Timing Cover Oil Leak

[Keenercarguy]

Originally Posted by tracerit

any updates? my timing cover area is showing some burnt up oil again (was addressed and "fixed" about 10k miles ago at 20k miles). It may have started leaking right after I drove it off the lot lol, but I haven't checked again until tonight. And I'm pretty sure it's been leaking since the beginning since at 20k miles, the oil looked pretty caked up.

I'm pretty sure they used a stronger sealant when they fixed it but I guess there's nothing else for them to do except to try again a second time right?

Yes they do use a stronger sealant the second time but in my case, and probably yours too, the heavier duty sealant doesn't seem to help. It's highly possible that the removal and scouring actions may be causing the continued problems but I have yet to receive verification. (The surface could be damaged to the point where the sealant can't fill in ALL the holes OR the cover or mating surface could be warped, they are just aluminum after all)
No updates yet unfortunately. I made the dealership aware of the issue immediately but I haven't been able to take it in for a fix since I'm in college a few hours from the dealership. I'll be bringing it in sometime sorta soon.... Whenever I get another real break. For now I'm just watching my oil level (check yours) and also checking my coolant level (it drains super fast!?).
It's okay to drive on the leak for essentially forever, but it's NOT okay to drive without oil or coolant so make sure you're topping those off if you need to.

Anyone have a specific explanation for why the coolant might be draining fast by the way? I have logical theory but I want to hear it from someone who is positive that they know why...

[tracerit]

Second leak here, would you guys recommend me going back to the same dealership agin to have it repaired? They have over 500 4.5 yelp reviews compared to every other dealership in the area at ~200 and rated in the 3's. I'd like to think they'll pay more attention the second time. I was also recommended to go to another dealerhsip but considering their reviews, I'm worried they might just do a mediocre job since it would be my first time bringing it in to them, although I'm sure they'll see on my record it's been addressed once already.

I also seem to have a slow leak too. Last year's leak actually leaked and you could see fresh liquidy oil. Now it seems to be seeping and burning up at sealant. Pictures below.

Picture 1: Summer 2015. Leak 2 weeks after the dealership cleaned it. Fresh shiny oil.
Picture 2: Summer 2015. immediately after they resealed the first leak, nice and clean.
Picture 3: January 23 2016. Initial discovery of the second leak. Burnt up oil. no fresh oil.
Picture 4: January 26 2016. How it looks after I did my best to clean up the oil with towels.
Pciture 5: January 31 2016. 120 miles and 9 days later after c leaning it up. No fresh oil underneath, appears to burn up at the seal.

I'm a bit worried they're not going to consider this a "leak" and will just let it exist. Is this something that dealerships may use as an excuse to not perform the work?

[Packofcrows]

Originally Posted by tracerit

Second leak here, would you guys recommend me going back to the same dealership agin to have it repaired? They have over 500 4.5 yelp reviews compared to every other dealership in the area at ~200 and rated in the 3's. I'd like to think they'll pay more attention the second time. I was also recommended to go to another dealerhsip but considering their reviews, I'm worried they might just do a mediocre job since it would be my first time bringing it in to them, although I'm sure they'll see on my record it's been addressed once already.

I also seem to have a slow leak too. Last year's leak actually leaked and you could see fresh liquidy oil. Now it seems to be seeping and burning up at sealant. Pictures below.

Picture 1: Summer 2015. Leak 2 weeks after the dealership cleaned it. Fresh shiny oil.
Picture 2: Summer 2015. immediately after they resealed the first leak, nice and clean.
Picture 3: January 23 2016. Initial discovery of the second leak. Burnt up oil. no fresh oil.
Picture 4: January 26 2016. How it looks after I did my best to clean up the oil with towels.
Pciture 5: January 31 2016. 120 miles and 9 days later after c leaning it up. No fresh oil underneath, appears to burn up at the seal.

I'm a bit worried they're not going to consider this a "leak" and will just let it exist. Is this something that dealerships may use as an excuse to not perform the work?

Go to 2nd dealer, give them ONE chance to repair this, then call Toyota or e-mail them. Get in contact with them and scan/email them all the 'work order/receipt' papers you got from the last dealer.

I'm sure you'll get a new engine/car.

If it bugs you enough too, before taking to dealer, wash the oil off, drive it another 100-200 miles.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by tracerit

Second leak here, would you guys recommend me going back to the same dealership agin to have it repaired? ..........

Ya know, @tracerit, after looking at your 5th picture, I'd suggest you just live with that tiny bit of "seeping" oil from that cover, unless it gets worse (like actually dripping).

Why? Because I figure the dealership would do more damage by prying off that cover, again, and it would start a real leak.





humfrz

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Keenercarguy

.......................Anyone have a specific explanation for why the coolant might be draining fast by the way? I have logical theory but I want to hear it from someone who is positive that they know why...

Hell, I'm not positive that I know the "why" of anything, anymore, however, I would speculate that your car's coolant loss has nothing to do with the leaking cam chain cover ......


humfrz

[Trap63]

Originally Posted by tracerit

Second leak here, would you guys recommend me going back to the same dealership agin to have it repaired? They have over 500 4.5 yelp reviews compared to every other dealership in the area at ~200 and rated in the 3's. I'd like to think they'll pay more attention the second time. I was also recommended to go to another dealerhsip but considering their reviews, I'm worried they might just do a mediocre job since it would be my first time bringing it in to them, although I'm sure they'll see on my record it's been addressed once already.

