Timing cover leak

$2,200 for WHAT?
The underside of your engine is nearly pristine. There’s a little grit on the bottom of the oil pan. The timing cover isn’t even in that photo, so how can you tell it’s leaking? The timing cover is on the left side of the engine, not the bottom, as you face towards the car with the hood up.

I wouldn’t go back to that shop ever

 

Hello. I've just received a quote for this issue on my 2010 Prius. My Prius is high mileage, 210081 so my situation is different than the others I've seen here. I'm told by the dealer that I have a massive leak from oil pressure, timing cover leak is an 8 out of 10 and that I need to replace the oil pressure switch. My quote is $3255.50 for this. With my mileage they recommend master gasket for timing cover, head gasket, all gaskets and seals including oil pressure switch. All of this would be $6073.95. I'm thinking I will probably get another car because my car value is less than the repairs. I love my Prius and right now is a bad time to need another car. I'm not seeing a used Prius anywhere. In fact my local dealership doesn't even have a new one or much else new. If it was you, what would you do? Is this a reasonable price? I'm not the type to do any repairs myself. It seems to be holding the oil they put in over the last 2 days. The reason I took it in, the engine light came on but then went back off. I decided to check the oil and it didn't register any oil. There is a good amount of oil in my garage, but I didn't really notice it until after this issue. It doesn't mean it wasn't there, but I know it wasn't that much the last time I walked in that area. That was a around a month ago. Any assistance appreciated.

 

You need to get a 2nd opinion.
The oil pressure switch does leak, and yours could be. And it will make a mess.
The switch is about $10-15, and fairly easy to change. Maybe you have a friend who could do it?
With your high mileage, the engine is likely burning the oil also. You should check it every
2 or 3 fill ups(fuel). It only take a moment.
And the faster and harder you drive the more and faster it will burn it.

 

This is typical scenario: dealership maintained car, no attention paid to the EGR circuit or intake, situation normal as far as Toyota is concerned.

Toyota gasket kit (including head gasket), new head bolts, have a machine shop go over the head, through an independent shop, would be around $3K USD.

More info in my signature, the EGR and Head Gasket links.

 

Reading #142 including the bits around the parts Mendel bolded, it does not seem to be a story about a head gasket failure.

It seems to be a story about a significant external oil leak, for which the shop would need the timing cover off anyway, and a recommendation to change the head gasket while they're in there.

It would be worth asking them whether they suggested the head gasket only because they would have the engine nearly that far apart anyway, or they had any actual indication of a head gasket issue.

If it was just a "we'd be nearly there anyway" recommendation, that's not necessarily a bad idea, but we need to be careful not to blindly add that post to Mendel's tally of head gasket problems.

 

God forbid that.

 

It does bespeak a certain eagerness to pad the numbers.

 

Thank you for your responses. I'm trying to get up with an independent mechanic now. I'm interested to see what he says.

 

Don't worry about timing cover or oil pressure switch gasket. They are very slow leaks, just spray with brake cleaner to wash it off but don't get it to plastic parts. Just drive it and start looking a replacement car. Prius 2016 is trouble free and it may be cheaper to get them and sell the 2010 after you get the replacement.

Head gasket, EGR, etc. may fail later but who knows when. It could be another 100k miles later.

Don't fix if it is not broken. I have 2015, the pressure switch gasket also leak. I just wipe it or spray it with brake cleaner before 2 yearly safety inspection.

 

UPDATE. I've just gotten my car back from an independent mechanic and they replaced the oil sender, which I'm told is the oil pressure switch, for $230.00. I'm told it's not leaking now. Very excited after looking for a car in this inflated car market. I'll keep an eye on it and put cardboard under the car to see any new leaks. Thanks again for all your comments!

 

Some cars have a 'sender' that gives a signal proportional to the oil pressure, so they can have a pressure gauge on the dash. Others just have a 'switch', just enough to have a red light on the dash be on or off ("engine is eating itself right now" vs. "relax, not eating itself at the moment").

Ours have the switch, but a switch and sender look pretty much the same, and mount pretty much the same way, and serve pretty much the same purpose, so you can hear the words used interchangeably.

 

At least check with a local independent shop. I think that number is way high. Secondly, I would question the wisdom of doing a bunch of other seals. If your engine has high miles, you could make all those seals brand new and blow a head gasket next month. An oil pressure switch is a minor thing and if there's a leak from the timing cover it can also be fixed at home by someone with moderate mechanical skills. There are ways to screw it up but probably the major issue is the coolant passage near the coolant pump. Make SURE this is completely sealed or you will have oil and coolant mixing. You can get a complete new engine at the junkyard for 500 bucks and this can be swapped in by a local shop for way less than the amount you're looking at. For sure, there's no way you should be spending that right now on that car. Maybe you could rent a car on Turo while yours is being fixed.

 

You're not going to get a "new" engine from a junk yard, and not for $500.
You know nothing about that engine, only what the junk yard tells you.
It's still a risk.

 

The best cost effective way is sell it as is. Clean the engine area, add oil to max level and sell it for a fair price and tell the buyer what they should expect. Honestly tell to check the oil level occasionally because it has some oil leaks and that's it. Opening timing cover is a major job and too costly for 2010 Prius that has common engine oil consumption and headgasket leaks. Before doing anything else, check all the cylinder with boroscope in case the damage on the cylinder wall is too bad and the engine cannot be fixed. Ut will be catalytic converter and Hybrid battery next at that age and mileage.

 

At the UPull around here, I've gotten several good motors for less than 200. I pulled them myself from collision wrecked cars so I know they were at least running...although you never know for sure. I've put 10K on the most recent one I pulled. I also pulled dipsticks and removed oil fill caps to try to get as much info as possible before pulling them.

 

I didn't say you couldn't get a "decent" motor at a junk yard.
I said you couldn't get a NEW motor, and certainly not for $500.
Anytime you buy used, you are taking a risk. I've bought parts from junk yards and
little problems. I bought a used transmission for my 1978 Corona. I wined like crazy!
I took it back and they gave me another one. I put 60-70,000 miles on that before selling the car.