Timing Cover Leaking Oil !!!

Thanks, good point. Didn’t even think of warranty. My CPO powertrain should still cover that either way.

 

Juat got back from an oil change and dealer indicated my timing cover is leaking. 117k miles and warranty is expired. $6k to repair. Worth it or trade it In? I'll probably never get what I can get for it now since resale prices are through the roof.

Thoughts?

 

Don’t take anybody’s word for it. Clean the area thoroughly, check and tighten all fasteners to spec and check behind around P/S pump for leak making its way to the front before you commit
Good luck

 

Good point. I've never seen a leak in the driveway I'll do what you suggested. In the mean time I called Toyota headquarters to explain the situation. My extended warranty ended at 100k miles. My truck now has 117. My last oil change was at 103 and they disnt mention it then.

Funny thing is when I was on the phone with Toyota the lady kept pushing the a corrosion recall that I didn't take care of. I had no knowledge of the recall and my dealer never mentioned it. I'm willing to bet the leak was there and dealer disnt want to fix under warranty just like they failed to mention recall.

I'm hoping if there is a leak Toyota takes care if it since warranty just expired.

 

Also be sure to replace the PCV valve which can also contribute to seepage that may lead to oil leaks

 

With the experience I had with my ‘17. I would trade it in. Just be patient and don’t over pay on the new one. That leak is very likely to come back. But if you wanna get it fixed . If you bug enough. Toyota will take care of you. Or find a good Toyota mechanic outside of the dealer.
I found the leak in the first oil change with my mechanic. After the free ones finished with the dealer. The leak is usually just enough to be a leak but not enough to fall on the ground. Specially if you have a skid plate. The air pressure while you drive just blows it on the surrounding parts. And at least while under warranty. Toyota doesn’t considere it a leak. If it doesn’t fall to the ground. But as you can see. Out of warranty and all of a sudden is a 6000!dollar leak.

good luck.

 

Ive had the truck for 5 years zero issues and planned on having it another 5 years. I'm not ready to get rid of the truck but as I said before I'll get top dollar for it now. I'll see what Toyota says.

Honestly I had no idea it was leaking so it won't bother me unless it gets worse.

Do you still have the 17?

 

I trade it in for a ‘21 OR. When they found the leak a fourth time. The truck only had 36k miles on it. And I was hoping that one would be my retirement vehicle. Still have another 10 years to go… LOL. But I don’t drive much. I bought the ‘17 September of ‘16. And traded it this past March.

 

I traded my 17 in when I found the LTC....

 

I'm literally about to pay my truck off. With that money I was gonna pick up a 21 challenger scat pack. I'm really hoping Toyota gives me good news today and fixes the LTC 100%. Otherwise I may be forced to trade it in for a newer Tacoma or even another Make.

The problem with that is I don't won't truck payments and a car payment. I feel like this will set me back big time.

What did you replace your 17 with?

 

I replaced it with a 19 TRD OR 4 Runner then the fuel pump went out on the 4 Runner and Toyota was going to have it 4/5 months because no replacement was available. The Dealer didn't like the fact that I was putting thousands of miles on the new loaner car going back and forth to FL 2 times a month and told me I cant take the car out of the State. I said call Toyota and get my 4 runner fixed and we wont have an issue. Toyota ended up buying back my 19 4 Runner putting me in a 2021 4 Runner even swap no money out of my pocket cut my loan from 60 months to 48 months and a Platinum 7 yr 125,000 mile extended warranty plan . I had to go into a SR5 Premium as no TRD OR was available in my color choice or options. Over all not a bad deal plus I had 63,000 miles on the 19 4 Runner....

 

Hey @Bishop84 sorry to keep bugging you. Have one last question. I think my truck is leaking oil from a new location. Truck goes back to Toyota later this month anyway to fix the leaking axle seal after the timing chain leak fix.

My front U-joint was caked in motor oil. I washed it off and it returned like this 12 hours later. Seems to be dripping down somewhere on the drivers side in the back of the engine. I wanted to hope this was residual spill from the first job, but at this point I don’t think it is. I know it wasn’t like this before the fix. I’m pretty good about greasing my U-joints so I would have noticed all the oil. Is this a common occurrence after the timing chain leak fix?

 

Yup looks like a leaking valve cover, I've rolled them by accident on the other 2gr models. At least its the easy side to fix.

 

Toyota wants to split the cost. I'm not putting out $2500 so I've decided to us blue devil. Based on research it definitely seals the leak. I'll report back in a few months.

 

I guess that's one way I'd look at it. I'm a perfectionist when it comes to this stuff...but if it's a leak that can exist without lowering the oil level in a reasonable interval (say on the dipstick in 1,000 miles), won't cause a catastrophic leak in the future (unlikely it could dump that much oil that fast) and if you've got a skid plate won't stain your driveway, why is living with it not a reasonable option?

Under warranty, absolutely fix it. A $500 repair, sure, fix it. $6,000? I'd have to think long and hard, and again this is coming from someone who did $3,000 worth of rust repair to a then-15 year old Honda 15 years ago.

 

OP, dump your mechanic and your truck. Not in any particular order.

 

Thank you so much. I like going in with a little information when I tell the dealer about an issue. You’ve really been a great resource for me throughout this. Hopefully I have nothing else to ask you about now for a long time.

 

Looks like the oil pan

 

Calling @Bishop84 again !

 

Not a typical timing cover leak, its possible though.

You need to find the leak at the highest point, so a picture from the bottom isn't enough.