Another timing chain cover leak

Yes indeed... Had mine done at Groove Toyota on South Broadway just south of Belleview. So far, so good. Still no leakage from the repair. Hope that helps... Good luck with it!

 

Awesome good to know, as that is where I've gone the last few times and have had great service there. Thanks for the info! I've been out of town too much but will be home and calling them next week I think.

 

Seems to be 16/17s mostly but they are also the oldest of the bunch. Hard to say

 

So have we determined this is more of an annoyance than something catastrophic? And should be identified obviously under the powertrain warranty? And if after the warranty is expired, something that can just be tolerated?

 

At 70,000 miles, timing cover is leaking. Discovered during oil change process. Warranty inspector needs to look at it and take photos tomorrow to authorize the estimated $2800 repairs. They told me engine comes out to do this right. Very glad I purchased extended Platinum warranty!

 

My 17 has had the same leak for 4 years. Inspection cover is what they told me. Happens to most of them. No, the engine does NOT need to come out for the repair. It is the timing chain cover, front of the engine. Not the rear. Why would they tell you it needed to come out for this?

 

Was told it happens to most when mine started. Doesn't result in any measurable loss of oil so I've left it alone.

 

i bought the platinum as well, its like they knew this a thing . My tacoma 2020 with 26000 is bone dry but i check monthly just in case , before the extended warranty is up!

 

According to Toyota, the correct way of doing the repair, is by pulling the engine out. I got rid of my ‘17 after the 3rd repair didn’t stick. Had like 60k miles.. if I remember correctly.

 

do they loan you a car or truck?

 

Hmmm this doesn't bode well for the longevity of the 3.5 engines. Perhaps the 4.0 was a better engine.

 

Tacomas have had this issue for years. Even before the 3rd gens. I read about it a while ago. But I think Camrys, corollas and RAV4’s also had the same issue. Is almost like they do it in purpose… LOL. I’m hoping my 2021 will do better.
And once it leaks, it almost always happens again after repair.

 

2005 4x4 5M 2TR-FE with 227,200 miles. Notice a small fluid leak on the block behind the A/C compressor, don't know what it is. I've run Mobile 1 0W30 + Toyota OEM filter every oil change. 2k miles ago, starting having chain-slap sound at start-up, regardless of temperature, sometimes loud, sometimes quiet, and it's louder if I use 5W30. Local mechanic checks it all over & says it's symptomatic of a loose timing chain and they'd need to drop transmission, drop front diff & pull motor: $4500-5000 :O WTFF? Pull the motor? Truck drives like new, otherwise and is quiet - no knock/ping, no noises, etc.

 

Update December, 2022: I've had the chain slap/piston slap noise at startup for about 18 months now, after every start up, even some "warm" startups, after a in/out to the grocery store, etc.. Warm weather, cold weather, didn't matter, it would make the chain slap noise and "check engine" light on the dash. Last month, (above) my mechanic said it's a loose timing chain ($4200-4400 to repair).

Well, I did a thing... MAYBE it worked, time will tell, but here's what I did:

• Added full can of Liqui-Moly Pro-Line engine flush to existing (dirty) oil and ran for a little over 15 minutes at idle only.
• Flushed the old oil and let it drip for a long time, to ensure it was all out.
• Added a fresh oil filter (Fram) and fresh 0W30 Mobil1, and drove it around for a while to really get it circulated and flush out the Liqui-Moly, then drained.
• Added yet another fresh oil filter (YZZD1) and fresh 0W30 Mobil1 and added a full can of Seafoam to the gas tank, then topped-off the fuel with regular old 87 octane, per usual.

The truck sat for about 7 days, since it's not my daily driver anymore, and at startup, it sputtered and made the chain slap/piston slap noise, so out of shear anger, I goosed the go-fast-pedal and it blew some blue smoke, coughed a little and then smoothed out. After that, not another issue. I let it sit for 4 days and drove it again today, NO noise and no rough idle, nothing... drives like new again, with 228,200 miles.

 

We’ll have to report back to us how it worked out. Maybe you nursed some life back into it with the little bit heavier oil.

 

It is not catastrophic, it's usually just a seep or small leak. It can be tolerated, but most importantly it can be prevented.

Simply check & make sure fasteners are torqued to specs, engine oil is changed regularly and not overfilled, I change mine at every 5k. And I replace the PCV valve along with the air filter every 20k miles. Seven yrs on the '16 & 75k miles, not a peep, nada.

Was the PCV valve ever replaced? It could have been partially stuck. It's very inexpensive and easy to replace.

 

Just picked up a pcv today. And I have always done the 5k changes.

 

If the recommended oil (0W20 synthetic) is used regularly, the fasteners are/were properly torqued in the proper sequence and the air filter and PCV valve were regularly replaced, it should never leak or seep.

 

None of that will prevent the timing cover from leaking. If it's going to leak it's going to leak. It's a defect of the motor/assembly process. There are plenty that leak even when over maintaining the engine, and some may never leak with 10k plus mile oil changes and never changing the PCV.

You can try all the tricks and band aids but it's really a roll of the dice if it's going to leak or not. Nothing will 100% prevent it.

 

If it's a defect in the block or timing cover, then no. But if that's the case, it will leak early with in days, not 60k miles later.
A defect is extremely rare and covered under warranty. A slight surface imperfection can be properly sealed using an approved engine sealer, and applying proper fastener torque/sequence