Greetings all. Thanks for reading through my tale...it's a little long.

About 18 months ago oil started leaking from the valve cover resulting in smoke as oil drips burned on the hot engine block. A mechanic advised that the leak was from a seal located on the rear surface of the valve cover and it (and gasket) was replaced.

About 10 months later my regular mechanic noticed the problem and thought that the valve cover may be a distorted or a little chipped somewhere. He retightened it down.

Some months later, during a regular service visit, he suggested I get a new oil cap as the oil spew seemed to come from that area.

I got a new cap but eventually leakage resumed. My mechanic recommends that I replace the valve cover.

At the last service visit he put silicon putty around the cap area as a stop-gap measure and mentioned, just as I was departing, that pressure was building up in the engine...which apparently is a bad thing. He said that the engine could last for "3 months or 3 years...who knows?"

Last week I took the car to another mechanic recommended by a friend to see if I could get a reasonable quote on replacing the valve cover. HOwever he too noticed the pressure which was evidenced by a slight sound of escaping pressure when the oil cap was removed - the sound being reminiscent of the slight gasp sort of sound the removal of a radiator cap sometimes makes.

This mehanic pretty much seemed to think that this meant that there was some unknown internal proble that likely meant that the engine would have to be replaced.

The car continues to run fine.

An light shed on this situation would be gratefully appreciated. Note, tomorrow I am taking her in to AAA for a diagnostic check. I really like this car and would like to keep it going.

Many thanks