Johnhav430

I was thinking about this....there's nothing unique about my car, 87,000, FLA car, so maybe heat and humidity.....the extension output seal was weeping....just saw the fluid coating the output area, no drip onto the driveway or anything.

the $15 seal

http://www.lexussouthatlantaparts.co...031142024.html

Then I thought, the car had multipoint inspections from Lexus and Toyota and no mention of it, probably the tranny is regarded as a lifetime unit, if it fails, replace. Or, too small a job to mention, go after the big fish like timing belt/water pump, LCA (over $1500), etc.

Is this something that nobody really checks or bothers with? I didn't find anything when searching, but I did find Toyota pickups with the exact issue....just curious. Mine's fixed.

And I am now confident about the auto tranny and how I believe it should be serviced--if fluid is new, or dirty, yes, drain and refill, but do not ever flush. If fluid is burnt with metal, leave it alone. This would seem to imply, do the drain and fill early on....

p.s. did this car come with a tow package? I seem to see that sometimes on the parts catalogs, never heard of it....

Bocatrip

Where is this seal u are talking about? How much labor to replace it?

Johnhav430

I ended up spending $400 and got the fluid drained / filled too.

Here are some threads, as I could find none on the LS430. My sneaking suspicion is this would be harder to spot except on a lift.

https://www.yourmechanic.com/article...shaft-oil-seal

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forum...ut-shaft-leak/

The area that had fluid was 1/2 the size of where I marked

Bocatrip

Is this the rear transmission seal your are talking about leaking? Mine is fine, but I have a trans leak at the shifter linkage on the passenger side and another trans leak on the driver's side of the trans pan. My biggest concern is my rear main seal just starting to leak.....slowly. .

Johnhav430

Yes, it's in front of the output shaft, to which the driveshaft attaches....I believe the driveshaft needs to be undone to get at it. Not sure why some have said it only takes 15 min. to replace...just seems unlikely that it would be spotted by a DIY'er say doing an oil change, it's up there....could be wrong though..