Valve cover seeping? Exhaust leak?

[sapphire black]

Hey all - hope you guys can help out with this diagnosis.

Recently got a an AA EL midpipe installed. Loving the sound, but am pretty sure there is an exhaust leak somewhere. When slowing to a stop, i hear a blowoff sound coming from under the car.

I’ve also been noticing a smell - could be completely unrelated to the midpipe though. Smells like tires after a hard drive in the mountains, but much less strong. The smell occurs when I come to a stop, but fades out after a minute or so. Thought it was brakes since it comes from the front wheel wells but rotors dont seem too hot. The smell will also happen on my first or second stop of the drive, so well before the engine has time to get hot - that made me think it might be a belt.

I popped the hood to check and I can also smell it faintly there. I checked around the valve cover (I’m at 57K miles on a 2018) and didn’t see any serious oil build up, but then I noticed the front passenger side of the cover has a thin oil film on it, and looking closely I see what might be oil seepage at the edge of the valve cover. I thought the valve cover was more likely to leak towards the rear though. The oil film on the engine cover is definitely new because I changed air filters maybe 3k miles ago and it was definitely not there. Seeping seems minor though and again, might not be related to the smell. The engine is completely clean below the seep area so it definitely has not progressed to a drip just yet.

Anyway, I’m all over the place. I’m pretty much a beginner when it comes to this stuff. All help is greatly appreciated, pics included below:

[hC1001]

Looks like 2 different issues.
1. You need to replace your valve cover gasket. Some ppl opt to replace valve cover at the same time.

2. A shop can smoke test the exhaust to check for leaks. When you got the EL midpipe installed, did you also replace the exhaust gasket rings that attach to downpipes? They must be replaced.

[sapphire black]

Originally Posted by hC1001

Looks like 2 different issues.
1. You need to replace your valve cover gasket. Some ppl opt to replace valve cover at the same time.

2. A shop can smoke test the exhaust to check for leaks. When you got the EL midpipe installed, did you also replace the exhaust gasket rings that attach to downpipes? They must be replaced.

Thanks for the feedback.

For 1, it’s definitely leaning that way. Will probably monitor and diagnose when I get a chance. Does not seem urgent just yet, right?

For 2, I did replace the dp gaskets, so could be one of the other clamps that’s loose.

If anyone else had similar symptoms I’d love to hear your experience.