Timing Chain Cover Gasket

[blueST]

My Sister's Yaris (1.0 VVT-i, 03-reg) is in for a service. The Garage have just called today to say the "timing chain cover gasket" is leaking and it will be £600 to fix it? On the face of it, this seems a little steep, but I don't know anything about this specific engine. Any thoughts? I'm reasonably competent with the spanners so am trying to figure out if this is something I can do.

Off to search the web for a Yaris Forum and a workshop manual.........

[porscheuro]

steep more like vertical the robbin barstads

[Steve_D]

I can do you a nice drip tray for £550.

Steve

[Crow555]

blueST said:

Off to search the web for a Yaris Forum and a workshop manual.........

I looked for a haynes one for a starlet a year ago and was shocked that there wasn't one available. Hope you can find a Yaris one.

[blueST]

Luckily there is a Haynes, shall be purchasing one shortly. From what I have managed to gather from the web so far this is quite a common problem. In order to fix it it seems, the cam cover, aux belt, pulleys, engine mount and possibly (not sure yet) the sump all have to come off. And that's before you get to the timing chain cover. Hence the high price, though whether that is £600 of work is anyone's guess.

I suppose while I'm in there it would be worth replacing the cam cover and sump gaskets at the same time and maybe even the timing chain and tensioner. It not unknown for the timing chain to break on these engines apparently.

Once I get to have a look at the car, if the leak's not bad it's probab;y better to just live with it. Edited to add - in which case I'll be having one £550 drip tray please Steve D

Edited by blueST on Wednesday 18th June 17:32

[Steve_D]

When you own Land Rovers service intervals are governed by when oil stops leaking out i.e. if none is coming out it's time to put some more in.

Steve

[blueST]

Steve_D said:

When you own Land Rovers service intervals are governed by when oil stops leaking out i.e. if none is coming out it's time to put some more in.

Steve

I had a Mk2 Golf with similar properties. Just came to think of it as an automatic underbody rust treatment system.

[Steve_D]

blueST said:

Steve_D said:

When you own Land Rovers service intervals are governed by when oil stops leaking out i.e. if none is coming out it's time to put some more in.

Steve

I had a Mk2 Golf with similar properties. Just came to think of it as an automatic underbody rust treatment system.

Also stops weeds growing in your drive.

Steve

[That Daddy]

Have you witnessed the oil leak yourself,very unlikely on a Toyota Yaris,i have seen many of these and only one with very slight leakage from the crankshaft front seal that as not worsened in 2 years approx,they really are that good

[blueST]

I've not seen it yet, should be able to at the weekend. Apparently it is a common fault on the french made 1.0, there is a revised cover design available to help improve matters. If it's only weaping, it shall probably be left alone for now.

[rev-erend]

Whilst it might take a day to fix and about £15 for the gasket ..

Is it actually leaking much.

You might be able to just 'pinch' un the bolts a little and stop the leak yourself.. worth a look and a try.

[wildoliver]

Buy a 911 then you'll really understand oil leaks, these landrover boys talk about oil leaks, pah!

Oil leaks from engine, pushrod tubes, oil pipes, dry sump unions, oil distributor unions, oil cooler unions, oil cooler, oil filter housing unions, sump plug x 2. Unless your topping up every week I really wouldn't panic, you can buy a lot of oil for £600.

[rev-erend]

And they say 911's are soooo reliable

Only worry in the oil can weaken the cam belts - if it has no oil on it - then no worries..

[thong]

book time is 3.30 hours,cam cover/sump off to do it.

[S7Paul]

I've just done a similar job on a 1.0 Micra. I replaced both timing chains & tensioners, but to get access you need to remove the air filter housing, cam cover, sump, crankshaft pulley & belts, and engine mount. To get the sump off, the engine support member and the exhaust front pipe had to be dropped out of the way. By the time I'd finished it had taken most of a Sunday and the following 3 evenings. However, it's a 1996 car, and there was no oil leakage apparent, so I wouldn't expect a Toyota to be leaking either. Also, the micra sump & timing chain don't use gaskets as such, just a bead of sealant; the Yaris may be similar. If you've got the time and the tools, I'd DIY. I would have great difficulty getting my head around paying someone £600 just to fix an oil leak (i.e. virtually no new parts involved).