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

Thats a good idea to get a truck as a loaner. Just pull my boat behind as I am dropping it off.

 

Coincidentally, it was legit. I was bringing my motorcycle in to the dealer for a couple TSBs.

 

Just curious, and sorry if this has already been answered. Those of you who have been getting the leak, what have your oil change intervals been? TIA

 

I change mine every 5,000 miles. Intervals has nothing to do with it. It is just a combination of a poor design and poor assembly procedure.

 

I saw online some people came up with the theory of oil type, but that seems to not be the case either. This is bad design and poor assembly/ quality control on Toyotas part as @Atomic City Tundra stated.

 

Just picked up my truck. They had it from Tuesday morning and finished the job earlier today. I confirmed they did both sides based on the black sealant on both engine banks. Let’s hope this never happens again.

 

Nice, lucky to have both sides done.

Make sure to check your oil level and don't forget to change oil in about 200miles.

 

Yeah I was thinking of doing an oil change pretty quick.

Very happy to have my truck back after being in that RAV4 all week.

 

Recently purchased mine used with 57k. After reading about the issue here, took it to my local dealer. They said both sides had minor leaks. Tore into it the next business day fixed it and assured me it wouldn't leak again. No cost to me, powertrain warranty covered it.

Awesome customer service Toyota!

 

right on time before you hit 60K

 

Yup

 

I'm about to buy a new Tundra and I was planning on getting the underside sprayed by Linex. Is that going to impact the access or ability to fix the cam tower leak, if my Tundra turns out to have the problem?

 

Welcome!

 

Thanks all for the friendly welcome!

Another question, I read through this thread but apologies if I missed this: if the oil is not dripping to the floor but just seeping out, what's the potential risk of just not getting it fixed? Seems like if the risk isn't that great, I'd rather not have the engine ripped open to fix it? Along the same lines, what are the potential risks of having the engine ripped open to fix it?

Thoughts?

 

Mine was barely seeping (had to look hard to find it). No smell or smoke, but I wanted it repaired under warranty before it became worse. My understanding is that it usually starts about 60k.

 

Hondoman, so it sounds like you felt like the potential risks of opening up the engine was worth fixing the tiny seeping? Are you not concerned that the dismantling and reassembly of the engine could introduce different/worse issues later on?

 

Honestly, I didn't want to risk it getting worse after the warranty runs out (only 2.5k miles now) and either being out $3500 later or not having it repaired and potentially hurting the resale value.

In this case, I think humans can do a better job than robots. As many trucks that have this issue, I'm confident they know how to correctly put them back together.

 

Really no telling if it will remain a seep or get worse, if mine wasn't leaking like it was I would have probably left alone vs. having things opened up like what had to be done.

There really isn't a mileage it starts at, pretty much all over the place. One member in here had the leak at 580miles and I had mine at 21k...so somewhere between 0 and 60k I guess your could say.

 

I let mine go til I hit 58K, then I went to Toyota right before my powertrain warranty was up.

 

TheBeast, when did you first notice the leak? Why did you wait until 58K?

 

around 45K I would say. It didn't bother me. I probably had it on since 35 or 40K. I kept going back and forth on getting it fixed or not but eventually took care of it before I ran out of warranty after reading on this forum.

 

BAH! This is not want I want to see. I just got out of a 2017 F150 For engine issues! I have a New 2017 Tundra now that I will be checking for leaks... 888 Miles and don't have it yet. I sure hope to be a lucky one and not get it. I did a quick search at cars.com and there are several 330,000 plus mile 5.7 tundras out there so if we all have to have the work done then they surely did and it still performed...

 

Mine started at 14K. I know several people that had them start leaking very early also. Not really a "time" when this occurs from what I have seen. Just that some do it, some don't.

 

There is a poll on here. It has been getting more attention, but it could use a whole lot more votes. Forums can make a problem seem like an epidemic since most people turn to forums for advice or to search for others with their same problem.

I'm not downplaying the cam tower leak, it is common enough that Toyota should have done something about it years ago to prevent future model years from continuing to suffer from a known issue. But by the numbers maybe it's not as common as we think.

Everyone reading this thread daily should vote. I'm sure this thread has a dozen people starring through their front wheel wells every day.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/ple...does-not-have-a-leaking-cam-tower-seal.21843/

 

Signed

 

I don't need to stay in a 1/2 ton, but if I get something that can tow more I'm just going to want to go buy something bigger to tow! But really, the Chevy 6.0L gas engine seems to get similar MPG to the 5.7L, so that's something to think about...

I really do love my Toyota and am starting to worry less about this as time goes on. I'm honestly kind of waiting for the Tundra redesign. I'll probably wait until the gen 4 is a year or two old and then get into something else. My powertrain warranty will be good through Sept 2022, so if Toyota can manage to get the gen 4 out by 2020 I'll have some time to make a decision.

 

I had a 2500 HD 6.0 2wd that would barley get 12mpg on the highway. Mostly 9-10 mixed average.