By
Mike M. February 29, 2012
Mike M.
Hello,
After today's oil change for my 2009 Corolla, I was told that there is a small oil leakage near the timing chain cover. I got the car with certified used warranty from a local Toyota dealer which it will expire in couple of months. I know the dealer will not confirm this leak until after the one year warranty expires 
I like to know if the repair for this small leakage is costly so that I should take the car to the dealer for repair.
Any suggestion is greatly appreciated,
Mike-
It may be the timing chain tensioner. Oil leak from a loose tensioner is very common. You can buy a new tensioner for around $25 at 1sttoyotaparts and replace it yourself. There is plenty of DIYs for this job on the internet, jus t google.
Of course, the timing chain cover might itself be leaking oil due to bad gasket, or it might be crankshaft seal. I would clean up that general area with some brake cleaner (don't spray on the belt), and then watch every day for where the oil comes from. Do you have any oil on the belt itself?
Can you hear a brief engine knock/rattle noise at cold startup? There is a TSB out for 2009-2010 Corolla regarding the timing gear, and which involves replacing it as well as the cylinder head cover gasket, two camshaft bearing cap oil holes, and timing chain tensioner gasket. If it was already done, it may not have been sealed back up properly with new gaskets.
http://www.empirepao.com/tsb/T-SB-0087-09.pdf
"Apparently this is attributed to an oil leak."
Mike M.
Can you hear a brief engine knock/rattle noise at cold startup? There is a TSB out for 2009-2010 Corolla regarding the timing gear, and which involves replacing it as well as the cylinder head cover gasket, two camshaft bearing cap oil holes, and timing chain tensioner gasket. If it was already done, it may not have been sealed back up properly with new gaskets.
http://www.empirepao...-SB-0087-09.pdf
"Apparently this is attributed to an oil leak."
I tested the car and it does not have a noise at cold start. But, as you mentioned, the leak might be due to the repair already done.
I hate going back to the dealer. It's enough that I have to take off work, but what aggravates me is the pain of having to argue with the slick dealer rep who tries to send me home. My mechanic told me to have them write my request as a record for future proof, if they decided not to fix it. He also told me to take a picture of the leak.
Thanks a lot!
=====
Mike M.
It may be the timing chain tensioner. Oil leak from a loose tensioner is very common. You can buy a new tensioner for around $25 at 1sttoyotaparts and replace it yourself. There is plenty of DIYs for this job on the internet, jus t google.Thank you for your reply crypticlineage.
Of course, the timing chain cover might itself be leaking oil due to bad gasket, or it might be crankshaft seal. I would clean up that general area with some brake cleaner (don't spray on the belt), and then watch every day for where the oil comes from. Do you have any oil on the belt itself?
I am not really sure where the cover is located. I guess it is on passenger side, behind the engine somewhere. I didn't see it the last time I checked Once I locate it, I will clean it to see how bad is the leak.
Mike-
Yeah, you want to look for the leak behind the bottom (crankshaft) pulley to see if its leaking from its front main seal. Timing chain tensioner which can leak from its O-ring is just at the back of engine head, close to the pulleys side. Timing chain cover gasket runs all around the engine cover behind pulleys. It may leak from valve cover gasket if work was done without replacing it. You can have a better look at everything by removing the top black plastic engine cover. It's also possible for the serpentine belt tensioner to leak its oil.
I only had a leak at crankshaft position sensor on my 2004. It's just in front of mentioned crankshaft front main seal. I fixed it by adding a larger O-ring with RTV sealant.
