Cam Tower Leak

[Bookies]

I just got a 2013 FRS and the first thing I did was take it to the dealer and have them start the valve spring recall (maybe a mistake). They just called and said my cam towers are leaking and want to charge me $500 to have it fixed. I tried searching the forums but couldn't find much info on this. Should I pay them to fix it or is it not worth it?

[fika84]

Have them send you pictures or something... I'm not even sure what they're referring to with the FA20.. I just tore my engine completely down and the only thing I can think of that they're talking about would be a cracked aluminum plate or cover. All of the plates/covers go together with sealant which they have to redo when they replace the valve springs...

[bcj]

Whacky terminology. "Cam Towers" uh, wut?
Who's that when he's at home?

Did you inspect the engine before purchase?
Was it dripping oil then?

Pics from the suspect dealer or GTFO.

[Ecki]

Originally Posted by bcj

Whacky terminology. "Cam Towers" uh, wut?
Who's that when he's at home?

Did you inspect the engine before purchase?
Was it dripping oil then?

Pics from the suspect dealer or GTFO.

Just reiterating what they told me. They are closed now and it wasn't leaking anything when I bought it or brought it into the dealer. I'll ask for pictures first thing in the morning. They are closed now. Thanks for the info.

[bcj]

Not ticked at you. The dealer trying one on.

Hope you got a hefty discount on a car with an open TSB.

[Si_Chris]

Cam tower, or known as the cam carrier. The cylinder head design is actually 3 pieces, and the cam carrier is in the middle (holds the cams in place) between the valve cover, and the bottom half of the cylinder head that is bolted to the block (kind of a dumb design if you ask me). The cam carrier is typically sealed with liquid gasket.

My 2016 actually developed a leak on driver side at 45K miles along with the timing chain cover. Warranty covered the fix. However for $500, if they are doing both sides, I'd say that is a good price. It would probably cost thousands if it was a stand alone repair. But for this recall, I think the cams are removed. So perhaps the cam carrier is removed in the process anyway? You might need to confirm that, and if so, you shouldn't be charged.

[Ecki]

Originally Posted by Si_Chris

Cam tower, or known as the cam carrier. The cylinder head design is actually 3 pieces, and the cam carrier is in the middle (holds the cams in place) between the valve cover, and the bottom half of the cylinder head that is bolted to the block (kind of a dumb design if you ask me). The cam carrier is typically sealed with liquid gasket.

My 2016 actually developed a leak on driver side at 45K miles along with the timing chain cover. Warranty covered the fix. However for $500, if they are doing both sides, I'd say that is a good price. It would probably cost thousands if it was a stand alone repair. But for this recall, I think the cams are removed. So perhaps the cam carrier is removed in the process anyway? You might need to confirm that, and if so, you shouldn't be charged.

Awesome, I actually found a video of disassembly and I see it now.


I imagine removing that is part of the recall fix though unless they can reach the valve springs by just removing the cams. I'll look into it more and ask them about it. Thanks for the info.

Edit: I just looked through this PDF which explains the recall procedure and looks like removing the cam tower/carrier is not part of the process so I see why they are recommending it gets resealed. Thanks again everyone who helped.

[Si_Chris]

Originally Posted by Ecki

Awesome, I actually found a video of disassembly and I see it now.


I imagine removing that is part of the recall fix though unless they can reach the valve springs by just removing the cams. I'll look into it more and ask them about it. Thanks for the info.

Yep, that is it! You can see the liquid gasket right above the exhaust port where it is sealed. As far as removing it, I think some techs might just remove the cam caps like as seen here: [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7qMnojFTsc[/ame], and not the whole cam carrier assembly. Despite if it is removed or not, the labor involved shouldn't be too intense reseal it.

[Ecki]

Originally Posted by bcj

Not ticked at you. The dealer trying one on.

Hope you got a hefty discount on a car with an open TSB.

I did. 😊

Originally Posted by Si_Chris

Yep, that is it! You can see the liquid gasket right above the exhaust port where it is sealed. As far as removing it, I think some techs might just remove the cam caps like as seen here: , and not the whole cam carrier assembly. Despite if it is removed or not, the labor involved shouldn't be too intense reseal it.

Yeah, I found in the recall procedure from Toyota that there is no call to remove the cam carrier so I see why they are wanting to charge to fix it now. Thanks again.

[bcj]

The more I inspect the engine drawings, I'm suspecting more than one person on the design team are steampunks.
Some seriously baroque mechanical decisions.

I started out doing exploded diagrams for jet engines.
If you threw an FA20 at the wall, it wouldn't stick, unless you used a catapult.

[fika84]

Originally Posted by Si_Chris

Cam tower, or known as the cam carrier. The cylinder head design is actually 3 pieces, and the cam carrier is in the middle (holds the cams in place) between the valve cover, and the bottom half of the cylinder head that is bolted to the block (kind of a dumb design if you ask me). The cam carrier is typically sealed with liquid gasket.

My 2016 actually developed a leak on driver side at 45K miles along with the timing chain cover. Warranty covered the fix. However for $500, if they are doing both sides, I'd say that is a good price. It would probably cost thousands if it was a stand alone repair. But for this recall, I think the cams are removed. So perhaps the cam carrier is removed in the process anyway? You might need to confirm that, and if so, you shouldn't be charged.

I was totally thinking they were referring to something overthe camshafts... towering over if you will

[fika84]

Originally Posted by Si_Chris

Cam tower, or known as the cam carrier. The cylinder head design is actually 3 pieces, and the cam carrier is in the middle (holds the cams in place) between the valve cover, and the bottom half of the cylinder head that is bolted to the block (kind of a dumb design if you ask me). The cam carrier is typically sealed with liquid gasket.

My 2016 actually developed a leak on driver side at 45K miles along with the timing chain cover. Warranty covered the fix. However for $500, if they are doing both sides, I'd say that is a good price. It would probably cost thousands if it was a stand alone repair. But for this recall, I think the cams are removed. So perhaps the cam carrier is removed in the process anyway? You might need to confirm that, and if so, you shouldn't be charged.

I was totally thinking they were referring to something over the camshafts... "towering over" if you will

[ermax]

Here is a diagram:

[subiedoobie1994]

A year late, I know. But anyway, for the valve spring recall the cam carrier is coming off, like, for sure. When I do it, I don't do it any other way. Why they want to charge you for resealing it if that is indeed what is leaking, I do not know. I hope you looked further into that. The timing chain cover, rocker cover (valve cover), and cam carrier are coming off and will have to be resealed anyways... which, by the way, if you have the infamous timing cover leak recently after this is done then I'd take it back to them and tell them to reseal it. Free. The next thing to come off is the cylinder head, and you're not leaking oil there.