Chances of a timing cover leak on a 2022 sr5 3.5

*CORRECTION ON THE TITLE. 2021 MODELS*

I know there are a lot of folks out here experiencing this misfortune. Fortunately I haven’t, but I would love to know if this issue is pretty common with the 21 models. Mine was built in 11/2020 - Baja. Got the truck 2 weeks ago with 23900k miles and I’ve been driving it for 400 miles now. This is the current picture of the known location for the timing cover leak.

 

Yes, My Taco is 2022 with the V6 (17,000Miles) and its leaking from the timing cover on the driver side. Been to the dealer twice and they don't see it. I love this truck. Since the area of the leak I belief is not a pressurize area. I thought about putting some

$9 Permatex 82194 Ultra Grey Rigid High-Torque RTV Silicone Gasket Maker, Sensor Safe And Non-Corrosive, For High Torque And Vibration Resistant Applications, 3 oz

Permatex 82194 gray along the seam to stop it. I've seen on the Youtube where people did that on transfer case on trucks. Don't remember brand of truck. But this a normal thing for this engine. Go to the Youtube channel and see"The Car Care Nut". He was a Toyota Master Mechanic for over 20 years and worked a lot on this engine. He did a reseal on a Rav4 with the same year range engine as the 3rd gen Taco. He can tell you all about it.

 

50/50 chance.
you'll drive yourself crazy worrying about issues that haven't occured.
Drive your truck instead and enjoy it.

 

50/50 chance. Lol. So half of them will leak?

 

it's a chance not a guarantee

 

Just got a tacoma myself. One of things Ill keep an eye on; but whats that hose/line and is it supposed to be crimped like that?!

 

Usually the belt leaves a brown residue around the areas. To me it looks super clean for given miles.

 

They only leak if you look for one!

…but it seems of the ones that don’t have a leak, there’s nothing to worry about as it’s rare.

 

100732 miles since new in 13 months on a 22. No issues anywhere.

 

@TheWildMan true. I’ll get it checked in my next service. go get that taco

 

@Vlady thanks for the info

 

@OnHartung'sRoad now that gave me a peace of mind. Thank you!

 

Nice! Now that’s an inspiration. I’ll follow your footsteps now to take my air dam off as a first mod. Thank you!

 

I have a 2016 with 55k which has a timing cover seep in the usual spot under the power steering pump. I bought the truck 3 months ago and didn’t notice until after I got it home. Honestly, I still wouldn’t know if I hadn’t joined the forum and known to look in that spot.

I have researched it a lot. It can happen on any model year from 16 to 23. Tough to say how common as it will seem super common on this forum, but this forum is a small snapshot out of all the Tacomas out there.

After 3mos and about 1200 miles on the truck I have no noticeable oil loss in the dipstick and just some seeping on the block.

I personally don’t feel like it is worth having the engine pulled and opened up to chase the small leak. When the weather warms up I am going to give the permatex a shot. The shop supervisor at our local Toyota shop with 30 years experience told me it was a waste of money and risk to reseal it and suggested the permatex.

So even if it does happen to you, not a catastrophic issue, just mostly an annoyance.

 

That’s good to know. So if it does start seeping, will it spread faster let’s say if you go on a very long trip? Those are the things I worry about with these issues. And with the Permatex are you removing some parts to get to that leaking spot or can it be done by just going under the truck? Thanks

 

I have taken a couple 3 hour trips, still no loss in the dipstick. Someone mentioned the Car Care Nut earlier. He states it’s not the kind of leak that will cause your engine to get low on oil, but can make a mess over time. Some members on here have the leak and just clean the area every oil change. Would have to drip a very long time with no oil changes to cause damage.

I plan to remove the power steering pump to get access to the area that most commonly leaks, clean it, and apply the permatex. Several on this forum have done this with success.

 

Don’t worry about it, or buy an extended Toyota warranty while/if you still can, if it keeps you up at night.
It sucks, it sounds somewhat common and extremely expensive to properly repair.

 

100 K MILES in 13 months?

 

No problem!

So don’t go looking at your rear differential and it won’t start seeping oil either!

 

Bought December of 22. April 6 when I left I had 6800. Virginia to Alaska, specifically Barrow, headed south to Canada for four weeks, then back to west coast US. Baja and Mexico for a few weeks, then all of Central America. Currently finishing Pacific Coast of South America in Buenos Aires then headed up the Atlantic coast from here back to Texas. Should be back second week of April. Peru has been the best so far.