Timing Cover Leaking?

I was messing around with my truck earlier, checking fluids, the normal matinence stuff. As i was checking my oil level i noticed a small damp spot on the edge of the timing cover on the passenger side. to be exact right behind the power steering resivoir just right of the dip stick. I have an 2007 4.0. with about 180k miles. with that being said i’m wondering maybe it could be just a seal or the truck is starting to show its age. I recently had it at the Toyota delarship to replace both knock sensors. could they have possibly screwed up something reassembling the engine? i’m not overly concerned about the leak considering the size of the spot that the leak was coming from and that toyota’s are notoriously reliable vehicles, but yes i do plan on getting it looked at. have any of y’all experienced the same issue before?

 

Not on my 08 yet. Hoping to last a few more years.

 

It's a known issue on Tacoma 1GR-FE engines, where the FIPG sealant doesn't hold at that specific location. Junction between block, head, and timing cover. There's a Tech Service Bulletin on it calling for removal of the timing cover and re-applying FIPG, with extra beads at that junction in 4 locations. It's a lot of work for a minor leak, some have had success sealing it from the outside...not pretty but it seems to have worked.

 

Thanks for one info man, i don’t know how long it’s been like that i bought the truck a few years ago with 140k miles and i just now noticed it. i’ll probably try to seal it up from the outside like u said just long enough until i can come up with the money for the repair.

 

Bought truck with 40K on it, 8 years ago. Freshly detailed engine. Noticed wet spot a year or so later. I've wiped it off a couple of times since then, but it's basically sweating a bit of oil, it doesn't form a drip. I'm leaving it alone until it's a real leak. A couple mechanics have looked at it and said not to worry about it. There's so much involved in pulling that cover, much potential for other issues, not worth it. I have 95K on it now.

 

Does anyone have a picture? I want to see where this spot is and if mine has it

 

Pretty common leak on high mileage 1GR's. Right where the head gasket and timing cover meet is where they leak. On both sides. It looks like a lot of work but they are pretty easy to get off and reseal. Cleaning and scraping old fipg off is the worst part.

 

I've had the same leak on my 07 for about 3 years now. I got a quote from the stealership a couple years ago when I had all fluids changed and they wanted $2400 to fix the timing cover leak. I said no thanks lol but I do plan on fixing it but need a good plan in place where I won't be down without a vehicle for too long. Mine has gotten fairly bad though as now I have to add 1-2 quarts of oil between changes and it is an oily grimey mess on the front passenger side of the motor. There is a DIY of how to fix it on TW. Just search for Timing cover seal or timing cover fix. Also there have been folks successful at sealing it from the outside like this.



Using this:

 

Yeah man ive seen that fix from the outside after doing more research. i just changed my oil and while doing it i put some lucas oil stop leak in there to see if that stops it. so far i haven’t noticed a leak, so it’s either a really slow leak or it has been sealed. other than that if it turns up again i will probably try sealing it from the outside because i don’t feel like getting ripped a new one by the stealership again, lol those dang knock sensors were expensive .

 

At 145k miles I just had that taken care of. Mines a 07 xrunner and had that leak. Funny thing is while talking to the guy i managed to get front, rear, bottom anf top. New clutch, water pump, tensioners, for $1800. Id like to think I did well. I had a noisy pulley too. The thing runs very smooth now. And the clutch feels very easy.

It all started with me trying to get that leak taken care of.

 

I have a ‘23 Tacoma with 3,000 miles and was just told I have a timing cover leak. They need to pull out the engine it will take a week to fix.

 

23...how bad is it leaking?

 

Dealer said not bad but enough to saturate the belts. It’s warranty covered obviously just really surprising.

 

A lot of the Tacoma's from the plant in Baja have had Timing cover issues even the old 2nd gen's had timing cover leak issues. It's like they never really fixed or identified the issue that was causing it.

 

Thank you for the insight. My vehicle was manufactured in Baja in November 2022.. just dropped it off today they need it for the whole week.

 

It took them about 2 weeks for mine but it was leaking for about 6-7 years so it was a bit more substantial.

 

The dealer had my truck for four days. They replaced the timing cover seal. Now my truck is leaking oil. SMH.

 

It's still leaking after they replaced the timing cover seal? My 23 that has 7,500 miles is also leaking, but I haven't done anything about it yet..

 

I just went on ahead and place some RTV gasket maker on that spot from the outside and I still haven't noticed a leak since that fix.

 

I recognize this engine.