Reflections on 2TRFE Timing Cover Leak Repair (On a rebuild to boot)

Greetings Tacoma Aficionados!

Decided to fix the timing cover leak this weekend. See pics below.


Just after teardown - checkin' out the situation. Guy who did the rebuild used the paper felpro gaskets smeared with silicone. I don't know what luck others have had with these aftermarket items, but imho a good quality liquid gasket is the right approach, just like it is from the factory. Scraped those gaskets off asap.



Timing cover off and mostly cleaned.


Reassembled, before removing the fingerprints in red Permatex =P


This is what both sides of the bead look like after the job, of course this section gets razored and covered with a light smear of liquid gasket before valve cover goes back in.


Replaced the 12 year old radiator and fan clutch while in there.


Thoughts:
-Fan clutch was FUSED to the damn water pump. I replaced both. Just for fun, once I removed the water pump, I attempted to see how badly I'd mangle them trying to separate...yea. Be aware those things can really really really stick if they're original. If you get one of these situations with an old pump and fan clutch, save yourself the hassle.

- Getting the timing cover on requires you to set it on the studs, push it until the crank is about to engage the oil pump, then jump down and make micro adjustments to the oil pump rotation to get it to slip on.

-There's 4 o rings inside the timing cover, one on the bottom. Two are for coolant and 2 are for oil. Make sure they're in their correct position when you put the cover back on. I used a little touch of gasket maker to ensure this.

All in all, not a terrible job. I think it took me 15 hours, one day teardown, one day reassembly, being cautious, with hand tools except an impact for the harmonic balancer. Started on Friday when I got home from work, took the wife to dinner on Saturday night in the truck. So far, no leaks.

Toyota says this job takes a ton of time, and frankly while it IS a big job - it is NOT a mandatory remove the oil pan and sub assembly job 25 hour job like some describe.

If you are mechanically inclined and have a good mechanics basic tool set, it might be a fun project for you. Just make sure you take your time, keep track of parts, and read the instructions for your liquid gasket. I used Permatex Right Stuff 90 high-temp (red) just to make seeing the bead easier.

 

Thank you for this info!! Im thinking of doing it myself. Does the oil pan needs to come off also? I cant really tell from your pictures.

 

In the middle of a similar job myself right now and I can definitely appreciate the swiftness with which would tackled this. Great job.

No you don’t have to take off the oil pan. In fact, you don’t even have to drain the oil which I thoroughly appreciate. I think I am even going to replace the oil filter seal while leaving the oil filter itself on its’ mount.

 

Excellent info as I tackle my head gasket replacement. Thank you.

 

Check my other thread, might be of more use as I just did the head gasket. =)

 

For sure. Thank you. The info on lining up the oil pump when installing the timing chain cover on the other thread is going to be a big help.

 

Maybe an older post ive been searching the web high and low maybe someone can give instruction, im doing this same project with timing cover , here mentions being able to do without dropping oil pan, sounds great but explain how did you go about sealing bottom portion of timing cover where meets pan? Seems if i add sealant and push cover on its going wipe it off??

 

That's what I did. Ultra black RTV. The hardest part for me was engaging the oil pump as it kind of floats around. I made a spanner wrench out of pvc pipe to index the pump to line it up. You also need to be really careful for the o'ring on the bottom that it doesn't get cut. It happened to me on the first attempt. As far as the RTV wiping off I just tried to lift the cover up as much as I could will sliding it in over the studs that hold the cover on. Hope this helps. Also, I thought this seemed important. Once the cover was on and fasteners snuggled up, I made sure the oil pan fasteners were nice and snuggled (not torqued) before I started the torque sequence on timing cover.

 

Thanks for keeping up with this old thread. Finishing a head gasket replacement on my 2007 2.7. Struggling with dry fitting the timing chain cover back on the block. Will try making the pvc spanner jig suggested. Does anyone know a good place to buy the 3 o rings that fit on the inside of the timing cover? Thanks. Paul

 

The above screenshot is how I got the part numbers for the O'rings in the timing cover. When I ordered them from my local toyota dealer, I believe they changed 90301-28012 to 90301-25020.

 

Thanks Joe. I went to the dealer yesterday and got them. Also had fun finding the gasket for the redesigned water bypass pipe where it attaches to the back of the timing chain cover. Toyota hasn't updated their parts listing for the redesign for years before 2010. Their system still gives the part for the old plastic bypass pipe. The new # for the metalic gasket for the redesigned pipe is

$7 16258-75021 TOYOTA Genuine Parts - Gasket (16258-75021)

16258-75021. In case anyone is trolling threads in frustration.

Was able to get the timing cover on for my dry fit by realizing the female cut out on the oil pump floating ring does NOT line up with the woodruff key. Was able to get it back on by rotating the ring slightly to one side so the flat portions of the ring fit on the shaft. Don't know why those cutouts are there. Not looking forward to doing this with the cover buttered with RTV.

I did talk to YotaShop on Friday. Knowledgeable and Friendly. A step up from most dealer parts people. Will use them when I'm not facing such a tight time window.

Thanks again for your help and response, and for the postings of the OP Johnnytaco

 

Thank you for this. The timing cover exploded view only shows 2 o-rings. I was unable to convince the rep in Toyota's part department that there are 4 o-rings in this cover Below is my timing chain @ 186k miles. Looks amazing imo, always used Mobil1 high mileage oil.