Oil seepage

[GordonB]

I'm getting a very slight seepage (no drips) from the alternator support cover.

It occurs in the area where the two bolts that fasten the 'shark fin' are mounted. My past two valve adjusts I removed the fin to remove the belt cover, but on installation just hand tightened the bolts with an allen wrench of course ( I did not relize their importance at the time). I'm quessing this caused a failure at the gasget? Will using a torque wrench and retightening at the spec'fd value stop the seepage? or is this one of those things that once oil gets past the gasget, it always will?

[Ken H.]

The alt. cover does not serve as a gasket. If there is seepage out the bottom of it, something behind it is leaking. The oil return tube is the most likely candidate, and a pretty straight forward repair. A front main seal would be another possibility, and that's no fun at all.