Oil Leak on 21' 4R (Pics) Thoughts?

Doing a once over on fluids and a quick look over I noticed oil and dirt covering the alternator. Well I kept looking and saw oil on the oil cooler way down low. Moved to the passenger side and noticed a tube below the dip stick that appears to be an oil tube from the head to the block had nice wet looking oil coming out of the block end where it attaches. Got only 40k miles on it. Anyone seen similar leaks happening on their newer vehicles? Attached pics

 

Never seen anything like this. But good thing you got in there and check this before it gets any bigger. Wonder if there is a small crack on that line going into the block. Let us know what you find out. Good luck.

 

Yeah going to zip it in to the stealership tomorrow morning just to get them on it. If it were just the passenger side I'd be a bit more "ok" with it but I can't even tell where the drivers is coming...

 

Ask if they can add some dye to the oil.

 

Warranty

 

So apparently it's a timing cover leak. Needs to be re-sealed. I don't think this is too common. Let me know if anyone has heard of this happening? Covered under warranty btw.

 

Toyotas are notorious for timing cover leaks. Very common.

 

Just got off work and did some searching here. I see a few threads now that I know what to search for. Well that sucks. But it could be worse.

 

FWIW, my wife's 2005 Corolla has had one since basically new. Has not gotten much worse in over 200K miles. Doesn't lose oil between changes, just isn't pretty to look at. I clean it once year and have a oil absorbent carpet under where it's parked. Not worth the money for us to fix it.

 

Yeah, sometimes it makes more sense to do nothing, especially if oil isn’t making it to the ground. Hopefully that’s the situation with this one.

I found oil weepage on the case seam of my Sienna transmission when it was new. I didn’t enjoy the thought of anybody tearing into a brand new car, much less if they decided to split the case and reseal. So I monitored it. Never got worse in 16 years.

 

Wow..glad you posted those pics so I can pay attention to that area. Have read about timing cover leaks on the forums, I guess sometimes its not a matter of if but when.

Curious, will the dealer clean up the mess that the oil made?? Or are you left to it. On second thought, the image of an inexperienced dealer tech power washing the alternator just gave me shivers I think if it were me, I'd ask them to leave it for ME to clean so I know its not done in a boneheaded manner to give me grief down the road, out of warranty.....

 

I don't mind cleaning it but I'd hope he'd tidy up while in the area. Agreed on the rest. I can just do it. Got the appt next Monday for the repairs, will get a loaner. Being very familiar w/ Toyota's I somehow missed this being an issue. It's the wife's car so I like to keep it 100%. I'm glad I don't have to wrench on it in this fashion just yet.

I've been all up in my 04 Taco and had it apart many times but it's pushing a solid 20 years and 300k. I expect to go a lot longer before diving into the engine. I get really iffy on people doing work on my cars but if it's free and covered...I'll give it a go.

 

OP: dealer definitely like it to repair under warranty and Toyota will cover labor and parts. we can only guess what they will screw up in-process to make you come back, warranty or not. If it not dripping on a ground - consider it is a rust protection.

 

And "Jeeps are bad"

 

My ex-wife has a Wrangler, that I pay for. Enough reason for me to loathe them. Also, I hope her vagina catches fire.

 

Damn, sounds like my past divorce(s).

 

Especially with the 3.5 in the Taco

 

Wow, that's the first oil leak I have ever seen on a Gen5.



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Just realized I never updated... 5k in parts and labor and it's all set. Glad it wasn't on my dime. Took a week.

 

Glad you got that fixed same issue with the wife’s 4runner going in for diagnosis next week also under extended warranty has it been seeping at all since they fixed it?

 

Not a drop yet. Lady in the service dept who also owned an orange TRD PRO, apparently liked this mechanic because of his attention to detail. My BS meter didn't go off w/ her as she was an employee and all. I got the sense she had real pride in her 4R and was an enthusiast. So I feel good about the work done. And it was very clean when I got it back as you would expect. I looked for shoddy work and cut corners, and didn't seem to find anything alarming.

 

^Wonder if the dealer pulled the engine like it's commonly done on 2GR timing cover reseals?

 

No, he pulled the radiator and all the accessories off. Then he had access to the whole front timing cover.

 

This thread is a good example of why it's a good idea to crawl under your 4R once in a while. I caught a kdss front piston leak 2 months before the bumper to bumper warranty expired. I don't believe the dealer would have caught it at a normal service.

 

Agreed. New cars, even long running well established models from Toyota can have issues.

 

I have a leak similar to this but on my passenger side. Thankfully it appears to be the VVTI line.

 

As far as I know, this was super common on older 1gr engines but less and less common over time.
It’s fairly common on 2gr engines. Seemingly more so on the 2gr fks tacomas. I wonder if they need to pull the engine to fix it. That is the protocol for the 2016-23 Tacoma. Let us know.

 

Timing cover leaks are common on Toyotas for decades. Have one on our 2005 Corolla. Leaks 1 drop each day and has done so for 18 years. Oil catching mat has collected 15 years worth of single daily drops and is still going.