I have verified a small leak at the rear of the head of my 05 Sorento. Its just a small intermittent drip, but its dripping directly onto the exhaust causing a strong burning rubber smell and smoke. It's 100% leaking out of this plug and NOT leaking from the valve cover gasket which has already recently been replaced.


The drip is a low pressure leak so I'm considering some sort of hi-temp gasket type sealant as a temporary fix.


I do plan on pulling the cam and replacing the seal very soon, but just need to get everything prepared to do a timing belt replacement since that has to come off anyway.


I've attached some pics of the area. Any suggestions on what type of sealant would be a good semi-permanent temporary fix...something that will hold up yet wont seize the plug in place.

Thanks in advance.

Hmm... I'm wondering if you can use some kind of suction cup to remove the plug, clean the head area and the plug, then apply oil resistant RTV to it. I'm thinking like a radar detector sized suction cup, or maybe a small one used in paintless dent repair.

I've never really had good luck with attempting to seal the outside of an area like that, but I guess its worth a shot. Jeep owners sometimes use tampons to soak up slow leaks... so if you can squeeze one in there, it could also be an option.