Sad Tundra and cam cradle leak

Hey all, I have a 2012 Tundra platinum 4x4 with the 5.7L. Recently noticed a leak around the right side of the engine that the toyota mechanic said was indicative of a cam cradle seal leak. $4-5k in repairs after labor and parts. My MPG bests at 15 and is usually more like 12. With any trailer even a light short box trailer is 8. I struggle to pull the <4000# trailer up hills at 55mph. I don't really want to spend the money on a new truck, the body and interior is still good. Is it worth rebuilding completely, just the seal, or trading it in?

For additional backstory, the truck was originally equipped with the supercharger but removed prior to my purchase (me nor the prior owner was aware of the supercharger ever being on there. Rebuilt title, likely pulled blower after wreck). The truck usually while towing will light up the check engine, traction control, and flash 4LO at some point then randomly clear itself off. This was an every day occurrence till I replaced the ECM 2 years ago. The mechanic noted all the normal pressures and measurements were checking out, could be a fuel issue under load. Thanks

 

The general consensus on this is… if it’s dripping, get it fixed. If it’s just seeping a bit, leave it alone. Got pics?

Search cam tower leak.

 

If I had to guess, your drivability issues are not related to the cam tower leak.

I wonder if you still have higher flow injectors for the previous SC setup. Might not be jiving with the lack of supercharger and stock tune. Could also have cooler plugs than the factory Denso units.

I admit I'm no expert on forced induction, but this where my mind goes.

 

Sounds like someone left a tuned ECM behind and it was giving you issues as it was not finding what it was looking for. For CELs coming on and off, I would either acquire an OBD2 and find out what it's bellyaching about or take it to an auto parts store and have them run diagnostics and see what they find. Make sure you take pen and paper or type it out on your notepad. Another thing that may be causing CELs to light up and go out would be grounding points. Check your engine grounds, make sure they're all tight and clean. If the supercharger was removed from a wreck, they may have just yanked most parts out since they figured it would be crushed or get sent to a junk yard, so most of the time previous owners/wreckers will just remove stuff and not put them back as they were. May have your work cut out for you, but if you fix it, you may have a good truck for a long while. Best of luck with your decision.

 

Tend to agree that the valve cradle leak is not causing massive power issues. Injectors are definitely a good thought. Plugs look stock (I was going to replace them when I found engine oil on the outside of the plugs.) Attached is a picture of the cam cradle leak from the passenger wheel well and the historic codes.

 

That cam tower seal is only seeping. At least on that side.

 

Hard to see from your pictures, try to get in there a little better.
https://www.tundras.com/threads/cam-shaft-tower-seal-leaking-please-read.20102/
Here's mine, both sides fixed under warranty at 17k miles.

 

Test your oxygen sensors. Maybe clean or replace your MAF sensor. See if you're going into closed loop or remain in open loop.