I just had my oil changed and was told that my rack and pinion was leaking also my valve cover leaked I had the gasket change about a year ago an the leak is so slight it wont even show up in my dip stick, is it possible the valve cover leak is getting on the rack boot. Also can I change just the boot car has 15000mi in great shape an well maintained.....
View 7 RepliesI took my 2010 Camry LE for its 70K service to the mechanic to find out there is a leak in the rack and pinion. The tech said that this might happen due the wear and tear as the seal might get eroded or so. He showed me the leaking part and interestingly I never found any oil leak on the garage floor until the day. Anyways I just got the basic powertrain warranty on my camera so will have to take the repair costs on my own. They suggested replacing the rack and pinion with a quote of $1.4K (out the door which includes tax, labor and wheel alignment etc). Not sure if its a rip off being a novice in the auto field. Now my question is, is there a way to get this leak sealed or should i go for the replacement of rack and pinion? Also is it dangerous to drive around in the car which has this leak?
View 4 RepliesI have a 2003 Toyota Camry with 210,000km on it. Today I popped the hood, noticed the coolant was slightly low in the over flow reservoir so I looked around the engine bay. Now I know generally coolant does not go up that far and it's just oil... But this has got my head turning. There's a crusty coolant residue drip that looks to start at the valve cover. At first I thought maybe the water pump was leaking, and the pulley was spinning it farther up, or spraying back from a rad leak when driving. but the fact it's crusty and A clear line that looks like a drip that's a slow leak and has crusted over time makes me wonder.
I mean generally coolant wouldn't come out of the valve cover unless it was right full of coolant, causing enough pressure to push it out... Am I wrong ? Once I get to the shop on Monday I'm going to pressurize the cooling system and pull the spark plugs and the valve cover to look at the head, The highest spot I see the drip start is the valve cover, only thing I could think of is the intake leaking, and traveling over there but even then, it doesn't make sense to me. The thermostat housing is about 2.5" under so it can't be that... It's such a small leak, the reservoir is only down about maybe half an inch and the oil looks clean as can be.... There's some pictures below that you can somewhat see it.
We had our Timing belt& water pump replaced 5 months ago, due to maintenance book suggestion for our 2006 Toyota Sienna LE, 119,000 miles on her. Now there is a leak in the R & P.
View 2 RepliesOwn a 2000 Camry XLE 6-cyl. Both valve cover gaskets are leaking. Rear one leaks onto the manifold and causes stench. Have been quoted $350. to replace because the job is complicated. Have any of you done this on your own, and if so, would you recommend it or go to a qualified mechanic?
View 9 RepliesLast week I took my 2004 Honda Odyssey in to Firestone for a rear brake job and they ended up selling me an oil change, two new tires, alignment, an alternator drive belt, and two front engine mounts as well. When I picked up the vehicle late Friday afternoon, I noticed the power steering was making a whining noise and the steering seemed a little stiff. I took it back to Firestone Saturday morning, and they looked under the hood and said my power steering fluid was low, so they topped it off. That fixed the whining, but the steering still had a bit of a kink in it. They said it might be an air bubble in the line that would work itself out. Monday morning on my way to work, the whining was back and the steering very stiff and getting noticibly worse by the minute, so I took it directly back to Firestone.
It turns out the rack and pinion is leaking, and Firestone denies that it could have happened while they had the vehicle. The manager I spoke to said "all we did was replace a couple of belts -- didn't even get near the rack and pinion." Well, that's not all they did, but if anything they did could have caused the current issue. I know there were no suspension or power steering issues before I took it in, and after I picked it up suddenly it's leaking fluid like crazy. What can I do or say to press my case?
My uncle has a 1997 Corolla that has been sitting on his garage for about 2 years. We jump started the car and after a while recharging the battery, we saw fumes coming out from the engine. I then noticed that there was oil all over the front of the engine.. From what I have found in google it seems that this is a valve cover leak. How serious can these be? Are they easy to fix? because my uncle is thinking on calling the junkyard.
View 13 RepliesMy front carrier is leaking at the bottom of the Ring and Pinion Cover. I am going to pull the cover and replace the gasket. I am also a believer in Amsoil full synthetics, should I use the Severe Gear 75W-90, Severe Gear 75W-110 or the Severe Gear 75W-140. How many ounces does it take. I presume to fill until the bottom of the fill hole? What are the torque specifications for the bolts?
View 14 RepliesI had it checked out at the dealer and they called it a "weep" so they went on to tell me that VW probably wont approve warranty work for it. I pushed for them to take pictures and send it in anyway.
Now assuming they won't do it, I have been looking for a DIY or a technical order on the job but I can't find anything.
