Is my N20 28i valve cover gasket leaking? (Pics inside)

[BMWBig6]

Or is it something else? I can smell something burning but nothing is dripping on the ground. But I did find what looks to be fresh oil on the passenger-side rear of the the cylinder head. Got an oil change a few weeks ago (which is when I first noticed the smell) and I thought maybe the tech might have spilled some oil from the filler neck spout, but I already cleaned off any visible oil (mostly on the front near the timing cover) and I'm not seeing any residual oil anywhere else. The oil pictured below is "new" since I cleaned up the engine.

If this is in fact the valve cover gasket, is this a common failure on an unmodified N20 engine with only 65,000 miles? (seems early to me) Should I go ahead and replace the crank case ventilation components (3 hoses) or anything else in the same area while paying for the gasket replacement labor?

[Gamb1t]

While VCG leaks are common with the n5x engines it is less common for the n20. Based on your images, it does look like there's some leak as it is wet. The smell is likely burnt off oil that dripped onto the header or downpipe.

[m1256]

Check the oil fill cap gasket. The oil fill cap gasket tends to leak over time.

[BMWBig6]

Originally Posted by Gamb1t

While VCG leaks are common with the n5x engines it is less common for the n20. Based on your images, it does look like there's some leak as it is wet. The smell is likely burnt off oil that dripped onto the header or downpipe.

Thank you for your helpful info.

Originally Posted by m1256

Check the oil fill cap gasket. The oil fill cap gasket tends to leak over time.

Thanks, I will check that in the morning too. Do these fail often at this mileage? What am I looking for, a torn o-ring on the lid? Or will it look intact but just no longer be sealing well anymore?

Also, the oil filler neck is up near the front of the engine but the front area appears clean. If the oil fill cap gasket is bad, wouldn't it leave visible drips right below the filler neck and down the timing cover, or would the fan blow that oil from the front to the rear of the valve cover? The filler neck itself is kind of grimy in places, but I assumed it was from careless oil changes.

[m1256]

Mine only had 58,xxx miles and was leaking.

[BMWBig6]

Originally Posted by m1256

Mine only had 58,xxx miles and was leaking.

Ok I'm hoping you're right, and will report back any findings. Thanks for the alternative lead.

[Dalco450]

Mine looks the same. No oil comes from the filling cap.

[BMWBig6]

Well, I was hoping it would be the $30 oil filler cap, but I don't see anything visibly wrong with it (other than being grimy, so I cleaned all of the gunk off before re-tightening it). I also don't see enough fresh oil dripping down the filler neck to be causing the amount of oil I see pooling near the rear of the valve cover either. (And any oil that did drip down the filler neck looks like it would run down the molded gutter and down the front of the engine vs. spilling over the the side of the gutter lip, which appears dry to me). I'm including a photo of the front of the engine and oil spill gutter area too, which is fairly clean/dry compared with the wet corner at the rear of the valve cover (note that I had already wiped down the filler neck by this point, so I could observe future leaks at the oil cap).

So I'm either back to the valve cover gasket, unless one of the 3 crankcase ventilation hoses is bad and dripping oil from above?

[e36addict]

I've replaced dozens of N20 valve cover gaskets. Very common issue.

[BMWBig6]

Thanks everybody. It was in fact a bad valve cover gasket. The valve cover itself seemed fine but the tech went ahead and replaced the vacuum pump o-rings while in there too. She's back on the road now!