I went to the mountains this weekend for some snowboarding an after climbing the 1370 feet to the bottom of the hill i smelled burning oil. At first i didnt think anything of it, but then i just thought id check, and it was mine from the front outer corner of the front gasket. But it only leaked while climbing so the rest of the trip it was fine just the three times iI went up to the mountain. Anyone else have the valve covers leak, just wondering, I know why they leaked while climbing only , I just thought id ask.

It'* pretty common.

I'd think your back one was leaking if you were climbing.

Its possible that the rear one is too but the front is for sure i see the somoke rising when i shut the motor off and the oil on the cover a little and the head but ill check it out and post what i found and thanks for the info.

should i go with a gm gasket or what is best

I replaced mine with Felpros at 70,000 miles. I'm now at 161,000 miles and they're not leaking. So, it seems the Felpros have/are holding up better than the GM gaskets.

are the gaskets the same front and rear because im looking at a pic that says they are not

see here

No, they are the same. That pic is just showing the top one turned inside out.

I just purchased a set for my '01 SSEi. I just returned from the garage after opening the box. I was curious. My set looks just like the picture posted by 1fatcat. I tried turning one inside out but the way fatcat1 shows them is the way they go.

Excuse me. I meant n/a white bonne, not 1fatcat, displayed the same design I purchased. Both gaskets are very different. I guess I'll find out this weekend.