Engine · important priority
Valve Cover Gasket Replacement Cost & Pricing
Replace the rubber gasket that seals the valve cover to the cylinder head. A leaking gasket causes oil to burn on the exhaust manifold (creating smoke and burning smell) and can drip onto ignition components, causing misfires.
Typical Valve Cover Gasket Replacement cost
$120–$720, with an average estimate of $320 before vehicle-specific adjustments.
What to expect
Difficulty: easy. Typical labor time: 1–4 hours.
Mechanic's tip
The burning oil smell when the engine is hot is the most common complaint — oil dripping on the exhaust manifold or catalytic converter smokes and smells. V6 and V8 engines have two valve covers; if one gasket is leaking, replace both since labor is mostly the same. While the cover is off, inspect the spark plug tube seals as well — they often leak at the same time and are cheap to replace together.