2001 LX470 - Cam Shaft Seals??

[LibbyBites]

Hey guys,

i dropped my 2001 LX470 at dealership today to do TB & WP. They told me cam seals are leaking and should be replaced. I said okay.

But they told me that to replace those seals, they have to remove the entire cam shaft and strip it apart to get the seal out.

Is this true on a 2001? I know the later 2005+ were VVTI and that this is true.

I cannot figure out if this is also the case on an '01? was VVTI an option in those years?

i just got the rig a few weeks ago, so still learning my way around.

thanks all. dan

 

[medtro]

No need to remove cam shafts.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

Absolutely not.

 

[baltistyle]

Correct. I actually just had that done on an 06 and the shop said the computer program (all data) was messed up and said all years were the same, in my case they thought they didn’t have to remove but they did, moving the job to 12 hours vs 8-9.

Pull the page from the fsm. It clearly shows the seal being pushed in after the Sprocket is removed not the camshaft. Should save you a couple hours

Toyota Land Cruiser: Installation - Engine Mechanical

www.tlacruiser.com

 

[LibbyBites]

whoa. thanks guys. so "Stealership" is not a joke term? now i don't trust these guys and they have my engine apart. yikes.

 

[badlander]

And I guarantee the mechanic would change the seals without removing the cam shafts because he knows he can and it's easier that way - and they would still charge you for the 12 hours anyway if you don't say anything.

 

[LibbyBites]

okay, so i spoke to the dealer and they admitted it wasn't a VVTI engine. they just blamed the computer and said that's what came up when they put in my VIN. which of course sounds like bull crap, since the tech has been with toyota for 20 years, hard to imagine he needs the computer to know if the engine is a VVTI or not. right?

 

[LibbyBites]

And I guarantee the mechanic would change the seals without removing the cam shafts because he knows he can and it's easier that way - and they would still charge you for the 12 hours anyway if you don't say anything.

okay, so i spoke to the dealer and they admitted it wasn't a VVTI engine. they just blamed the computer and said that's what came up when they put in my VIN. which of course sounds like bull crap, since the tech has been with toyota for 20 years, hard to imagine he needs the computer to know if the engine is a VVTI or not. right? they are now quoting me 2.5 hours to do both Cam Seals instead of 5 hours. does that sound reasonable?

 

[JunkCrzr89]

they are now quoting me 2.5 hours to do both Cam Seals instead of 5 hours. does that sound reasonable?

No. They’re already in there doing timing belt and water pump - swapping both cam seals after the belt is off takes 30 minutes maximum. A charge of 1 additional hour would be reasonable, but 2.5 hours is preposterous.

 

[LibbyBites]

No. They’re already in there doing timing belt and water pump - swapping both cam seals after the belt is off takes 30 minutes maximum. A charge of 1 additional hour would be reasonable, but 2.5 hours is preposterous.

thanks man, what a headache! i'm going to push back on this. thank you for this info!

 

[JunkCrzr89]

thanks man, what a headache! i'm going to push back on this. thank you for this info!

You’ve encountered one of the multiple reasons why many of us here repetitively and strongly advise folks not to have work done at dealerships...

 

[MechE30]

If you have the ability to bring your vehicle somewhere else (free tows with insurance/AAA?) you should do so.

 

[LibbyBites]

If you have the ability to bring your vehicle somewhere else (free tows with insurance/AAA?) you should do so.

do you think i need to worry about the quality of work at a dealer or just that they will try to rip me off financially?

 

[flintknapper]

Took me maybe 15 minutes to change the cam seals on mine when I did the timing belt job.

 

[MechE30]

do you think i need to worry about the quality of work at a dealer or just that they will try to rip me off financially?

My biggest worry would be their familiarity with these. VVTI is pretty easy to identify, especially if it’s torn apart already, but I suppose if they never even looked at it or estimating didn’t talk to the techs they could have missed that based on clerical VIN errors. Their lack of familiarity would be tied hand in hand to charging more.

 

[LibbyBites]

My biggest worry would be their familiarity with these. VVTI is pretty easy to identify, especially if it’s torn apart already, but I suppose if they never even looked at it or estimating didn’t talk to the techs they could have missed that based on clerical VIN errors. Their lack of familiarity would be tied hand in hand to charging more.

to be honest, i think they were just trying to steal some money and they knew full well what the engine was. I say this because after they acknowledged that the engine is not vVTI and the cam shafts don't need to be pulled, they then quoted me 2.5 hours to do the cam seals instead of 5 hours for vvti. seems like they keep trying to gauge me. I'm worried to get full agro and take the car with the engine open since i don't want them messing with it.

 

[MechE30]

That being said, they likely do Tundra timing belts much more often than they do Cruisers, and the procedure is very similar. So I think you can still be confident they won’t grenade your engine.

 

[LibbyBites]

That being said, they likely do Tundra timing belts much more often than they do Cruisers, and the procedure is very similar. So I think you can still be confident they won’t grenade your engine.

mine is a Lexus, and the vehicle is at the lexus dealer. so maybe they don't see this engine as often?

 

[MechE30]

mine is a Lexus, and the vehicle is at the lexus dealer. so maybe they don't see this engine as often?

You’re probably right about that, the thing is they will either get the timing right or you will know it. The tricky thing is the seals, my friend a tech at Toyota told me to leave mine alone if they aren’t leaking since new ones are hard to get perfectly seated. The old seals can wear grooves onto the camshafts which then need to be lined up with the new seals.

honestly if it were my truck I’d just go with my gut. Yes it’s a hassle to tow it, but if you do so, just be kind and polite and say you’re going to do it yourself. They won’t trash your truck. Otherwise bite the bullet, appear knowledgeable and confident about the work you’re telling them to do, and pray for the best. Dealerships have a large liability to not mess up your truck, if you can get some of this back-and-forth on paper from them you’ll have more of a case should anything go wrong.

 

[LibbyBites]

You’re probably right about that, the thing is they will either get the timing right or you will know it. The tricky thing is the seals, my friend a tech at Toyota told me to leave mine alone if they aren’t leaking since new ones are hard to get perfectly seated. The old seals can wear grooves onto the camshafts which then need to be lined up with the new seals.

honestly if it were my truck I’d just go with my gut. Yes it’s a hassle to tow it, but if you do so, just be kind and polite and say you’re going to do it yourself. They won’t trash your truck. Otherwise bite the bullet, appear knowledgeable and confident about the work you’re telling them to do, and pray for the best. Dealerships have a large liability to not mess up your truck, if you can get some of this back-and-forth on paper from them you’ll have more of a case should anything go wrong.

thanks man. that's good advice. i moved my conversation with them to email now. So hopefully that will create a paper trail. I'll keep it polite with them for now and see if i can get it done. the cam seals were both leaking, the rig has 250k miles on it and the PO didn't do the 180 service. he only did TB once at 90k. So i think these seals are overdue.