This may be an inquiry for the far northern Taco drivers, but I wanted to see if anyone has had a similar experience. A couple of days ago I left for a 6 hour drive at -40 degrees, and about three hours into it I heard a 'thump' with a bit of hesitation. The noise went away and I though I had kicked up a piece of ice.

About 200 km later my clutch started slipping, at which point I stopped to find oil everywhere (except on my dipstick). Oil was leaking from the rear main and valve covers, and I dropped about 5 quarts. But.. as soon as it warmed up a bit outside it stopped leaking. I drove it another 300 miles (with the oil topped up, of course) without dropping any more oil.

So.... it's completely torn apart now and I'm looking at replacing the rear main, clutch, valve cover gaskets, and possibly cam seals.

I'm not impressed.. and I'm wondering if anyone's heard of this before. From talking with Toyota, it sounds like the PCV froze up, leading to crankcase pressure..

Has anyone heard of this, and does anyone have advice about other possible damage?

Does anyone have any ideas of things other than the PCV valve that could have caused it?

Thanks!

 

Haven't heard of that one. Here's a bump for ya.
My trucks make funny noises upon startup under -10F, but they go away when warmed up.