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

They will do a dye test, so that won't work. They clean it off, inject some dye in your engine, and then have you come back in a few days to "verify" that it is leaking. My first one was leaking and dripping onto the exhaust shield, so that one was easy. My second one is just a seep - I am waiting until it is closer to the end of warranty to take it in. We will see what they say. Doesn't matter much to me anyway. Fairly certain this truck is going to be gone by the end of the year, if not sooner - but if I can get it fixed, that will be an easier sale when the time comes.

 

I dropped off my truck on the 1/21 with the dealer as previously scheduled. I have a fairly decent leak with fumes entering my cabin. Leak was confirmed, I was told they will only do one side as Toyota won’t cover both (50K), I was told to expect at least a week of a turnaround as they’re busy, I don’t care if it takes them two weeks as long as it’s properly done by A Tech and hopefully not a guy who changes oil on weekends . Dealer put me in a 2012 RAV4 loaner . Keep my fingers crossed, let you know how it turns out.

 

With the amount of work involved to do just one side why wouldn't they do both. I would inquire about what it will cost to finish the other side.
Both valve covers need to be removed to do just onr side. And depending on which timing chain is in the rear they both might have to be removed.
Removing the other side is minimal

 

When I had mine done they would only do the passenger side as well, I even offered to pay for the driver side. They said they would not open up more then needed because that in of itself could lead to issues that might of not happened if they left the driver side alone. They also did mine w/o removing the front timing cover as well so that could of also been part of it.

 

How on earth do you remove a camshaft carrier without removing the chains. Impossible to do it correctly.
The proper way in the manual is to remove the timing cover. Cant see how else you can do it other9

 

It can be done that way, there's a video that's been posted on here of that process. You have to undo the gears from the cams and then just hold them out of the way with bungees and you can sneak out the cam cradle. Not saying its right, but that's what was done on mine. Its also been said on here that Toyota does not compensate correctly for this repair which in return probably has techs looking for short cuts to save time.

 

Here the video is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiO9ARX9Lts

 

Too much could go wrong there. I will stick to the proper way.

 

If your doing it yourself, otherwise you don't have control of how the dealership decides on how they will fix it. I found out after the repair was done that they did mine like this. Toyota is at fault for a lame design leading us down this road and then they cut the time dealers get to bill for this job compounding the issues..but hey its Toyota they do no wrong I guess...

 

Just found out mine is leaking on the passenger side just bought it used in November has 63000 miles man this sucks

Any suggestions for a disappointed owner

 

It's always a good idea to de-grease your engine from time to time, and make it a practice to look under the hood often so you can monitor the situation and wipe off oil & fluids whenever you see them.

 

I concur, in the 5 years I have been at the dealership I've only seen one can tower leak on a high mileage Tundra and I live in a very cold part of the country.

 

I'd avoid that, at least if it involves Water.

Unless you take the time to cover up Every electrical connection.

Any water making in there and not having the time to dry out Completely may lead to a short.

Ask me how I know....

 

BS, I wash mine all the time and not a problem. The wash guy at the dealership does every car that comes in on trade and I haven't seen a problem.

 

Also could be just an issue with the 5.7. Or You just might happen to be the unlucky one. Even tough there is Quality control on an assembly line, some bad parts slip through, or someone just messed up this one. Glad they fixed it.

 

Most dealerships steam clean there engines.

 

Design flaw IMO, how else does a quality control issue linger for this long without Toyota taking action to rectify it. That goes against everything Toyota as a company claims to be.

 

Mine has stopped leaking since I stopped towing my trailer. I'm at 8000 miles now.

Driver's side was diagnosed as a leak after a two week camping trip last summer. The dealership was ready to fix it and I decided to wait. We have a ten day camping trip planned this summer, so we'll see if it starts up again.

 

Well my dealer called me today and said they will fix both side of my cam towers!!


goes for surgery next week!

 

Just checked my truck today since buying it two weeks ago and no signs of any leaks , sitting at 36k right now but I’ll keep a eye out for sure after reading through this thread.

 

Just got approved for the fix on both sides! 17k miles on the truck. Thanks to everyone on this thread for the quality info on this important issue.

 

Have you all been taking your trucks to dealer you bought from? Looks like I'll need to take mine in

 

I didn't. I bought my truck used from a dealer in Maryland actually knowing that it had the cam tower leak. We went round and round and I made them put it in writing that my cam tower leak would be fixed under warranty (certified toyota purchase). I had a dealer in VA where I live fix both sides under warranty. Doesn't need to be the dealer that sold you the truck.

 

It can be any Toyota dealer you want. My local Toyota dealer are idiots! So I take my truck to another Toyota dealer 2hrs away, way better service.

 

That's funny because that's when mine started, on a long trip pulling my camper. It has since stopped, we shall see when we start up again pulling it.
Mine is also drivers side, I am at 27,000 miles

 

Toyota headquarters would not pay for mine. I own a 2010 tundra 5.7. Had mine fixed January 2020. Cost me 2700. Tried all I could to get them to help or pay for it. But due to age of truck past 5yrs. Its fine still enjoy driving my truck.I also have 2015 sequoia.

 

Just checked mine and the drivers side is leaking. Looks like black sealant.

 

That's interesting. Report back after you start towing and I'll do the same.

My theory for my truck is that towing triggers the driver's side leak. I think I'll end up with a droplet after camping season this fall. When that happens, I'll get Toyota to re-confirm the leak. Then I bet it stops until next year. It will take something significantly more than a seasonal leak to fix it.

Someone posted earlier about more issues in colder climates. My truck sits outside and is the mountains regularly all winter. Leak stopped when it started snowing.

 

Will do. I am thinking when towing, rpms are way above normal for much longer periods which I would think maybe the higher pressures ?
I'm not ripping my motor apart for a drip during camping season either

 

When the dealer did the repair on my 2018 the master tech said they get 1-2 per MONTH. It's a pretty big/busy dealer, but I agree with others saying this issue is more widespread than we think. My 2018 had it and now my 2010 has it. Either this is a pretty common issue or I just have terrible luck.