Leaky engine

So my seeping timing cover leak has turned into something a little more. It is now leaving spots in the driveway. My question is, has anyone done this before and is there a write up for it? I had searched online but i didn't happen to find anything. What is needed to do it and how difficult is it? Any advice will help and any suggestions would help. Oh and btw I'm way beyond the warranty.

 

If it's the valve cover gaskets and if it's anything like my 1997 4runner it shouldn't be too hard.

 

I couldn't tell from your info if your truck is a 4 or 6 cylinder. big difference in timing covers, that's why I ask.

 

it's an 8-10 hour job to replace <$100 in parts...

literally have to tear the top of the engine down and pull most everything off the front of the engine...

i have the issue to, but i plan on having my buddy at toyota do the work for me...it's a 8-10 hour job for him, so outside of the shop, i'd expect more than that.

 

Depends on the engine as I mentioned. Labor time for a V6 according to Mitchell is 12.2 hours, which yes, can be done in 10. The 4 cylinder 4X4 however has a labor time of 19.0 hours, and is quite extensive as removal of the oil pan (or at least lifting of motor off mounts and lowering oil pan enough to access oil pickup) takes a bit of work and time. If you are experienced enough you can remove and reinstall the timing cover of the 4cyl without replacing the head gasket.

 

Yeah. The actual procedure by Toyota calls for removal of the engine to replace the timing cover.

 

Mine is a 6 cylinder. Yea I starting to get annoyed with the drip and I'm thinking its gonna be a pain to remove the cover and fix it.

 

What kind of parts are needed for the job?

 

Before you tear into the engine, lets check a few things. Timing cover seals are a rare leak. Are you 100% sure it is not a valve cover leak, or a front seal leak that is dripping down? Or an oil pan leak?

The reason I am asking is that even the 4.0 V6 is pretty complicated to remove the timing cover. No need for excessive work. I would suggest cleaning the front and bottom of the engine with a good degreaser, and inspect for the exact location of the leak before you tear into this. I will be more than happy to help you with information on the job, I just want to be sure that you are looking at the actual timing cover gasket leaking.

 

05-08 tacomas (mainly the earlier productions) have a tsb out for the timing cover seal actually, so it's very common with our year

ask any toyota tech, they see it a lot with our years.

edit:
T-SB-0326-08 OCT 08 Engine Mechanical - Oil Leak from Front Timing Cover


you can see in the diagram in the pdf^ where the leak most commonly is...

i know mine is about there as well...it's not terrible right now, but i'm waiting for my buddy to have some days off to take it into the shop to work on it for me

 

see the pdf above ^


then read up on the repair manual and write ups, then see if you want to take it on...it'll save you hundreds if you can do it yourself but your truck WILL be out of commission at least a full day if not two

 

I went ahead and decided to clean the engine of the oil again just to be sure as you recommended. Just to make sure that's where the leak is coming from. So ill give it a couple of days and see what the results are.

 

Is this only an issue for the 05-08 as the TSB says or is it just because the that's the year that the TSB was put out?

 

My 07 is weeping oil. As long as I can pour it in faster than it's coming out, I'm not touching it.

 

yes, my understanding is toyota noticed this issue and changed their production methods and added more fip to the seal to prevent the leak in the more recent years

 

Where is it weeping from? I need to check my truck for this. Don't know when or if my 5 year warranty is up yet. Should be close.

 

Check the TSB link posted above. It has an image that shows where these are leaking from, IF it is related to the TSB.

 

Damn it Bama,...I takes me 20 minutes to read one sentence of your posts

 

I'm looking into buying a 2nd gen (looking at a '05 tomorrow) but this issue has me worried. It just sucks to have to do a 8+hr repair just because they didn't use enough FIPG. I'm just afraid that I'll go check out this truck (or any other in the future) and either it'll have this issue or if not I'll be wondering when it'll get it in the future.