Timing Cover Gasket Leak

Take a look down the passenger side of the engine, see how it looks. For a better look, remove the front passenger wheel, and 2~3 fasteners on the plastic liner at the back of the wheel well, enough that you can flex the plastic out of the way and see the condition at the bottom.



These guys are doing a head gasket replacement, and they remove/install the timing chain cover in the course of that. It'll give you a feel for what's involved, in case you're considering DIY. Their methods are a littly iffy, fwiw:

The going rate a few years back was around $1700.

IF you DIY it's basically a couple of tubes of the specd Form In Place gasket. And maybe a few more gaskets, if you care to replace while it's open.

I can post some repair manual info in a bit.

 

Don't see anything there requiring urgent fix. The one pic with a 'hint" of oil, it might be adjacent to the oil pressure sensor, nothing to do with the cover. Not even sure if I'm seeing oil, and it's certainly minor:


And if it is leakage from the oil pressure sensor, that's not a problem with the timing chain cover.

If and when you can, take that passenger side front wheel off, look from below. The typical leaking timing chain cover looks like an oily/sooty mess, from videos I've seen. Certainly not seeing that in your pics.

 

If you're not losing oil and having to add between changes, I'd not be very concerned. Just keep an eye on your oil level and check where you park to see if there's an oil drip directly under where the timing cover is.

 

Some of that oil use might not be from the timing cover gasket...."leak."

+1 on the advice NOT to involve a dealer with this repair....especially THIS dealer.
Their price is a little high, but the fishing-for-work diagnosis of a "moderate" oil leak seems to be a little........fishy.
If you're regularly monitoring your oil use rate and I'm remembering how much oil is represented by the dots on the dipstick, you're looking at something like 1/2 a quart over 10,000 miles.
Absolutely not what I expect from an active "moderate" oil leak.

They were trying to scare you out of $2500 worth of unnecessary repair work, IMHO.

The timing cover gasket leak is a known issue with this engine.
It's usually more of a wicking or weeping rather than an active leak - and it's usually something that requires more monitoring than taking the motor apart to repair.
There's a pretty good chance that repairing the "moderate leak" may cause more problems than it will cure.

Good Luck!

 

Yes, yours is seeping from the usual areas - the seams. There are 3 seams on each side of the cover, total of 6. The seams are where the upper oil pan meets the block, where the block meets the cyl head and where the cam housing meets the head. Those areas require "extra" fipg and if the sealant application was a bit light at the factory, oil may seep out of these areas over time. Mine was starting to seep a bit from those exact same areas right before I did the head gasket job.

 

As for whether it is a "necessary" repair, that is debateable. But it is a legitimate issue.

 

OP needs to do first-hand inspection through the wheel well. Judging from the pics from above though, very minor.

I think the shop acknowledged that.

 

I think it's a pretty common problem with the 3rd gen Prius. I noticed the same thing at 99k miles, 400 miles before my certified pre-owned powertrain warranty expired. The dealer gave me a rental and kept it for a couple of days. They charged Toyota $1,300 including the rental to repair it.

 

Interesting: when the customer is Toyota they charge $1300. Regular Joes: $1700~2200.

 

It is called for warranty time. The tech gets shorted about 35%, too.

 

Jason, mine has been doing this since I purchased it at 60K miles. I am now at 266K. I would not call it a "moderate" leak, but I would not say the dealer was trying to sell something that was not a problem.
If it was me I would leave it alone and save your money. I wash my engine with some light degreaser every couple of months, and us a rag to wipe the area when I change my oil. The leakage has not increased in my 200K miles of driving.

 

Agreed. There is rarely a reason to fix this "issue" unless it is dripping. There is a difference between a seep (stain or dampness) and a leak (droplets, or dripping).

By the time that the timing cover really becomes an issue, the engine is probably due for a head gasket anyway. So in most cases, the timing cover seepage is a non-issue for most owners.

 

Her oil leaks rapidly accelerated between 237K to 245K when the engine got pulled. It had never imitated a HD, but in the 5300 miles on the last oil change the oil pan and back edge of the lower block went from near pristine to coated in oil. I'll try to take pics before I clean the block up.

 

I have the timing cover leak on both of my 2014 Prius. The oil is only leaking near the timing chain tensioner. Has anybody tried to just replace the tensioner gasket?

 

Good question.

 

It doesn’t work. I replaced the gasket on mine and I thought the issue was solved, but it eventually came back.

The leak was a combination of the timing cover and the oil pressure switch.

If you want to try a cheap fix, reseal the oil pressure switch with new thread sealant.