Timing chain cover fix $5000?

That's not good advice and can make the repair more difficult down the road.

Plus, if it leaks before the warranty is up, it's just another reason for the dealer to deny the warranty.

 

$5,000!

I can buy a LOT of oil for $5,000. I would be letting it leak regardless of how big the stain is on the driveway.

That reminds me, I need to fix an oil leak on a BMW. On that one it leaks onto the serpentine belt, which eventually breaks, and when it breaks it almost always ends up in the front main seal trashing that and ending up inside the engine. Every single gasket on that thing leaks...

 

To the o.p. I just had to do this on my Tacoma a month ago. It sucked and was unexpected but at 17 years old and 200k I was too surprised.

My bill was also 5500. But that included new heads since they were already in there and my 06 is known to blow a head gasket around there. Also a new water pump and radiator since it was leaking. That included labor and tax.

 

I think what some people are saying might be the best route: if this is not leaking too badly then I’ll just continue to watch it. I spoke to another mechanic who said if I take care of the Tacoma it will take care of me and I had to stop him right there and say that getting hit with a repair bill this big after I’ve taken care of the truck doesn’t feel like the truck taking care of me. For this amount of money I might as well drop the engine and take it to diesel toys and get a diesel engine put in. /s


The dealership told me if I didn’t fix the leak then oil would continue to drip down on my LCAs and cause the to creak, which is the original issue I took it in for. I don’t get how those are connected…. Seems like oil dripping down onto a squeaky joint would help it, not make it worse.

 

Could just be your LCA bushings are shot. Mine were toast at 68k~. Horrible creaking noise from them. Replaced with aftermarket ones and they've been fine since.

 

They’re actually aftermarket and only have 20-30k miles on them. They’re spcs with the greasable zirc on top and if anything I’ve probably over greased them since they were installed. I was looking at a replacement ball joint pair and wondering “how could these have failed so early.”

 

I didn't even know SPC made LCAs...thought they only had UCAs for the tacoma. To be fair, I would still say they could be shot. I had SPC UCAs and the ball joints went bad with 5-10k miles each time I replaced them.

 

correction, those are the UCAs, you were talking about the LCAs. The centric bolt is where the noise seemed to be coming from so I’d imagine you’re right. From what people are saying it seems more beneficial to replace the entire LCAs rather than fixing the centric bot and bushings. Anyone have any thoughts on aftermarket LCAs or stay with OEM?

 

no kidding?? Yeah you were right I didn’t read your original post too good

 

I paid about $130 I think for new bushings, then another $80 for new bolts since its very common for them to seize and have to be cut out - luckily I was able to reuse 2/4 of them.

I think good aftermarket LCAs are $1k+. So if you got the money....send it.

 

I’m worried about having the work done and then having the problem continue or having the shop mess up something else while they’re all up in there.

Did you have a Toyota authorized shop do the work?

 

had a new long block replaced under warranty and 10k miles later someone rear ended the car and totaled. It happens.

 

I paid $3500 for the cover leak, new water pump, tranny fluid drain (just a drain, not a flush or pan drop) and one U-joint. This happened about 1.5 yrs ago

Edit: Apologies, I see this is on a 3rd gen. My data point is for a 2nd.

 

Take a picture of the leak area and let’s see how bad it really is.

 

This! Having grown up in the 60's and 70's, oil leaks were a fact of life with vehicles from that time frame. You fixed what you could and accepted the rest (and kept a quart of oil behind the seat.)

Certainly keep an eye on it, but if the leak is minor I personally would let it ride versus plopping down $5K to fix it.

 

sounds like service writer needs a bump in his/her sales numbers

 

Should have gone to jason @Speedfreak

He is close enough to you

 

Yep

Carboard on the garage floor to keep the stains out. If you were really fancy you bought the steel pan.

Knew a guy with a leak so bad he would keep a cut up oil jug in the cab. When it stopped he shoved it under the engine to catch the oil, then poured it back into the engine before leaving. Didn't leak (excessively) when running.

Wifes first car burned oil so bad you kept a case in the back. CLOUDS of blue smoke out of that thing.

Car parts store had potholes in the center of every parking spot where the dripping oil ate up the asphalt.

Up until the early 2000s I don't even remember anyone talking about getting an oil leak fixed.

 

I’ll do that but until now I never noticed anything.

 

Is the timing cover leak any measurable amount or just a seep? I’ve never heard of any cases of it leaking badly enough to be even worth dealing with. I’d just let it leak if it isn’t bothersome.