Timing cover leak = first trip to dealer

[Theslammer21]

i feel you on that. i work at lexus and i really hold back on taking my cars in to toyota for warranty work. i obviously trust my own work. it just worries me by not knowing who will be working on my car. i see other people around my shop and they scare me and im sure its the same at toyota. i have 6 years 125,000 extended with toyota too so once it goes out of factory warranty, i can work on it myself

 

[ClockWork]

Lovely.

 

[progress4m]

I would personally have the dealer look at that anyway....

100 % agree.

Also, as a side note:as "diehard" Toyota owner it is very upsetting to see this… especially knowing that this oil leak was obviously acknowledge by Toyota in TSB since 2003, but was not fixed/corrected when they released updated V6 in 5 gen 4Runners in 2010…
This is getting very close to what other car manufactures would do in similar situation…

 

[Theslammer21]

sad to see it practically go away in 07 and then come back now lol

 

[rickwol]

I think this thread has probably had the equivalent as a punch in the gut for a few folks here as most have the opinion that these 4runner beasts have been and continue to be bulletproof. I'm one of them and am doing my best to not have my faith shaken. Maybe if we don't post anymore in this thread it will quietly join the other no longer updated threads and fall into obscurity. But then again it will no doubt show up on some search. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. Unfortunately sometimes it can hurt you too.

 

[progress4m]

I think this thread has probably had the equivalent as a punch in the gut for a few folks here as most have the opinion that these 4runner beasts have been and continue to be bulletproof. I'm one of them and am doing my best to not have my faith shaken.....

I definitely agree with you on that… it hurts…

... Maybe if we don't post anymore in this thread it will quietly join the other no longer updated threads and fall into obscurity....

I would recommend the opposite: for anyone with this issue to contact Toyota and complain. Obviously there is no way to know if Toyota will do anything about it, but I still think it is better than just keep it quiet.

 

[harper7]

100 % agree.

Also, as a side note:as "diehard" Toyota owner it is very upsetting to see this… especially knowing that this oil leak was obviously acknowledge by Toyota in TSB since 2003, but was not fixed/corrected when they released updated V6 in 5 gen 4Runners in 2010…
This is getting very close to what other car manufactures would do in similar situation…

Did you even look up or read the TSB?? TSB EG049-07
Production change means they had a fix for it either in different parts/different machining of parts or materials and give the VIN's affected.

This is the first one I've seen or heard of it lately and I'm on the FJ forum too all the time where they use the same 1GR-FE dual vvt-i engine. The sky is not falling and this is hopefully just a one off case. We are almost 2 1/2 years into production since the 1GR-FE redesign with the new dual vvt-i head design,new block and different timing covers.

Liquid silicone sealant doesn't stick to oily or greasy parts that need to be sealed so they MUST be cleaned with a solvent or a adhesion promoter first.Most likely somebody didn't clean it good or missed it before installing the sealant ,rather then a design flaw.Too much Saki??

 

[rickwol]

The "maybe if don't post anymore in this thread and it will go away" comment was said "tongue in cheek". Of course if you are experiencing this problem you should pay your dealer a visit. I do however remember worrying, as it turns out needlessly when I had my 2nd gen T4R years ago and I kept reading about all of the head gasket problems with the V6. I put 200k mi on that vehicle and the head gasket never did give me any problems. So, I've found that worrying really does work. 90% of what I worry about never happens !!

 

[progress4m]

Did you even look up or read the TSB?? TSB EG049-07
..

