Timing Cover Leak in Toyota/Lexus

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I am learning that timing cover leaks are a big thing in certain Toyota and Lexus vehicles. I think it's primarily associated with 6 cylinder.

I am learning it is a "glue" issue that involves removing the engine at over 20 hours of labor ($2500 job)

Have any of you had any experience with this repair? Oil is not leaking on the ground yet but I was told to expect it to get to that point.
 
Timing cover has been seeping in my Rav4 4 cylinder for about 200,000 miles. Still doesn't leak on the ground more than a drop or two every now and then. Like once a week a drop might fall. No way I'd spend $2500 to fix it. Dealer quoted me $700 to fix it in my old Corolla. No way I'd pay $700 to fix it. It's a minor annoyance.
 
That's common on certain 4-cylinder Toyotas, too. Mine is only a seep, so far. Supposedly, these can be fixed without removing the engine, but it's tedious and difficult; dealer quotes are often over $1000, I've read.

I wonder whether it would help to re-tighten the timing-cover bolts before things get too bad.
 
Dumping in a quart every 500 miles, you would still have to drive it more than 400,000 miles to break even on that repair. Total the car a week after that repair and your repair money goes down the drain.
 
Originally Posted by Leo99
Timing cover has been seeping in my Rav4 4 cylinder for about 200,000 miles. Still doesn't leak on the ground more than a drop or two every now and then. Like once a week a drop might fall. No way I'd spend $2500 to fix it. Dealer quoted me $700 to fix it in my old Corolla. No way I'd pay $700 to fix it. It's a minor annoyance.



It seems several owners are just letting it go.

My son just bought this car and the original owner told us about it. We just didn't realize the potential expense. My Lexus mechanic said he would do it for $750. I guess we will have to see how bad it stains the driveway.

Just curious if anyone had tried a DIY fix.
 
Originally Posted by Gebo
I am learning that timing cover leaks are a big thing in certain Toyota and Lexus vehicles. I think it's primarily associated with 6 cylinder.

I am learning it is a "glue" issue that involves removing the engine at over 20 hours of labor ($2500 job)

Have any of you had any experience with this repair? Oil is not leaking on the ground yet but I was told to expect it to get to that point.


I had a 2009 Pontiac Vibe with Toyota 1.8L that had a leaky timing cover. Cost me 1850 dollars to fix it. If you started the vehicle in under 20 degrees F it would grind so loudly it would wake the dead. Above that temp, it sounded closer to normal. There was a TSB on this unit for that problem.

It needed a special part from Japan that was $$$$. Labor was like 1200 on that as it was very difficult to repair.
 
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Originally Posted by atikovi
Dumping in a quart every 500 miles, you would still have to drive it more than 400,000 miles to break even on that repair. Total the car a week after that repair and your repair money goes down the drain.


What this^^^guy says...you'd have to be a fool to do that repair. Things seep on an engine. They do. You don't have to go and repair every little leak unless it becomes a big issue. I had an oil pan gasket that seeped a little bit since 15,000 miles on a Honda Accord...it kept seeping all the way till 289,000 miles before I traded it in.

Now if we're talking an easy repair, a cheap repair or an enormous engine damaging leak?? Ok, do it. But to remove an engine because the engine cover is weeping a little bit?? Pass. Pass big time. And no I haven't heard of timing covers being an issue on Lexus engines. Owned a Lexus for five years and drove it close to 200,000 miles.
 
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My wifes 2010 Corolla 2ZR-FE developed a timing cover leak while still under powertrain warranty, The dealer & Toyota USA refused to fix it. It was marking its territory by 80,000 miles. Repaired it myself because I don't tolerate oil leaks.
 
My old Jeep doesn't seep oil, it drips it all the time. So much so that I do not park it on driveway any more
I just add oil to it and it leaks out. My wife is after me to get rid of it but the Jeep is part of family after 25.5 years
And it leaks ATF as well. Just keep a supply on hand and check every couple weeks.
The Jeep is not worth the money to fix
 
Originally Posted by edyvw
Are you sure that is Toyota? That would be impossible according to BITOG'ers.


And Lexus
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The 2GR-FE engine has been plagued with timing cover & cam housing leaks since it came out. I've reseal dozens while I worked at the dealer. Engine/trans come out with the subframe while the body is lifted off. ES & RX models both aren't fun to do. At least I never enjoyed doing them. I worked with several techs who liked the job. The leak can & will leak onto the subframe, ruin the control arm, rack & pinion bushings on the RF side. A few I did were leaking onto the exhaust pipe from getting slung off at high speeds. Those would have visible smoke coming out at idle. I did only a few customer pay reseals. Most all were warranty or extended warranty jobs that paid less than the time it took to do for me. 7 hrs for an ES & 9 for an RX while customer pay was 14 hrs
 
Those are BMW prices and in some cases more than BMW prices. BMW I6 engines tend to develop this common leak at the rear passenger side of the valve cover. The I6 is actually rotated a few degrees counter clockwise so oil pools in that particular spot. ~$2k cost to repair. Thankfully being an I6 the engine doesn't require to be removed.
 
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Originally Posted by edyvw
Are you sure that is Toyota? That would be impossible according to BITOG'ers.
Knock it off edy!
 
Originally Posted by SouthDakotaDad
Originally Posted by Gebo
I am learning that timing cover leaks are a big thing in certain Toyota and Lexus vehicles. I think it's primarily associated with 6 cylinder.

I am learning it is a "glue" issue that involves removing the engine at over 20 hours of labor ($2500 job)

Have any of you had any experience with this repair? Oil is not leaking on the ground yet but I was told to expect it to get to that point.


I had a 2009 Pontiac Vibe with Toyota 1.8L that had a leaky timing cover. Cost me 1850 dollars to fix it. If you started the vehicle in under 20 degrees F it would grind so loudly it would wake the dead. Above that temp, it sounded closer to normal. There was a TSB on this unit for that problem.

It needed a special part from Japan that was $$$$. Labor was like 1200 on that as it was very difficult to repair.


What was "grinding?"
 
I have a similar leak in my Tacoma (I know you guys probably are thinking this thing is a POS by now, lol) that starts at the passenger valve cover and works down. Doesn't appear to have gotten any worse since I've had the truck and driven it 5K miles. Fortunately you don't have to remove the engine in this case, but it's still a labor intensive job. It doesn't bother me in the least bit, to me it's not worth the $1500 to have it changed out.
 
No leaks from the timing covers on my Honda J35, or Volvo whiteblock, or Ford Lima 2.3...





just sayin' maybe timing belts aren't so bad... had a leaky cover on a Duratec 3.0-based Mazda... too much hassle to fix, but still an annoying mess...
 
Our 2017 2.3 Ecoboost Explorer had a weeping/leaking timing cover fixed by the dealer at around 35,000 miles when it was first discovered. 10,000 miles later it's weeping/leaking again, only worse. I will bring it back to the dealer again before the 60,000 mile power train warranty is up. I hope it gets permanently fixed the second time but I'm doubtful sad to say. We have Ford's premium ESP till 125,000 miles, so at worse it'll cost $100 per repair after 60,000 miles. But that's not right that it can't be fixed correctly the first time.

Whimsey
 
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