Timing Cover Leaking Oil !!!

Hey @Bishop84, when you take the cover off from underneath without removing the engine, do you have to touch the steering rack at all? I'm pretty sure my inner tie rods are shot, and I'm debating just having Toyota replace them while the truck is there for the timing cover job. The only reason I even found the leak was because I was searching for a front end noise and looking around, and I'm pretty sure the tie rods need to be replaced.

 

I was told CPO was a warranty through Toyota. That it had nothing to do with the dealership. My understanding is that you can have your CPO vehicle fixed at any Toyota dealership. But, I guess, you could also have a CPO warranty provided through a dealership but I would bet if you bought your truck through a Toyota dealership and it was a CPO then it is the Toyota CPO warranty.

Also, I went through all of this timing cover leaking that you all are. Mine had apparently been "fixed" before. They pulled my motor and replaced all kind of shit. In the end I had to call them out on a few items after it was back together but all in all I'd say the dealership and Toyota took care of the problem. I'm about 15k miles down the road from all of this work and mine is still dry as a bone. Fingers crossed... still...

Hang in there and let them fix it. Nobody's perfect so do your own inspection after you get it back and call them out on any issues you find. If your reasonable, I believe, they will take care of you.

Good luck!

 

Yeah my preferred dealer is going to do the work even though I didn't buy the truck from them.

What kind of issues did you have them take care of afterwards? Just want to know what I should be on the lookout for.

 

Initially they did not want to admit the timing cover was leaking. They replaced the valve cover gaskets and one valve cover. I assume this stuff was jacked up during the previous "repair".

After they pulled the motor and actually performed the repair, (They called in an outside Toyota mechanic to do the job) the front skid plate was missing, one of the rubber covers between the motor and the wheel well was missing and another was torn. I later found the skid plate in the back of the truck.

 

Ok that isn't bad. Luckily my dealer agreed that it was leaking right away. The tech doing the job has already done 20 of these.

 

You think this is a problem,try reading ford, nissan, JEEP JUNK and chevy forums.. You will change ur mind fast

 

Take a picture of the boot, if the boot has oil in it the rack will be replaced under warranty as well.

If you really want it to leak for them, poke a small hole in the wet spot.

 

I’ll take a picture tomorrow. I know the lower half looks wet from the outside though. My CPO is only powertrain at this point. No way the rack would quality for that, I think?

 

Nope, its steering/suspension.

Typically I don't change the inners on Tacomas, usually its leaking and requires full rack replacement. Inner rarely wear, but its possible.

 

Gotcha. I knew it wouldn’t be covered. Would a leaking rack cause a noise? I hear it when I turn the wheel while driving at low speeds, but I can reproduce the same noise with the truck stationary if I rock the steering wheel back and forth. It’s more of a low thud than anything else kind of sound. Sound is coming from the inner tie rods / rack which is why I assumed the inners were shot.
Passenger side and drivers side boots:

 

It can make noise but not likely.

I'd have them change it, supply a new one and ask how much to have it changed. Usually its 3 hours, so it should only be .5 to replace and swap over parts during the process.

You don't have to remove it, but its a bastard unless you take it out.

 

Ok thanks. If they're gonna be half way there during the other job I'll definitely have them do it at the same time. If boots show the leak like mine do then the rack is definitely shot?

 

Not shot, but worn, and it wont get better over time.

 

Thanks. If you don’t think that’s the cause of my noise I’ll take any other suggestions you might have of what to check. Everything is tight. New UCAs and LCAs last summer with new BJs.

 

Just got back from my local dealer. My 2016 had the timing cover leak. $3600 parts and labor and the repair kit is on backorder.

Thankfully my extended warranty is covering almost all of it. Still, I’m uneasy about the motor being pulled.

*EDIT* for those that have had the repair done, what other maintenance did you have done while the motor was out?

 

Wow, this thread is scary.. im sitting here with a 100% reliable Tahoe. Im hoping i’m not selling it to get a friggin oil leak on my timing cover.. who tf wants their motor pulled on a new vehicle.. I’d be dumb to not consider cancelling my order at this point. Anyone know if this has been fixed on newer tacos? I knew it was a headache for the tundras but not the tacomas. That sealent they use is straight trash.

 

I have a 2016. 131,000. Same leak. Oil showed up on around the power steering pump and strangely dripping off the frame on the drivers side. Since my extended warranty has only expired 6,000 miles ago Toyota agreed to fix it with me paying only $500. Otherwise would have been close to $4000. It was in dealership for a week. They didn’t pull the engine. But they pulled everything out of the front to get timing cover off. Looks they resealed timing cover, oil pan, and valve covers. What saddens me is I fear it is still leaking. I dried the entire frame. But it’s wet again back there under drivers door. I looked up. All that’s up above is master cylinder and brake lines, that all look fine. And I’m not losing brake fluid. Oil level for now appears to be holding. So I will be monitoring and just hoping it’s residual oil that got blown back. Service tech said when the timing cover leaks fan carries the oil back everywhere. Headed off on a long trip with camper. Praying I don’t end up doing a turnaround, or worse get stuck in middle of nowhere. Have a couple quarts with me. I’m monitoring brake, power steering, and engine oil. Naturally o can’t monitor transmission oil since they took away the dipstick! But oil on the frame is brown and trans oil I’m assuming is still red like it always used to be? So hopefully it’s not trans oil. I see no evidence anywhere of transmission oil on the bell housing or trans case. And no idiot lights on. So hopefully trans is fine.

Very very upsetting. This truck till now best Tacoma I’ve ever owned, of the 7 I’ve owned. And if this leak is solved and holds I’ll still stand by Toyota. Toyota trucks all I’ve ever driven. Always been awesome for hundreds of thousands of miles. This one been through a lot. It’s disappointing. Like they lost track of quality or something. Transmission shifting issues. Engine surging from steering. And of course the frame recall to spray lots of sticky stuff everywhere. And of course the heat / a/c fan failed while coming across Georgia in summer in 2017. Through all this. I’ve really loved this truck. Gotten me through storms and snow and ice. And when my mom died, miles and miles and miles driven to help my dad. I’m really really worried.

 

dude. Cancel fo sho

 

how badly was it leaking? Most I’ve seen appears to be a small drip, I’d be shocked if you lost more then a couple hundred mls between oil changes.

 

Fo sho? Is that ebonics you speak! English man!