CAM SHAFT TOWER SEAL LEAKING ** PLEASE READ***

It would have to be a pretty nasty leak to adversely effect your oil level. I mean a 6" diameter puddle on the floor every day you park it in the garage (or driveway, whichever) and it would take some time before you could measure the difference on the dipstick. Imagine how big a puddle would be if you poured a quart of oil on your garage floor.

I haven't read of any cam tower leaks that even come close to this amount of leakage.

Dan

 

I need to take mine in sometime soon I guess. Hell, I bought this truck (certified used) knowing it had the leak since I checked before the test drive. I made the dealership put it in writing that it would be covered just for peace of mind. Im not overly worried about it but will get it fixed before I hit 100k.

 

I'm heading in to the dealership on Saturday for my next oil change (40K miles). I've having them check mine again (every oil change). Mine is "seeping" on the drivers side, but not bad enough for Toyota to do anything about it. They documented it and I'm having it inspected every oil change.

 

what happened to OP ? he disappeared after starting the thread

 

His wife probably banned him from here after spending all his money on mods and group buys.

 

Well, just completed the 40K service at the dealership. I asked to have them check my Cam Tower again (at ~36K they noted it as "seeping", but not bad enough for them to get approval). When the service advisor told me the truck was all done and ready to go he told me that the Cam Tower is a little worse than before (still not dripping), but that they would now take care of it for me. I'm dropping the truck off Wednesday morning at 7am. Only the drivers side is showing any signs of seepage - the passenger side is dry. I'll follow up on here with my experience in case anyone else in the Phoenix area is looking for a dealership to perform the fix.

 

Have you mentioned to them if they can do both side? Might as well while they are in there.

 

I asked when I first noted it was leaking at ~36K and they said no. They could only get it approved if both were leaking. I will ask again on Wednesday when I drop it off. I'd much rather only have to go through this procedure one time.

 

Yes exactly once is good enough. Don’t know why they don’t do both sides should be mandatory just like an front axel assembly, if one is leaking they both get replaced.

 

Cost them money, that's why they try to get away with only doing the side that's leaking.

 

Just checked my son's 2008 Tundra with 179,000 hard miles on it. Totally spotless on both sides. He does not baby this thing and it runs like new.

Dan

 

yeah seems like the earlier ones 2007-2009 ish don't have that issue as much.

 

Has anyone had this fix done in the greater Kansas City area? I don’t mind a small drive but I don’t want to travel for hours. I am looking for a dealer who has done this a few times around me. I don’t want my truck to be a trial run or learning experience. 2010 here with low miles and it’s leaking on the exhaust manifold.

 

Mine is seeping on both sides and getting it fixed at the dealer. Would the issue occur again in the future?

 

From other previous posts, it will not leak as they use a better sealant.

 

It’s suppose to be a simple fix with better sealant other than the stock factory one. Also, the problem I’ve gathered is the machine not applying enough. So when you get it fixed manually it’s done correctly.

 

That is reassuring. Got my Sequoia at Carmax and they are eating the cost for the fix. Good to know it won't likely leak again.

 

Its not common but there have been a few members with repeat leaks after the fix.

I still say this is a design issue and not an application issue, if the machine in the factory isn't applying enough why wouldn't Toyota recalibrate the machine to apply the correct amount and solve this issue.

 

Just received an update from the dealer earlier this afternoon. My truck should be finished tomorrow and I should be able to pick it up after 1pm. They only did the drivers side cam tower (passenger side is bone dry). Also, getting a full detail (at a decent price) before I pick it up. He said everything was going smooth during the repair. Hope there are no issues . Until then, I'm driving a loaner they gave me (2019 Corolla LE).

 

This. It's a shitty seal design.

 

Well, just picked up my truck from the dealer this afternoon. Driver's side cam tower is resealed and engine sounds as healthy as it did before. They billed a total of 9 hours of labor (under powertrain warranty) for resealing the one side. I had to get right back to work, but i'll try to grab a shot tomorrow of the cam tower with the new sealant. They also did a great job detailing (inside/outside/engine bay) for $169. Anyone in the Phoenix area looking for a dealer to perform this, I'd recommend Camelback Toyota for the repair.

 

Not a great picture since its 9pm and dark out, but just got home from work and snapped a picture showing the black sealant used on the Cam tower.

 

Nice! Looks like They went all out!
Hopefully the other side never leaks

 

yep same on mine. big layer of sealant.

 

So I went to the dealer today, and told them I had oil leaking from the cam tower seals and dripping on to the exhaust on both sides, burning smell etc. The service "adviser" calls me a couple hours in and says the techs cant find an oil leak, but that my cabin air filter is dirty, and that may be making a burning smell. I politely laughed at him, and offered to go back into the shop and show him and his tech the leak. They had the truck 7 feet in the air, skid plate off, and were looking all over the bottom of the engine for leaks. I asked them to lower the truck down, since the cam tower is on the top of the engine and was visible through the wheel well. They lowered the truck down, and I pointed through the wheel well to the oily seals and the drips forming above the headers. I think I had the adviser and the tech pretty flustered by this point, but they called over there senior tech to confirm. He glanced through the wheel wells and said yup, both sides leaking, and advised the adviser to call Toyota to confirm my warranty coverage. I talked to the senior tech and he said he had repaired several of these seals, and would need the truck for 3 days to do both sides. So long story short. My CPO warranty will cover the repair, and I get a rental for a few days. I am scheduled to drop it off Monday and should have it back Wednesday or Thursday.

The one think I forgot to ask about, was a warranty extension or repair warranty. My 7 yr 100000 mi CPO warranty expires in August. I know a few others on hear had their warranties extended, or got a warranty on the repair. Did you get these from the dealer, or by calling Toyota NA?

I'll definitely report back with results when I get her back!

 

I just had mine done this week (drivers side only), but I didn't ask about any extended warranty on the repair. I'm at 40K miles now and have the Toyota warranty til 100K, so I didn't even think to ask about it.

 

Yeah, I've only got 60K on the clock, but I'm a 2012. So the jig is up if I don't get an extension. If I had lots of warranty left I probably wouldn't worry about it, but it also never hurts to ask in these kind of situations.

 

Holy! Hopefully the senior tech will be doing the job!
The other tech didn’t even know where the cam tower is!

 

I got a 2 year 24,000 on the fix from the dealer.

 

Finally got the truck back from a camtower fix only the driver side. Passenger is bone dry.
What a relief to get my truck back.