Is there any reason a properly installed valve cover gasket would still leak from the front? I’ve been chasing oil leaks on my 01 Civic and have replaced cam seal & crank seal (twice), oil pump o ring, oil pan seal, and valve cover gasket like 8 times so I know how to do the gasket. I follow the service manual and torque down to the proper spec, in the proper order, clean everything surgically, nothing caught while tightening down, and put Honda bond in the corners & assembled quickly before it dried. Bolt threads are all good. And yet… it leaks. Been using Felpro each time. Should I replace it AGAIN by OEM procedure or is it time to switch to old school mechanic tricks and just load it up with rtx? I’ll add that my mechanic did that last time…loaded it up with rtx all the way around the perimeter. Last time I changed it I spent time carefully scraping it all out of the groove, which was a PITA, to get it back to normal. It usually doesn't leak after I do it so maybe just got a bad one?

 

I use isopropanol to clean my surfaces. OEM is ABSOLUTELY better material than felpro or the other brands I've used. But, I've never had one leak. That VTC sensor housing though--@$#%*@$!

 

FelPro valve cover gaskets are F#$%ing garbage !!! Get a genuine OE Honda gasket and install as you have stated and chances are really good that your problems go away.

 

Maybe its my horrible luck on D series motors, but I had a tough time with the valve cover gasket leaking vs doing the job on B series valve cover gaskets.

But maybe try lower torque value instead and see if it doesn't leak?