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

Yep. I waited a couple of weeks and got a discount.
bc

 

So which is the cam tower seal and which is the valve cover seal. I had a little oil but just had an oil change that might have been messy… sprayed it with brake cleaner and keeping an eye on it.. if what I think is the cam tower seal is right is a gray seal.

 

Is this the cam tower seal?

 

That is correct.

 

Got it. Think I’m in the clear on that one but possibly a valve cover seal issue

 

2021, 51k miles. Driver side looks good. Picture below is the passenger side. It looks a little damp/orange. But I also use Amsoil HD metal protectant so I wonder when I was undercoating it splashed on there. Perhaps someone smarter than me can take a look to see if there's more to it. Thanks!

 

I see no concerns.

 

Kind of hard to sea the cam shaft seal in this pic but don’t see anything that looks like an active leak

 

use UV dye in your oil and monitor if you see it seeping. I used that before and after mine was repaired back in 2017. It will ease your mind. Always tough to tell when trying to take a picture.

 

Does this staining look like the leak? So besides paying $6000 for toyota to fix it what do I need to do? Just keep an eye on the coolant level? Truck has 115k miles. Thanks!

 

That looks like a bit of rust to me. I recognize no evidence of a cam tower leak in your photo.

 

im not seeing anything that looks like an issue here… is this the drivers side or passenger side? If driver side sometimes you could be seeing left over spillage from a sloppy oil change … spray some brake cleaner on it and monitor if you see something but I’m not seeing anything

 

Several months later, had any luck with what this is? Mine is identical. 2018, 48xxx miles. Typical cam tower leak locations appear fine, valve covers appear fine. Dipstick reads normal. Just enough seepage for me to want to know what it is. Degreased and cleaned the engine bay, small amount of seepage reappeared in this exact location over the course of 3-4 months on both driver and passenger sides. Took it in to the dealer as I was worried about it being a head gasket (someone else on the forums got told it was the head gasket by their local dealer). Mine said they can't find anything... even after showing pictures and pointing it out to the service advisor...

 

most dealers will deny seeing anything because they flag rate doesn’t pay enough and it’s such an awful horrrible job the techs don’t want to deal with it

 

I purchased my truck used with about 130k on it. No idea how it was treated by previous owner. After i had it a bit i noticed stain on heat shield and once in a while i smelled oil when it dripped on hot parts. Saw it was cam tower and figured I'd just watch it until really had to be adressed.

Changed PCV and sprayed engine cleaner to get oil off engine. Best I can tell it has been dry since. Or if there is oil weeping at all, it is very slight and not enough to form drips anymore that I have noticed.

PCV may be a cheap bandaid fix for some of you guys too.

 

Or a possible preventative?

 

If you are concerned about your head gasket…. There has been a video and discussion of the 5.7 head gasket failure due to galvanic corrosion of the gasket due to “old” coolant. I changed my coolant after six years on my 2018 although I had only 40K miles. I’ll change it every 5 years. (The tech in the video had a few trucks he was scheduled to work on).

 

Thanks! Yup, have everything I need to exchange the coolant except for the time to do it! Haha.

 

I have seen that video but it's missing analysis of the coolant before getting to that conclusion. I recently PH tested a 8 years old coolant and brand new in bottle Toyota before flushing the radiator and they both had the same exact PH/color. Jury is still out imo.

 

Lots of folks posting photos questioning if they have a cam tower leak and the photos are spotless. If you have the leak, it will look like my truck here. Had the leak for 70k miles and never got worse. Obviously sweats oil but not enough to drip. Made the decision a long time ago I won’t get it repaired. Just drive it into the ground. Most reliable truck I’ve ever had.

 

I have been looking for a double cab and I have found 4 out of the 5 I looked at had the Cam tower leak. Frustrating because for the most part the rest of the trucks have been in good condition.