01' Pathfinder Oil/Gas Leak?

[Crillion]

I've recently been smelling a fairly faint odor of gas when I've been starting my car and driving around. I checked out my engine today, and I found a few strange things leaking. The smell seemed to come from the left side of the engine, when looking at it with the hood open. One of the things leaking seems to be a leak from something running under the intake manifold? It seems like it could be a hose which is the right size for the fuel line, but the whole line is covered with fuel in a certain spot, which makes it seem like the it would be coming from something above the line? The only thing above the line would be the manifold. The leak is going over most everything, from the engine block to the timing cover and such. Below is a photo of the region where I can see the leak. The hose in question runs into a space under the manifold, but you can't really see it.


The second leaky thing appears to be the fuel injectors on the rail? It's a small leak, but there is dried crud on the rail on that side. However, it doesn't seem to be much actively leaking, so it doesn't really seem like this could be the issue? The smell seems to be more prominent then the small bit of fluid on there.

Thirdly, either the valve cover or the engine head seems to be leaking something, but it seems to be more of oil then anything else?

The concern with the oil situation is that I noticed that the oil smells like gasoline? It also seems like the amount of fluid in the oil pan has been increasing over time, because now it's a bit above the high line. The oil has two colors, which are fairly close to the two fluids shown in the image below. Any idea of why this is the case?

[EdBwoy]

Hello and welcome aboard.

Getting straight to work:
1. Valve cover gasket leaks happen. It's usually just oil that runs down the heads, to the manifold and you'll smell it when it cooks.

2. Oil level.
Just to verify - you're checking it while the vehicle is at the same incline (flat), at approx the same engine and ambient temperature, right?
What do you mean 2 colors btw - drained the oil and it separated into 2 layers?

I think it's possible that the engine has a non-auto oil in it, like an additive. How much of the vehicle history do you have?
Also, a leaky injector might constantly leak fuel that ends up washing down the cylinder walls into your oil sump. Do you hear any backfiring when the engine runs especially at startup?

3. Damp/ wet hose
That is the nature of leaks. Most hoses end up wicking fuel all over, so it doesn't exactly require anything to drip from above.
But... I need to verify, although I seem to remember all VQ35 engines have a rigid metal tube for the injectors. The flex rubber ends at the damper or so.
Try to focus on this area, see if it is close to a particular injector.

4. Crud on the injector on the rail.
Is this on the metal tube or did you mean where the injector goes into the intake?
On the intake it's not abnormal. Excessive crud on one cylinder versus others would point to a bad O-ring somewhere. However, these rarely fail unless someone messed with them.

[Crillion]

Hello and welcome aboard.

Getting straight to work:
1. Valve cover gasket leaks happen. It's usually just oil that runs down the heads, to the manifold and you'll smell it when it cooks.

2. Oil level.
Just to verify - you're checking it while the vehicle is at the same incline (flat), at approx the same engine and ambient temperature, right?
What do you mean 2 colors btw - drained the oil and it separated into 2 layers?

I think it's possible that the engine has a non-auto oil in it, like an additive. How much of the vehicle history do you have?
Also, a leaky injector might constantly leak fuel that ends up washing down the cylinder walls into your oil sump. Do you hear any backfiring when the engine runs especially at startup?

3. Damp/ wet hose
That is the nature of leaks. Most hoses end up wicking fuel all over, so it doesn't exactly require anything to drip from above.
But... I need to verify, although I seem to remember all VQ35 engines have a rigid metal tube for the injectors. The flex rubber ends at the damper or so.
Try to focus on this area, see if it is close to a particular injector.

4. Crud on the injector on the rail.
Is this on the metal tube or did you mean where the injector goes into the intake?
On the intake it's not abnormal. Excessive crud on one cylinder versus others would point to a bad O-ring somewhere. However, these rarely fail unless someone messed with them.

1. I am certain that there is a valve cover gasket leak on the passenger side of the engine, but this car is so beat up it honestly would be cheaper to throw more oil into it until the engine dies, then buy a new engine or car.

2. Yes, the vehicle is more or less flat. I let the car cool for about an hour or so after driving it, which made the engine cool enough to touch, but still a little warm. When I pulled the dipstick, it was somewhat two layers, with the dark color on the inside and the light on the outside. I'm certain that there are no (intentional) oil additives, as I had this last oil change done at my local, independent mechanic who I trust, and has replaced most everything under the car.

I honestly don't have much of the history. What should I be looking for in the history?

The injector thing is possible. The vehicle idles very rough before it warms up, then when driving or when idling after it warms up, it sounds more or less normal.

3. I've been doing a bit of research, and I believe that the hose which is covered in crud may be part of the PCV Valve system. The only issue is, I don't see how this can be making the issue?

4. I do notice a little bit of crud (maybe) on the rail on the left side. However, it's so little that I don't really believe it could be that much of an issue. It seems to primarily be the back injector or two on the passenger side as seen below. Not to mention, it seems to be more of the crud that's under the supposed PCV valve or leaking out of the valve cover gasket than fuel?
CX
cX
XX