Hey, what's leaking here? (Lower timing cover, valve cover)

Noticed lately when parking, small little whiff of oil burning, ala valve cover gaskets.

After looking closer, I've got two leaks. Passenger valve cover A-OK but driver side is leaking onto manifold shield. I also see an interesting leak coming from the driver's sde timing cover, it's saturating the cover.

Two questions, remembering this is a 72k mile truck:

1) Any tips or clues on what's leaking at the timing cover?

2) When replacing the valve cover gaskets, anything else to do while in there, or any tips/warnings?

Timing cover pics leak pics, valve cover below those - blue arrows show the flow - maybe is puddling inside the timing cover, then leaking out, down the block, to the dipstick support, then down the dipstick tube:



Close up on that, this's been going on for a while:


Another angle:




And the valve cover pics:

 

Could this be it:
https://www.tundras.com/threads/cam-shaft-tower-seal-leaking-please-read.20102/

 

Not sure, but wish I had your editing skillzzzzz

 

Aw fuck. I can't believe you've done this...

 

Completely different engine.

 

Noah makes me do it...

 

I don't know, but I have the same leak on both sides. I'm assuming its valve covers. Waiting until spring to fix it as the actual oil loss doesn't show up on the dipstick.

 

But, thank you @shawn474, some dickwad didn't like my help, it sucks...

 

Yall fellers not knowing how to stay in yalls lane really make me not so happy

 

Wrong gen, unfortunately. But appreciate the effort, thanks for checking in on us 1st gen fellas.

It's Microsoft Paint Nothing special going on here.

I was thinking to myself, "Damn. 10 replies already? This one must've been obvious and I'm a dumbass". Little did I know I got the meme hammer

Well, I at least feel better I'm not the only one. I've got new Iridium plugs already. My coils look mint. I guess I may just buy a Felpro kit while I'm at it and re-gasket.

I'm going to watch a teardown video tonight to see what things look like under the timing cover. I can't imagine the valve cover is the source of the timing cover leak. I'll pop the timing cover off tomorrow and see what I see I guess?

 

As someone without a viable, reliable laptop/desktop, wonder if there's an app for that.

Meme hammer was correct..

 

i will be seeing myself out now….

 

https://youtu.be/aeZsKHDOwfg

 

Had a similar leak in my vvti. Cam seal on passenger side so it was leaking in the same direction. Yours is driver, but since the cams turn clockwise, I'd wager that's your cause. You'll want to put in valve cover gaskets as well since you have to remove them to do the seals.

Follow the FSM and it's not too bad. I did it over the summer. The Aisin kit comes with both cam seals and crank seal -- https://www.rockauto.com/en/parts/aisin,SKT002,timing+cover+seal,5612
Same parts as the factory. Oh and get the sealant AB1207B1 for the covers.

Annoying music, but helpful on top of the timing belt videos -- https://youtu.be/a-bSq4HfB4M

 

Oof that looks like a shit-ton more work than my old fathering ass will have time for.

I'm going to clean the old oil cake off tomorrow and keep a close eye to see if I can figure out how much oil it's throwing over the course of 1, 3, 6, 12 months. Neither leak is bad enough to impact the dip stick, so I may just do the valve cover gaskets now, then save the cam seals for next TB/WP change.

Assuming that's what it is, that suuuuuucks. Really wouldn't expect it with the super minimal mileage and wear & tear the drivetrain has seen.

 

I thought the leak was just the valve cover or PCV valve as I've had it on mine for the last couple of years. So it's the cam seal? Wonderful. What happens if I just continually ignore it?

 

cam seal.
ROYAL BITCH OF A JOB.

camshafts have to be removed on the 05-06 trucks because the seal is between the cam phaser and cam

less driven vehicles are the ones that tend to leak the most from here. lower mileage typically means this leak will be present

its not hard work. but its long work. t belt and all has to come off. engine needs to be at a specific spot too to be sure valve damage doesnt occur.


the valve covers are easy though..

