought it was oil getting past the distributor but it's definitely coming from the junction of the valve cover gasket. Causes smoking and the loose oil eventually destroys hoses, spark plug boots.
Tried 3 new gaskets, no luck. Various degrees of tightness, nothing seems to make a difference. The tube for the PCV ports isn't clogged so I don't think it's some pressure buildup issue. I can't detect any warping or cracking of the valve cover. I've never run into this before.
Any suggestions?
Thanks.