Oil Leak Help

[sethmac]

My 1999 Mazda B2500 has developed an oil leak. It appears to happen after it has run for awhile (I smelled oil when I arrived at work).

Upon examination, it appears the leak is occuring at the seal above the where the spark plugs (see pictures)...it appears to be worse towards the rear and back...any thoughts on the severity of the issue and how much it will set me back to fix?

 

[TrueTarzan]

My assumption based on the pictures would be the valve cover gasket. From what i'm understanding form lurking here is that is is a common problem with the 4cyls. Mine does it off and on but never enough to make me worried about it. Some people suggest that just tightening down the bolts on the valve cover fixes it or usually helps. The permanent fix would be to replace the valve cover gasket. The intake tube and the throttle body have to come off for this but that's two screws and 4 bolts.

 

[Kenneth S]

When you pull the valve cover off make sure the oil drain back hole is not choked up with gunk (these engines have a lot of oil going to the head). But mostly is just the valve cover gasket has seen better days.