 

The lord has spoken. I'll add that I'd do the VC for now, then clean the timing cover and see if it comes back. And remember, it's 20 INCH pounds on the VC bolts, not ft-lb.

 

Mine had 145k and two TB changes (dealer records) last year when I discovered a leak. Not low, but not high either for 16 years old. Originally thought it was the crank seal as the oil was coming down behind those covers all the way to the center weep hole above the oil pan. Wasn't until breaking it down to do the crank seal that I discovered it was in fact the cam seal. Ordered that Aisin kit to knock out all 3. Yours being on the drivers side makes it easier to see since it leaks clockwise. You can take that cam cover off to see how bad inside, but it's probably mild. Mine got worse over a year, and eventually the entire oil pan was wet, but never a spot on the driveway.

If you just did the TB/WP, then you wouldn't have to replace them to do the cam seals, but as @empty_lord said, it's a lot of work to get there. This job is mostly labor. I'm guessing it's at least an 8hr quote at the dealer.

Yes! Read that FSM carefully. I did have to get a 1/4 inch torque wrench for this. I wouldn't reuse valve cover seals, so that would be two swaps once this job was then tackled. Also scraping off the 16 yr old FIPG was one of the most tedious parts of this job. I wouldn't want to do that twice in a short period of time. If the VCs aren't leaking bad, maybe tighten them 5 in. lbs. to see if that slows/stops the leak until you do the whole thing.

 

I guess I'd re-ask Jack's question and add one to it for you two:

If leak is miniscule, any additive to help beef up the seals, and what's the risk of doing nothing for a while, other than perpetuating gunk buildup?

Based on your comments, I'm thinking I'll:
- Pop off driver side TB cover, snap some pics
- Reinstall, cleanup leakage so I can audit/track leaking severity
- Tighten driver side VC another 5"lb, if still leaks, replace VC gasket
- Hold off on cam seal until next WP/TB mine's 2yrs out, IIRC

I just picked up the correct 130A alt and new serpentine (Gates HD green) so I'll still be tackling that this month.

Any preference on VC gasket? Looks like OEM is ~$25/ea shipped, I'm actually cool w/that, though I'm normally a Fel-Pro guy.

 

That all sounds like a good plan. I initially was going to ignore it, but monitored it after a clean up as well and it seemed to reappear quick enough, I just said, screw it, let's get it done. Sick of the mess as a high oil leak gets everywhere. My TB/WP was only 25k and 3 years old, but since I was in there and the Aisin kit isn't that expensive, just did it along with tensioner, radiator and serpentine.

I went with the Fel Pro kit as well since it comes with spark plug and oil neck seals also. No problems thus far.

I'd suggest you stick with that plan. Clean it up and see how bad the leak reappears. It's probably not that serious if you ignore it for a bit, as it's high on the engine and not hindering operation. Just need to check oil levels. I'm not a huge sealant in a bottle fan, but I also never only have one vehicle, so one down while I repair it isn't a big deal to get around. All in all, it sucks, but if you have to be down for a bit and can do it, it's just tedious. If you take it in, be prepared for a high quote.

 

Dibs

 

I noted where my wet leaks were, and cleaned. Since then, a quick spray cleans everything and it doesnt leak enough to drain the pan, so im not gonna mess with it.

 

All the older Yotas I've had at least had a small oil leak. I thought that's how you could tell there was still oil in it lol

 

Basically did the same just now before the torrential rain poured in. I'm going to wait and see what happens now.

When I swap the alt, I'm going to get under it and thoroughly wipe down the top of the crossmember that's been getting the brunt of the leak. With how dry the oil was on removal, I suppose it's entirely possible this was fixed back in mid-2017 when the previous owner had the TB done.

Got sucked in on cleaning up some parts and testing electric circuits, had to wrap up before I had time to torque the VC bolts (I failed to see how many in# is stock so I could tack a few on) or ... whatever the other thing I was supposed to do was. But I got all the oil cleaned on the top-end.

 

That just seems like free rust proofing.