2016 Tundra Repairs (Timing Chain Tensioner, Cam Towers, and more)

Hi Everyone,
I am a new member. I have owned lots of Toyotas but just purchased my first Tundra 3 months ago so I wanted to join and ask for some advice.

I purchased a 2016 Crew Max 4x4 Limited with 184,000 miles (mods include leveling spacers in the front with XD Design 20" wheels and Kelly offroad tires). It was an as-is purchase from a large dealership in SoCal (AutonNation). As soon as I drove home I noticed a ticking sound from the engine. The sound went away after the engine was warm so I figured I would look into it later. I email them right away about the sound and they said they were not aware of the issue and it was sold as-is. I ended up finding may threads on the timing chain tensioner and it was the exact same sound. My plan was to repair it later when I had the chance.

3,000 miles later, I finally have the opportunity to take it in for a check up on the timing chain tensioner (I know, I should have done this sooner). The Toyota dealership I took it to found many more issues, cam towers leaking, water pump and coolant regulator leaking, bell housing leaking, U-Joint needs replacing, all fluids need to be changed. I confirmed this with another small mechanic shop. The Toyota dealership also pointed out that the truck was in someone else's name. This made me look further into the carfax, which showed that someone purchased the truck a month before me and took it to a truck shop, then returned it to AutoNation. I asked the truck shop on the carfax for a report of the visit and it had all of the same items that my mechanics told me about.

At this point, I went to the dealership to complain and they said it was "As-is" and the previous purchaser did not give a reason for returning. I managed to get ahold of the previous purchaser and he said he furnished the report of all the issues his trucks shop found and Autonation said they would do all repairs if he kept the truck but he did not want that and just returned it.

So instead of fixing these issues and re-listing, they just re-listed at even a higher price and I ended up being the person that purchased the truck with these issues. I have gone up the chain of command at the dealership all the way to the general manager and they denied taking back the truck or fixing it. I asked for a list of the "50-point inspection" on the truck and they finally gave it to me showing that they found nothing. However, the report includes checking for oil leaks, sounds at start up and they should have caught it. Not to mention they were told by the person who returned it all of the issues that it had. The timing chain tensioner slaps so loud at startup that neighbors stare so there is no reason that they would not know about it.

I then contacted several law offices and they were interested but ended up not taking the case with as-is sales being hard to win these days in court.

Anyways, now that the picture is painted, I am just wondering what advice you would have for me and whether I should:

1. Do all repairs at a reputable Toyota Mechanic shop
2. Do some or none of the repairs and just drive it for some time
3. Sell the truck or trade it in for a loss

Apart from the engine issues the interior/exterior are very clean, no rust, drives very smooth. Any advice or feedback would be greatly appreciated!

 

How much did you pay for the truck?

I got my 2015 for a good deal but it had a few of these issues. My cam towers leak. It also has an exhaust tick. Tick goes away when warm and I can literally see just a tiny bit of black soot on a small part of the passenger side manifold. Need to replace that one day.

I might also have my U joints starting to go, but it's too early to tell. Going to recheck when I do the next oil change. They were good when I bought it though. Mine had 159k when I bought it and is currently at 174k. 184k is a lot of miles, even with a Toyota things start to go. Small things though. Your truck will last a long time if you take care of it.

If it were me I would at least replace fluids and do the water pump/coolant regulator. Don't mess around with leaking coolant or your truck will be overheating before you know it. Previous owners of mine did the water pump, battery and the alternator right before I bought it. The WPs only last so long I guess.

Leaking cam towers just keep an eye on the oil. If its not pouring out of there you'll be just fine don't worry about it. Oil is easy to top up, its not a problem unless its leaking so fast you can't keep up with it. Mine takes a quart every 4k miles. That's just fine with me, i'm not touching the cam towers till I am leaking more than a quart every 1k miles.

U joints themselves aren't an issue but vibrations can damage other components such as your transmission output shaft. They are cheap and easy to replace so I would go ahead and do it.

Not sure what you mean by bellhousing leak. Are you saying rear main seal or output shaft leak? If its the output shaft you can go ahead and fix that when doing U joints since the driveshaft will be out. The Tundras don't have transmission dipsticks, which is on the very short list of things about them I really do not like. You can't check the fluid levels in the transmission so if you are leaking trans fluid that needs fixed. If its a rear main seal, its the same deal as the cam towers.

Timing tensioner I believe takes a long time for it to really do any damage. I would think it will start getting louder before it does too. I would just leave it, but I have a high risk tolerance. Of all the issues you mentioned, this is the only one you should actually worry about. The rest of the things naturally happen with age

 

Thank you for the response! I got the truck for $25,800 and 28 out the door. They specified "Engine Bell Housing - Poss Rear Main".

I managed to find the pictures of the oil leaks attached.

 

A rear main seal requires removal of the transmission to fix. Its an expensive job. From my experience half the time replacing the seal doesn't even fix the issue either.

It also generally doesn't get much worse than what it is now, so if it isn't just pouring out of there leave it alone. My 1985 Corvette has been leaking oil from the rear main for something like 10 years and its never gotten worse. My previous truck was 20 years old, 15 when I got it. It had a rear main leak as well. Leaked from the day I bought to the day I sold it. Just a few drops every now and then. No big deal.

My advice is to definitely fix your coolant leaks, consider fixing your U joints, and leave the oil leaks alone. Might ask some other forum members about the timing tensioner and get a second opinion on that.

I wouldn't sell it or trade it in. Stealerships probably would give you a lowball offer with all the miles. Tell us what stealership you used and also give them a bad review on google to warn others.

I purchased mine private party. Stealerships give an illusion of safety in buying something good, but in reality stealerships can screw you just as hard as private parties but you'll pay a lot more for the same thing.

In the future, always do a pre-purchase inspection at a local mechanic shop, preferably a Toyota specific one. It usually costs around 100$ and its worth every penny.