2016 cam tower leak…extended warranty will cover it

I believe I have a cam tower leak. Compared my truck to my brothers and his is clean as a whistle…mine has some obvious oil residue along gasket area viewed from front passenger wheel well. Brought to a local dealer months ago when I suspected it and they said that the engine was just “sweating” oil….pretty crazy terminology for a professional mechanic huh?? So obviously I won’t be going back there. My extended warranty guy said they cover it…& he actually used to be a Toyota mechanic and said they do plenty of those fixes….but I should research dealerships in my area who have successfully done the fix because I want it done right. Truck has 64k miles and my warranty is good through 121k miles or 9/30….so I’m in no rush.

Anyone ever have this done and how do you find a reputable dealership and know the dealership will do it right?

 

If you just have residue and it’s not actively dripping, I probably wouldn’t mess with it if it were mine. I have a 2016 and had the left cam tower resealed using my Toyota extended warranty and probably should have left it alone. I think you’re better off not tearing into the engine unless really necessary. I found one of my bolts just sitting completely loose not even hand tightened, and discovered quite of bit of wire wheel debris (from them removing the old seal) on oil changes and in oil filters for at least 3 or 4 oil changes after the procedure was done (a common occurance from other people I’ve heard have the work done). In retrospect my engine would have probably been better off with leaving the minimal leak well enough alone. Just my thoughts. YMMV

 

Thanks for your insight! That’s precisely what I was wondering about…more of a problem if a shitty fix occurred. I will keep a close eye on it.

 

Hey, I had mine done around March 2023 also a 2016. Originally truck was at dealership because squirrel chewed through wire harness. They said my leak wasn't terrible but since they were diving in to fix the harness they might as well take care of it now rather than later on when it would cost more money. My extended warranty covered it too no hassle at all. Seems to be fine still. I am also in NJ and used Toyota of Turnersville. It's not the closest dealership to me but for some reason I trust them over the other one. All the service people I've had have been top notch. I'll take it to them for anything and trust them to do it right.

 

Oh wow!! Great info!! Thanks!! Turnersville is bout an hour south of me so it would be feasible to use them!! Thanks again and good to hear your Tundra is running smoothly!!

 

Looks like I may be contacting Turnersville Toyota to fix my cam tower leak! I havnt been keeping an eye on it too much but when I checked my dipstick 2 days ago the dipstick was bone dry!! I added 2 quarts of oil!! Below pics are after adding 1/2 quart, then a whole quart, and then adding a second whole quart. Low oil light never came on. Cam tower appears to have a drip. I have an appointment tomorrow at Gateway Toyota…last time they looked at it they said it was the “engine sweating oil”….so I don’t have confidence in them doing a cam tower fix.

 

let me know what Gateway Toyota says. Hopefully they take care of you.

 

Doesn't look like a 2 quart leak? Most I've seen leak minimal.

 

I added 2 quarts and it took the level up to mid way between the 2 dots on the dipstick. I didn’t notice any on the ground where I usually park it though.

 

Gateway is guna do the job and will take my Triton Protection Plan warranty coverage. Tech mentioned it was a $3800 job….So I’m lucky I bought the warranty. They have the truck now and gave me a brand new Tacoma as a loaner….nice lil Taco!! Tech said it may be done tomorrow..which I thought it was a bigger job than that…but time will tell. I asked if the mechanic done cam tower leaks before cuz I heard stories of trucks coming back differently…& he said he was their top mechanic and has done plenty.

Interestingly enough….along w the $120 for an oil change….he tried charging me a $175 diagnostic fee…& when I questioned why …because it was a 2 minute visual inspection to reveal the leak…he backpedaled a bit & said he could work with that charge….so I called Triton warranty and Keith had the whole conversation w Gateway on his computer and said Triton paid them $87.50 for a half hour to diagnose the issue!!! When I told the tech that I talked to Triton and they already paid Gateway $87.50 to diagnose it….he said he was not guna charge a diagnostic fee. Then I asked if I was guna be charged for an oil change (which is somewhat why i brought it in) but since the cam tower is being worked on…i should not have to pay for an oil change or any new oil..Triton said I wud just have to pay for the new oil filter….he again backpedaled on charging for an oil change….so it was very shady til I caught it and called em out on it.

then he said his boss asked why I needed a truck as a loaner….cuz boss wanted to decommission the new Taco from being a loaner…& I said look at this camo shirt…its deer season…but dont worry I wont bring it back w deer blood in the bed!!! Lol

 

Well I'm glad they're doing it and warranty is covering it! I am glad turnersville never has given me that run around of charging me all those diagnostic fees (they would if I said to look into something and didn't get it fixed by them or repaired which is fair). And funny enough I got my rental through enterprise, first was a v6 ram. First day it was fine, went to bed, woke up to go to the gym and bam wouldn't start. Tried to jump it and nothing lol had to get that towed and they gave me a Tacoma too lol. It was snowboard season so I needed a truck, didn't want to risk taking a car up mountain roads etc.

But anyways glad you're getting it fixed. Warranty just paid for itself!! Same thing with me and my warranty, this one repair and I come out ahead. I think my fee was $2,600 ish but again they had to tear into the engine to replace all the harnesses the squirrels chewed and ruined so that's why it was cheap.

Happy to hear it all worked out. Make sure you keep an eye on the repair. I think my cam tower leak was warrantied by them for 1 year or 10k miles. So ask about that too to be safe (my whole truck warranty just ran out as I passed 102k miles)

 

Mine was closer to $5K, yes I had to pay for it.
But they replaced everything replaceable that they took off.
Water pump, belt, spark plugs, etc..
Make sure your dealer is going to do all that for $3800..

Mine happened at 105k miles, my extended warranty ran out at 75K miles.
I never had to use my extended warranty...

 

Yeah if I waited to do mine at a later date they said $6,000 or more. Kinda perfect timing with the squirrel getting my engine harness I guess.

 

Update. Truck is done and will pick it up tomorrow AM. The Triton extended warranty covered the $3380 bill. Hope they did it right. Is there anything I should keep an eye for if they botched it?

 

Just picked up truck…tried charging me for oil change labor and other half of $175/hr diagnostic fee….told him I should not have to pay for those 2 things…he went to manager n got it waived. So I only paid for oil filter and $100 warranty deductible.

this is what it looks like….i see the black caulk. I don’t like the oil residue I see on the bottom of the rounded plate…figured this would be clean and bone dry….so I will keep an eye on it and let warranty company know.

 

Btw the way….the lil 4 banger turbo Tacoma I had as a loaner was a fun lil truck! Had some pep to its step and I would consider it someday depending on what gas prices eventually do.

 

I whose under the 30,000 mile warranty and Toyota said that it's a weep and wouldn't fix it. But said when it becomes a wet spot they will fix it under warranty regardless of mileage. That looks like a fix is required.

 

just seeing the update now. I'm 99% sure mine looked the same. I'll check tomorrow and report back. The black caulk looking stuff is good to see, means it was fully sealed. I believe them not using enough originally is how the leaks started.
I agree they could've cleaned it up a little better but it's luck of the draw based on the tech and dealership I suppose.

 

Took photos about an hour ago. Definitely not as thick as yours. Not sure what to think lol but mine's been solid since they re-did it.