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

Congrats! Mine's done. Picking it up in the morning.

 

I don’t know how long it’s been leaking but I’m going to push to have it fixed, I think. I’m still under extended warranty and I plan to keep this truck a while so I think the juice will be worth the squeeze. Going in next week for them to scope it out.

 

I got my truck back this morning. Both sides were sealed, which I confirmed as soon as it showed up in the bay. Black FIPG. Timing cover was also leaking. Two hours labor to remove and reinstall the RCI sliders and skids.

So far so good. Drove around today and everything seems fine.

 

Body off frame, holy moly.

Where was your timing cover leaking?

 

That spot in the second photo, I think.

 

Your second photo has a partially disassembled engine where all fluids have been drained/spilled.

 

I took my truck in this morning for diagnosis. Took them about an hour to concur that this was cam seal tower leakage and they'll be completing the repair under warranty. I should note I have an extended warranty. My truck has about 85k miles on it and is a 2018 so I'm not positive if the basic powertrain warranty would cover this? They got started on it right away and told me I should have the truck back by the end of this week. I got to speak with the tech for a few minutes when I went to grab some stuff out of the truck. He sounded confident in the repair and seemed familiar with the this condition and the repair of the seals. They didnt plan to pull the cab but they do have to pull the intake, cams, and pretty much everything else on the top end minus the heads. I think I only had leakage on the passenger side but they are doing the seals on both sides.

I told the tech if he had a spare Magnuson laying around he could put that on instead of reinstalling the stock intake It probably would have been a good idea to pair this repair with a SC install, if I was planning such a thing. Might have been able to get some of the labor for the SC install absorbed into the warrantied leak repair since there's some overlap between the two jobs.

My warranty also covered a rental vehicle so they gave me a double cab Tacoma to drive while the Tundra is being repaired. Taco feels like a matchbox car compared to the Tundra! I could never go back.

I'll keep the thread updated with my experience. I'm having the work done at Mountain States Toyota in Denver.

 

Toyota powertrain warranty is 5yr/60k so you would be out of it if you had not had extended warranty

 

well looks like that thing finally paid for itself

I also just paid the truck off like a week ago. Time for 37's I suppose...

 

Congrats!

I was also feeling like I wasted the warranty $$ but got mine done, plus the pass side u/l control arms & oddly also a double cab 4x TRD PRO Tacoma that I agree felt like a wind-up toy.

I really thought they were going to win the I bet it breaks game.

 

Hey everyone I just picked up a 14 with definitely has the cam tower leak. The dealership I bought it from has a 3000 mile warranty so I'll bring it in and see if they'll do anything.

 

That's a solid YIKES from me. What does this cost for those of us out of warranty? 5 grand?

 

2016 Tundra with 83,000 miles. Cam tower leak found during routine service. Fortunately I had purchased the Extra Care Extended Warranty ($2,695) when I purchased truck used from Toyota Dealer in December 2020. Dealer took 5 working days to complete, and covered rental car for 5 days. Looks like both towers were repaired, but I'm not positive. Invoice shows charge would have been $2,045 without warranty. I'm of the opinion that Toyota should cover all these repairs -- warranty or not.

 

I have the same on 2014 Tundra 5.7L. It has not worsened so far....

 

So I guess when you see so many people bragging that these engines will last for 400K+, it's all a bunch of bullshit. I realize this is not a mechanical failure in the engine, but damn. How did Toyota not resolve this problem over so many years.... Any clue the percentage of these failures. Assuming it's fairly low.

 

I'm not convinced it's "low". I had two Tundras and both had the cam tower leak, and both people I personally know who owned Tundras each had the leak as well. You math guys can tell us the probability of all four of those trucks having the leak if it's "low". That said, I don't think I'd call it a "failure". It's an issue and a design flaw for sure, but my 2010 was leaking on both sides and I didn't have any noticeable loss of oil between changes. I wouldn't even worry about fixing it if you're out of warranty and it's not leaking severely.

 

2018 Tundra purchased in January, 2018. 2017 Sequoia purchased June, 2017. Both engines are spotless.

Dan

 

My 18 TUNDRA has been clean so far…. All the other cars including old Toyotas have had som sort of leak. I’ve been driving for 54 years, hell, any car my dad had leaked.

 

My 2011 5.7 has Cam Shaft "Seepage" Not seeing any loss in oil between changes though. Will be riding it out until that becomes the case.

 

It would take one heck of a leak to show up on the dipstick, like a large puddle under the truck. That is a lot more than just "seepage".

Dan

 

I have a 2015 with 107k miles that I bought last month. There’s no sign of oil leaking, but I do not know if this issue was already fixed. I don’t see anything in the Toyota service history. I tried getting info from the dealer when I was buying it but I’m not sure the sales guy was communicating my question properly to the service department. Here pics of the driver and passenger side on my truck. There’s a thick black line of sealant all along each side. Does this look like it was fixed already?

Driver

Passenger

 

It's hard to tell if that's black sealant (from a repair) or just dirty gray sealant (from the factory).

Either way it looks good—nothing to worry about!

 

I’m thinking it’s factory since the bead is so uniform. It looks similar to pics that show leaks. The repair pics have the really black sealant and the bead isn’t as uniform since it’s applied by hand.

I have 12 month powertrain warranty from Toyota, so how can I make this thing leak so it can be fixed???

 

Youre looking for an issue when there isnt one in your truck.
Leave it alone, your truck is fine.

 

Just feel happy that it has 107k miles and there is no leak in sight. Forget all about this and enjoy the truck!

 

Forgive my ignorance, and lack of attempting to read all 94 pages… curious if anyone has a zoomed out picture as to where you are looking for this issue. I have an 18 with the 5.7, sittting just under 54k. I’d like to ensure I’m not leaking. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

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

 

Thank you. Appreciate that big time.

 

I have a 2021 with 3600 miles on it now. Would I have this issue as well down the road? I do have the Toyota extended warranty as well for 10 Years / 125K miles.

 

Mine didn't start seeping until 5500 miles, so you might not have enough miles to tell.

But you'll be fine with the extended warranty if it does start. I fixed both sides right before the five year powertrain warranty expired.