I also seem to have a slow leak too. Last year's leak actually leaked and you could see fresh liquidy oil. Now it seems to be seeping and burning up at sealant. Pictures below.

Picture 1: Summer 2015. Leak 2 weeks after the dealership cleaned it. Fresh shiny oil.
Picture 2: Summer 2015. immediately after they resealed the first leak, nice and clean.
Picture 3: January 23 2016. Initial discovery of the second leak. Burnt up oil. no fresh oil.
Picture 4: January 26 2016. How it looks after I did my best to clean up the oil with towels.
Pciture 5: January 31 2016. 120 miles and 9 days later after c leaning it up. No fresh oil underneath, appears to burn up at the seal.

I'm a bit worried they're not going to consider this a "leak" and will just let it exist. Is this something that dealerships may use as an excuse to not perform the work?

Subaru released a tech bullettin in 2013 late to solve this issue.

[tracerit]

Originally Posted by Packofcrows

Go to 2nd dealer, give them ONE chance to repair this, then call Toyota or e-mail them. Get in contact with them and scan/email them all the 'work order/receipt' papers you got from the last dealer.

I'm sure you'll get a new engine/car.

If it bugs you enough too, before taking to dealer, wash the oil off, drive it another 100-200 miles.

I read reports of someone here getting it done at another dealership so I'll give it a try with them. They're closer too so it'll be easier this time around. Will show them teh work order from the first job, thanks for the tip. I hope I don't have to get Subaru involved, but i will see what they have to say if it leaks after this second time.

Originally Posted by humfrz

Ya know, @tracerit, after looking at your 5th picture, I'd suggest you just live with that tiny bit of "seeping" oil from that cover, unless it gets worse (like actually dripping).

Why? Because I figure the dealership would do more damage by prying off that cover, again, and it would start a real leak.





humfrz

Yeah, I'm concerned about the damage the cover is taking from being handled. I'll note that when I bring it in, although I feel like the service advisors don't really type this stuff down when they present the order to the service techs. "Oh this customer thinks he knows more than our techs?" haha. I actually don't mind it seeping the way it is, I don't have any measurable indication of oil disappearing when using the dipstick check. It's just that I plan to supercharge the car and I'd hate to have this seeping possibly turn into leaking while the SC is on.

Originally Posted by Trap63

Subaru released a tech bullettin in 2013 late to solve this issue.

Yup, I had the TSB printed out and placed it on the driver's seat pretending I left it behind when I dropped my car off the first time to get it fixed :P

[Keenercarguy]

Originally Posted by humfrz

Ya know, @tracerit, after looking at your 5th picture, I'd suggest you just live with that tiny bit of "seeping" oil from that cover, unless it gets worse (like actually dripping).

Why? Because I figure the dealership would do more damage by prying off that cover, again, and it would start a real leak.

humfrz

+1 on this, my leak has only gotten worse with fixing attempts :/

[tracerit]

Originally Posted by Keenercarguy

+1 on this, my leak has only gotten worse with fixing attempts :/

ugh... such a hard decision :/ have you considered requesting a replacement cover or block? if i fall into your situation, i'd keep bringing it back to them until they replace it.

[Keenercarguy]

Originally Posted by tracerit

ugh... such a hard decision :/ have you considered requesting a replacement cover or block? if i fall into your situation, i'd keep bringing it back to them until they replace it.

That's actually my plan for next time. I'm sticking with the same dealership myself and at this point they know what's wrong when they see me. I'm going to request a new cover first… because it's cheaper and flimsier to begin with… but I don't live close to the dealership while at college so the fixes are staggered a lot.

[tracerit]

Is the proper way to remove the timing cover to use a prybar? Looks like there's a grooved mark on the cover underneath the bolt on the left.

EDIT: nm, i went back to a video of my first leak last year and it had those same marks too. weird.

Here's a video of when I discovered my second leak. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZkYnZQrrcU"]Timing cover leak 2.0 - YouTube[/ame] When viewing from the bottom up directly, you can see that the oil is coming out from the cover side of the sealant rather than the engine side.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by tracerit

Is the proper way to remove the timing cover to use a prybar? .................

Well, I'm not sure there is a "proper" way to remove that cover.

However, if it were my car and I had the engine out of the car, I would first soften up the existing sealant with a torch and gently tap a thin putty knife between the cover and block ...... slowly moving around the cover with the torch and putty knife.

About a 2 beer process .....


humfrz

[tracerit]

An update to my initial post here: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...0&postcount=30

Second Dealer says that it's not leaking so they just placed UV tracer in there and want me to follow up in 500 miles. Sounds like they're not really looking to address it unless it's dripping. Well, I'm gonna go back in 500 miles and see what they say, it's gonna look burnt up again. If they're not gonna fix it then I"ll bring it back to the first dealership that resealed it and hopefully they'll fix it.

It's not that bad and I can certainly live with it, but just knowing it's not completely sealed bothers me.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by tracerit

................
It's not that bad and I can certainly live with it, but just knowing it's not completely sealed bothers me.

Oh, heck, old Harley Davidson riders put up with oil leaks for years ...... didn't keep them from having fun with their machines.........


humfrz