my check engine light just came on and i have some oil on the block of my engine, a friend told me that the valve cover gasket needs resealed. could that be why my check engine light is on?
I changed my vavle cover gasket over the weekend and my check engine light had been on....it is now off. That is the only repairs I have done. I was informed it could be my catalytic convertor causing the check engine light so i have ordered that. However with the light off.....idk lol
the oil may need to be changed check your water and transmission fluid check the brake fluid, have someone to put a new gasket in that is where you may be loosing oil
I assume you checked the oil level. You can go to Auto Zone and have engine codes checked for free to see if you have a problem. I can't see how a leaky valve cover would cause the check engine light to come on unless it fouled some sensor but then again I'm no mechanic.
Most likely if you see oil on the block you need to re-do the head gasket which sucks but the valve cover gasket is usually not the reason for most leaks, could be at least i would start there most new cars have a rubber gasket which can be re-used if you have to open the cover. But yeah this can turn the light on depending on what car you have but for sure. Replace the valve cover gasket and see what happens, they are usually like $30.00 bucks or less.
Oil drips downward, so the leak is higher than you see the puddle. The valve cover gasket is about the highest up you can have an oil leak. Changing that is not all that difficult. I doubt the check engine light is on for that though. There's no sensor for a cruddy engine. Like the lady said, have the OBD II code retrieved so you can pinpoint the problem. A lot of oil can leak from a valve cover. A head gasket can leak oil under pressure and if that's where it's leaking from the repair is much more difficult and the reason for a head gasket leak is usually tons of miles and often warpage of the head from it not being properly torqued or having been overheated from a coolant boilover and continued engine operation under that condition. If the head gasket is blown from rough service and extreme mileage, there can be low compression accompanying- and possibly a check engine light will come on because of changed emmission.
