Toyota 7MGE valve cover oil leak passenger side

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.

Reply to
Doc
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Doc wrote in news:64da1379-7802-44a4-a0ce- snipped-for-privacy@p5g2000yqj.googlegroups.com:

Are you making sure the gasket and its receiving surfaces are bone-dry before assembling? Any oil film anywhere will allow seepage.

How did you check the valve cover for straightness?

Why don't you tighten the fasteners to their correct torque?

Reply to
Tegger

Turns out it's a moot point. The problem isn't the gaskets, it's the cam seal.

Reply to
Doc

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