Yes, I had read this TSB… I am not sure where and how you come up with “sky is falling” from my post..?? Chill pill or drink maybe?:beer:

In my point of view it is just sad to see Toyota is making the same mistake with new generation as they had with previous one… epically considering that engine was redesigned… at least top end of it.
:cheers:

 

[Theslammer21]

I would recommend the opposite: for anyone with this issue to contact Toyota and complain. Obviously there is no way to know if Toyota will do anything about it, but I still think it is better than just keep it quiet.

i agree. we need compain to get things changed,

as much as we shouldnt dog toyota on here. we need to be aware of the number of occurances. i have personally seen two leak on 5th gens. hearing cmills being the 3rd. all under 30,000 miles. very premature.


i think we under stand that the sealing surface needs to be dry before applying the form in place gasket but remember a brand new engine being built at the factory has no oil in it until its completly together ready for start up. i dont really see that a improperly cleaned or oily sealing surface being the root cause of this. we may not see a TSB show up for this problem if the numbers are low enough or not enough people complain if they actually need this repair made. TSB or not, the repair will be made under warranty no matter what

 

[cmills]

Another reason I'm going to wait and see if the leak is actually that bad, is because who can say that it won't start leaking after another 24,000 miles and maybe even worse that time. And if that would end up being the case and I had to take it back I would be having 2 major repairs done which increases the chances of something going wrong.

I know I sound real negative about taking it to the dealer, but after a few of the experiences with dealer repairs (not with Toyota) I've had it's hard not to be.

 

[harper7]

i think we under stand that the sealing surface needs to be dry before applying the form in place gasket but remember a brand new engine being built at the factory has no oil in it until its completly together ready for start up. i dont really see that a improperly cleaned or oily sealing surface being the root cause of this. we may not see a TSB show up for this problem if the numbers are low enough or not enough people complain if they actually need this repair made. TSB or not, the repair will be made under warranty no matter what

What do you do at Lexus?Have you ever even built a an engine? No ,oil before the initial start up or before the timing chain cover goes on?Surely you jest!

The pistons,rods,roller rockers,cam and bearings all go in first and are lubricated with assembly oil and not to mention the heads and block are machined in machine OIL before it all goes together. I've never built or seen an engine built dry in my life.

So your saying it's a design flaw again like the pre 2007 SB 1GR-FE engines?

 

[phillyd2]

Interesting approach. Me? I would be driving the loaner until it was fixed correctly. But its your truck and wish you the best with it.

 

[Theslammer21]

What do you do at Lexus?Have you ever even built a an engine? No ,oil before the initial start up or before the timing chain cover goes on?Surely you jest!

The pistons,rods,roller rockers,cam and bearings all go in first and are lubricated with assembly oil and not to mention the heads and block are machined in machine OIL before it all goes together. I've never built or seen an engine built dry in my life.

So your saying it's a design flaw again like the pre 2007 SB 1GR-FE engines?

i am a technician. where people have problems with oily surface is because the oil has been slung every where in the engine after running and oil has gone in the head. you are right that when a brand new engine is assembled, ASSEMBLY LUBE is used on bearing surfaces all around the engine but all they dont spray oil all over every other surface on the engine pointlessly. assembly has high viscosity which i would find hard to believe that it will run down from the cam bearings somehow get to the front cover sealing surface of block. i want to know if you have every completely built a stock toyota motors with all new parts, block, heads, and front cover. they dont come oily

 

[Silver T4R]

I have had my front cover resealed on my 07 Tacoma with no leaks for the last 30,000 miles. What I was told is that the sealer was put on real thin or not at all in that area. I think that Toyota would have the problem fixed by now,.... but I know these motors are solid and if this one leaks then I'll have it repaired also.

 

[SubyGuy]

add me to the list

Just got my 10k oil change done on my 2011 Trail. I noticed an oil burning smell maybe the last 600 or so miles before i could get it in for the appointment. I had my oil change done and picked up my paper work and key from the cashier and was sitting in my car before i left giving it a quick read over when i saw one of the boxes for inspections (which they just auto check off anyways) was changed from the green (good box) to the red box for (leaks). I went back inside to ask and they were all surprised when i pointed it out. The dude went back to check it out with the service peeps and i guess he said something about a manifold leak and i need to bring the car in for 3 days while they fix it. This sounds like what other people have expirenced as well. Hope they can fix it in one go. Funny no one said anything when i picked up my car and i had to read the service notes to find out.:dammit:

 

[SigSense]

Funny no one said anything when i picked up my car and i had to read the service notes to find out.:dammit:

This is not good or advisable from ANY dealership.

