2017 Toyota Tacoma Timing Belt cover leaking, 3rd time

I noticed oil drops on the power steering pump of my 2017 Tacoma. Same spot as twice before when the Local Toyota Dealership sealed my Timing Chain cover twice under warranty, the 2nd time was Dec of 2022. My extended warranty ran out in July of 2023.
In Jan of this year I noticed an oil leak around the rear main seal, and took it to a transmission shop for repair, it turned out not to be the seal but my crankshaft plate had a crack in one of the threaded screw holes and was filled with black silicone to attempt to seal it. Obviously happened when engine was pulled in 2022 at dealership to seal Timing Cover. I reported to Toyota HQ, took the plate in to the dealership and they reimbursed the cost of repair.
At this point where do I turn for my Timing Cover leaking for the 3rd time? I’m honestly afraid to leave these people unsupervised with my vehicle at this point. Is it worth consulting an attorney?

 

Wow, sub'd because I'm interested. I'd be pissed, as I'm sure you are.

 

Go back to the dealer and either have them repair it s they screwed up or pay up and have someone else do it. Maybe another dealer.

 

Hold the shop accountable……

 

I would talk to the service manager have them warranty the repair . Ask them for a different mechanic .stuff happens sometimes in life don’t go in with guns blazing acting like a child will not remedy the situation. Also I would ask for an extended warranty.

 

The service manager was very good to deal with about the reimbursement of the Crank Shaft plate, not sure if that was because I filed a claim with Toyota HQ first.
Is there a standard time period that warranty work is guaranteed for? It’s been 15 months since the 2nd time they’ve sealed the Timing Cover and my extended warranty has expired during that time.

 

Could always try sealing it externally if all else fails.

 

Has anyone ever tried Blue Devil Stop leak?
I’m not a fan of dumping anything other than oil into the engine, but not sure I wanna deal with having the engine torn apart for a 3rd time, regardless of who eats the repair cost.

 

12 months unlimited miles. I'd say you have quite the case though, thats ridiculous.

 

You wouldn't know until you try

 

We have techs that we cover mistakes for without hesitation. Shit like this you know the tech is awful and more issues will keep happening.

Multiple cover leaks I always call a new cover, it was a tsb for older 2gr and we just do it if the issue reproduces it self.

It’s a bastard job and no one wants to do it because it pays substandard.

 

At this point , I would have a “sit down” with the biggest person you can at the shop “owner “ and express your frustration. You might be surprised but the again they may be no help with ultimately leaves you no worse off.

 

Don't do it... tearing into the engine for a 3rd time would be a better plan then pouring that stuff in an engine.

 

That’s what I’m afraid of since the Crank Plate issue. The reason I took it to a Transmission shop for what I thought was Rear Seal is because it was out of warranty at that point and I wanted someone dropping my transmission, who drops transmissions everyday. Had I taken it to the dealer for that, they probably would have never told me they found a crack in the plate, that they caused last time they worked on it and just charged me for a rear seal. No way I would’ve know.

 

Any idea why Toyota never issued a tsb for the 3rd gen tacomas regarding the timing cover leak? The leak seems more prevalent with the 2gr-fks then it did on the 1gr-fe.

 

Because of dealer abuse I suspect. Also because its not technically a part and simply manufacturing theres no real "update" as the cover rarely was the cause, but rarely sealant installation.

 

So what is the dam cause then lol?

 

Manufacturing, there's a specific amount of sealant used on each engine and a robot lays it out.

But the imperfections from cylinder head, to block, to timing cover results in a leak.

A tech almost always uses more than any robot and usually resolves the leak first try.

 

I was looking a used truck a while back that had the front cover resealed and you could see lots of black fipg oozing out between the cover and head/block. Looking at a factory sealed engine there is very minimal grey fipg that is oozing out. So what your saying makes to sense. You’d think Toyota would have had the robot start applying more sealer to address this issue

 

Has anyone heard of these leaks turning into a gusher? I’m assuming if I do nothing, it will worsen. I have 135k on it, would like to get at least 250k out of it.