Just found valve cover of my Tiguan is leaking out oil this morning. Will go to dealer tmr for gasket replacement. My car is just over 50k miles. What happened to VW's car quality control???
View 5 RepliesHaven't had the engine cover off for about 25k now (cleaned it up under there last time I changed plugs.) Took it off today and noticed it's a little oily on all four sides around the valve cover.
Pretty sure I can account for the oil that's near the filler cap... I don't recall spilling enough that would completely go around the entire valve cover though...
But how did it end up so high on top of the valve cover on the corners? It's even a little wet looking on the back if you look hard enough..
I only have 4600 miles left of the 10/100 warranty so I'm glad I caught this and hope the dealer can do something about it... or are they going to tell me this a "normal" amount of seepage? I haven't owned a vehicle with plastic valve covers before so I don't quite know what to expect.
I took it to the stealership to get the alternator and some vac. lines replaced all under an extended warranty. They informed me that both valve cover gaskets and right side cam adjuster gaskets are leaking. By no means am I a mechanic or close to but I am trying to get this stuff done as cheap as possible so I am going to try to tackle this myself.
View 3 RepliesSo, weird smell that I thought was burning plastic or rubber is actually hot oil leaking from the valve cover and tensioner gaskets.
My car is nearly 8 years old (2003), and has about 70K. Should I go ahead and buy a timing belt kit and replace all that stuff at the same time?
My son-in-law came by tonight and showed me his ticket from his oil change at the dealer on his '08 Azera, 108k miles. Tech remarked that both valve cover gaskets AND the oil pan gasket were leaking. I've walked through his garage many times when my daughter has the car at work and I've never noticed any oil on the floor. Should have I seen any? I told dealer I would just drive it and monitor the oil level and any other signs of oil leakage. Since he bought the car with 101k miles and a fresh oil change ticket and never checked the level over the next 7k miles I don't think it's leaking bad.
View 2 RepliesHow do I replace the rack and pinion in my 2005 Dodge Caravan? Looking for a step by step. Id much rather do it myself.
View 1 RepliesMy 2006 Toyota Camry LE (4cyl) is in the shop today for its 120,000 mile maintenance. The Toyota shop says my power steering rack (or boot?) is leaking, the whole thing needs to be replaced, and this is a $1200 repair. I had an accident in this car on 01/03/13, I was hit on the front passenger side tire, pushing it in and under, along with damage to the front lower corner of the door and the whole fender. I got the car out of the repair shop last week and immediately noticed a lot of banging and bumping that was not there before. I called the repair shop, they said bring it in and they will look at it, I was planning to take it in tomorrow. Meanwhile my car was due for an oil change and the 120,000 mile maintenance, so I dropped it off this morning and you know the rest of the story. I asked Toyota if this could have happened in the accident - they said while it could be that the banging and bumping noises are the boot rattling, it was not likely this would have happened in the accident. What do you think, is it possible or likely the power steering rack could have been torn in the accident or in the ensuing replacement of parts on the undercarriage?
View 6 RepliesA couple of days ago, I was driving my car around when the oil pressure light came on. Having recently changed the oil myself, I figured I had neglected to tighten something down there and it had become loose and was leaking oil. I stopped at two different shops. Both shops told me the leak was coming from the valve cover gasket. Instead of paying $200 for them to replace it, I did it myself. I didn't use any sealant or silicone, or anything like that. The old gasket was hard as a rock and had some sort of red cement around it.
After I had everything back together, I had a partner start the car for me. The oil leak has become much worse--probably a quart a minute. The thing is... I can't see any oil leaking from the valve cover gasket. You would think that an oil leak of that volume would be visible if it were coming from the top of the engine, no? We're going to take the gasket off again to inspect and perhaps use some gasket sealant in select spots, per some YouTube videos we watched.
I have a 2005 hyundai santa fe and the valve cover gaskets are leaking. We were able to change the one in the front but we cant figure out what to do with the back one. Need to find a video showing what to do...
View 2 RepliesI'm thinking of purchasing a 2001 GLX VR6 Jetta with lots of deferred maintenance (shocks/struts, brakes, exhaust). Most worryingly, the valve cover gasket is leaking oil. The price is pretty low, but is such a beast worthwhile at any price or is it better parted out? And the interior is about as beat up as the mechanical--screeching passenger window motor, broken glove compartment ... Is this thing worth being brought back to life?
View 6 RepliesI have a 2002 toyota camry xle 6 cyl i believe i have a valve cover gasket leaking vehicle has 112,000 miles. is there a step by step removal proccess i can access. I have done one on a 1995 honda passport 6 cyl how difficult is it
View 2 RepliesPassenger side valve cover leaking. My local parts stores have two brands.
Fel-Pro and MAHLE Original.
Any comments, preferences, anecdotes? I don't want to do this job twice.