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Message: <blockquote data-quote="QTRHRSE" data-source="post: 220295" data-attributes="member: 10009">Toyota chases Tundra camshaft failuresMark RechtinAutomotive NewsMay 28, 2007 - 1:00 am LOS ANGELES -- A batch of camshaft failures in 5.7-liter V-8 engines has dinged the launch of the Toyota Tundra pickup.Camshafts in 20 engines have snapped, says Toyota spokesman Mike Michels. The outside camshaft supplier, which Toyota declined to identify, has traced the problem to "a metallurgical defect in the casting, a flaw in the metal which they have corrected," he says.To date, Toyota has built 30,000 of the engines, and the company is determining how many might be affected. Michels says that it was "an early batch," and that "Toyota is confident in the production from that point on."A camshaft is a spinning rod that opens the engine's intake and exhaust valves in sequence. Toyota's camshafts are designed to avoid collateral damage if they snap.Toyota rushed the 5.7-liter engine into production in time for the Tundra's February launch. The 5.7-liter initially was scheduled to arrive this summer. But Toyota dealers and product planners told the manufacturing arm that the Tundra needed the big V-8 at launch because the 4.7-liter V-8 would not make a strong enough statement.The 5.7-liter represents more than 70 percent of the engine mix.Toyota's top executives repeatedly have stated their concern that Toyota is growing too quickly to keep quality at past high levels.Toyota likely will not test each camshaft to see if it is prone to failure. Rather, customers whose camshafts fail will have their entire engines replaced.One Toyota dealer service technician who declined to be identified says Toyota asked him to ship overnight a defective engine to its V-8 engine plant in Alabama."The guy was towing a small trailer, not under full load," the technician says. "Other folks have been towing 10,000 pounds with no problem."You may e-mail Mark Rechtin at <a href="mailto:mrechtin@crain.com">mrechtin@crain.com</a></blockquote>