1.6vvti With Engine Leak And Only 26k Miles!

[Rav4 rocks]

Hello,

Had our 2003 Corolla 1.6 VVTi T3 serviced today and was shocked to be advised by the dealer that it required £400 worth of repairs as it has an engine leak!

The car has only covered 26,500 miles, granted it is five years old now but has been ours from new with full toyota history.

The leak is from a seal on the timing chain cover which has apparently perished. I was advised that this is something which just happens with the modern engines. I find this suprising. Any experiences or advise would be appreciated.

[Black Knight]

Are they saying it's actually leaking from the seal between the chain cover and the block/head or are they saying it's leaking from something that's attachd to the chain cover?

How badly is it leaking?

[compressor mad]

that engine leaks from the chain tensioner plate usually not that badly though

[Rav4 rocks]

that engine leaks from the chain tensioner plate usually not that badly though

From what I understand it is leaking from the seal between the cover and the engine block. It is not that bad at the moment.

[Black Knight]

That sounds about right then. If they were quoting £400 to change the tensioner itself then I'd tell them to get lost.

The seal itself won't have perished. There's high pressure oil feed for the tensioner in that area and it's likely it's weeping very slightly and it's just they've never noticed it before since it's in an out of the way position .

Personally if you're not noticing it (not dripping off the engine and oil level not going down) then I wouldn't get the dealer to touch it. The mating faces have to be spotlessly clean for the sealing material to stick properly and hence seal. The dealer will have to get the old sealer off, all the oil off and then the new sealer on properly and in the correct cure time. Unless the problems chronic they're likely to just make it worse.

[Rav4 rocks]

That sounds about right then. If they were quoting £400 to change the tensioner itself then I'd tell them to get lost.

The seal itself won't have perished. There's high pressure oil feed for the tensioner in that area and it's likely it's weeping very slightly and it's just they've never noticed it before since it's in an out of the way position .

Personally if you're not noticing it (not dripping off the engine and oil level not going down) then I wouldn't get the dealer to touch it. The mating faces have to be spotlessly clean for the sealing material to stick properly and hence seal. The dealer will have to get the old sealer off, all the oil off and then the new sealer on properly and in the correct cure time. Unless the problems chronic they're likely to just make it worse.

Thanks Black Night. I won't worry about it for now and keep an eye on it.

[Rav4 rocks]

Had a formal response from Toyota today. Unfortunately they are unwilling to do anything.