HELP. Weird oil leak, with pics. Not sure where or whats causing it.

Doing an oil change today and noticed some oil on one of the oil lines near the filter housing. Traced it back up near the AC compressor, there was noticed oil in the surrounding area.

I did not see any oil further up the oil lines however.

Attached pictures are as best I could get given the awkward angle.

Truck is 2016 with 100k miles.

Could this be a valve cover gasket leak?

 

Timing chain cover- I think.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-infamous-timing-chain-cover-leak.811889/

 

I literally just saw that thread a few posts down and started reading...

Seems that is the case... and its not a fun DIY repair it seems also... and the repair is pricey, just not sure how much... hum

 

Change your pcv valve.
Pressure building up within the crank case is what causes this from dirty pcv valve

 

There’s some threads on this with people repairing it from the outside

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/timing-cover-leak-easy-fix.714515/

this guy tried this

 

Will replace PCV valve and see whats what... Guess I get a quote from my shop to see what the price would be, but I am guessing 1500 easy...

Guess I start researching to see if I want to undertake a DIY repair... hummm

 

https://youtu.be/IZI-tULtMGs?si=Vs6kScIUUYE8sPdo

 

Some people’s leak stops when they change their PCV valve. If it’s just a very slight seepage, it’s possible just to clean it up and repair it from the outside according to some. Being this is a very common problem on these trucks I’m sure there’s a lot of DIY videos to help you. If you choose to do so.

 

I used this video when I did my PCV valve replacement.
https://youtu.be/kfFXLSD_pQA?si=jxQ79fCvQ412AZZi

 

Check PCV valve

 

I have a new one on order. Thank you.

 

Been looking into this more... its at least a 5k job for a shop... YIKES!

Man, Toyota has become a real disappointment with their quality... Its even more sad that the late 2023's have this issue as well...

Even more reason I am looking at a 4th gen runner or even a 02-04 tacoma as a beater...

I just hope an RTV job slows or fixes this issue...

Thank you for all the help.

Will post follow ups in the coming weeks as I get after it.

 

This really is not a Toyota quality issue…more due to lack of proper maintenance. The pcv valve is a maintenance requirement to be cleaned or replaced every 30k.

 

Hey OP, I hope this ^^^ is what’s going on for yours. I didn’t know about the stuck PCV valve symptoms.Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you about the timing chain cover!

 

This is an issue with the 2nd & 3rd gens V6. Luck of the draw problem from what I’ve seen so far. PCV may help? I dunno. There are a number of suspected causes.

 

100%. Another plague of the 3rd gen. Yeah 2nd gens have it too, but you would think after 30+ years of making engines Toyota would have figured out how to keep a brand new timing cover from leaking.

 

Pcv valve has nothing to do with leaking timing cover. Crankcase is isolated from the cavity sealed by the timing cover.