 

[gangstead]

Took my 2003 V6 T4R in today for the acceleration recall and they informed me of the timing chain cover leaking. Car has 113k miles, last time it was at the dealer was 85k miles 2 years ago and they didn't report it then.

One of the things done at that trip was water pump and serp belt. I mention that because they would definitely notice the leak since the oily bolt is adjacent to the water pump bolts (see picture). The car was my dad's at that time so I don't know why he had the pump changed a few months before handing it down to me.

The leak seems to be right where the TSB indicates: only on the passenger side by the end of the water pump.

I definitely feel gut-punched as this is my second Toyota and I come from a family that has had 5 Toyotas over time and this is the first unscheduled multi-thousand dollar repair of all 5. The TSB says this is a 7.6 hour job and the dealership guy gave a verbal estimate of a couple thousand dollars. This is definitely out of warranty so I'm trying to figure out what I want to do.

To the guy who decided to wait and see: have you noticed it getting any worse? I've noticed no oil consumption in the year and a half of ownership and don't see oil on anything other than that one bolt, so I'm tempted to just watch the oil level before spending a couple grand to save an ounce of oil leaked out over the course of six months. Any thoughts?

 

[Boaz]

Took my 2003 V6 T4R in today for the acceleration recall and they informed me of the timing chain cover leaking. Car has 113k miles, last time it was at the dealer was 85k miles 2 years ago and they didn't report it then.

One of the things done at that trip was water pump and serp belt. I mention that because they would definitely notice the leak since the oily bolt is adjacent to the water pump bolts (see picture). The car was my dad's at that time so I don't know why he had the pump changed a few months before handing it down to me.

The leak seems to be right where the TSB indicates: only on the passenger side by the end of the water pump.

I definitely feel gut-punched as this is my second Toyota and I come from a family that has had 5 Toyotas over time and this is the first unscheduled multi-thousand dollar repair of all 5. The TSB says this is a 7.6 hour job and the dealership guy gave a verbal estimate of a couple thousand dollars. This is definitely out of warranty so I'm trying to figure out what I want to do.

To the guy who decided to wait and see: have you noticed it getting any worse? I've noticed no oil consumption in the year and a half of ownership and don't see oil on anything other than that one bolt, so I'm tempted to just watch the oil level before spending a couple grand to save an ounce of oil leaked out over the course of six months. Any thoughts?

With 113K on it and no warranty....and it doesn't use oil? I would just keep an eye on it. If you don't already, check the oil level every gas fill up. I check tire pressure too instead of just hanging out for 5-10 min while the gas pumps. Use that few mins to do a systems check. I noticed the small leak in the same area on my 04 Sport Edition V-6 and just let it ride (traded in at 100K with no probs). It didn't use oil, and really I didn't even get that "hot oil" smell unless I put my nose down in the engine bay. If it ain't broke.....


Now if the truck was in warranty, might as well have em fix it. But since it ain't run that yoter down the road buddy, she will do just fine!!

 

[gangstead]

With 113K on it and no warranty....and it doesn't use oil? I would just keep an eye on it. If you don't already, check the oil level every gas fill up. I check tire pressure too instead of just hanging out for 5-10 min while the gas pumps. Use that few mins to do a systems check. I noticed the small leak in the same area on my 04 Sport Edition V-6 and just let it ride (traded in at 100K with no probs). It didn't use oil, and really I didn't even get that "hot oil" smell unless I put my nose down in the engine bay. If it ain't broke.....


Now if the truck was in warranty, might as well have em fix it. But since it ain't run that yoter down the road buddy, she will do just fine!!

Thanks for the encouragement. I read on the Tacomaworld.com forums about a lot more people with the same issue occurring after warranty and there are people who have watched it for 30k miles and it doesn't get any worse.

My plan is to take off the skid plate this weekend and inspect from the bottom, clean off the spot really well and see how long it takes to come back. One guy did this to his Tacoma and 15k miles later he still didn't see any more oil.