Daddylee76

Alright so I decided to change my oil over the weekend, after taking off the oil pan plug the bolt seems to stripped the pan. I can see the metal shavings on the bolt. After I re-installed it back it won't go to stop tight position. Meaning while turning clock wise to tight it keeps going and going. I decided to buy a over sized version of the plug M12. 1.25" standard plug but it won't fit. Seems too big...and won't screw on to the pan...anyone knows If I could get the pan re-threaded or do I need a new one. Napa Auto parts say it's $144.00 for a new pan but I have to wait 1 week. It also doesn't comes with gaskets or screws. I don't have the time cause it's siting on my drive way with a pan underneath to catch the dripping oil. I used my LX everyday and would like to know if anyone have any thoughts on what's the best/easy and cheapest way to get this fixed with out going to shell out a lot of cash and labor. Thanks!

hankinid

Find a repair shop that can re-thread the pan to 14mm or 9/16". Get the appropriate sealing washer and you should be gtg.

Toyota doesn't use gaskets on the pan, instead they use FIPG (Toyota Form In Place Gasket) in a tube. Permatex Ultra Grey Silicone also works well.

Get 3 or 4 short 6mm studs while you're at it...they're a major help aligning the pan with gasket sealer on it to the transmission case..

hth, and report back what happens.

Daddylee76

Okay, so today I got the oil pan fixed, there's a local shop here that re-thread it and uses a mega size, bolt 22mm to be exact all for a whooping $50.00 he say that's just the labor charge and don't worry about the bolt. So far no oil drips but well see in the next couple of days, but one thing i did kinda notice, would changing the oil from Toyota Full Synthetic to Castrol Full Synthetic 5w-30 make the engine work harder? It seems like the engine would idle okay but when I step on the gas I heard the front fan noises a lot more. Kinda like it's revving higher to get up, I also did notice a little power loss. Or maybe it's me who's skeptical about the oil leaking problem. Not to sure if anyone had issues of the car's front fan whining more after oil change. What else could cause that, truck has 160K and no the timing belt hasn't been replaced yet. Thanks!

hankinid

Sounds like you may need a new fan clutch. You will feel a power loss, obviously, when the fan clutch locks up. You'll also hear a lot more wind noise under the hood. Zero to do with an engine oil change. Are you goin' for a record on the timing belt?

Daddylee76

Oh, thank you so much, I was a bit worry that something went wrong by using a different oil. Fan Clutch would be about right. I had a nice 1991 4 Runner V6 and one of the fan blades broke off the engine shook like a lawnmower running over rocks. I remember it also made a lot of fan suction noise while trying to go. I still miss the old gal, this crazy old lady and her 1999 Brand New CRV side swiped me while I was at the stop light. Damage was beyond repair and they had to put her to sleep, she was 205,000 miles and ran like a rock. About the timing belt, it's next on my list, just waiting for 165K when I go back and oil change at Lexus dealer. Hope that they are okay with the larger bolt size of my oil pan drain plug. When I called Toyota Service Department on the recent event they said that, its a Lexus and they can't warranty any kind of service on the oil pan replacement. Meaning they won't fix the drain plug but replace the pan and with out warranty. I told them, I won't be using them as my main service, due to the fact that they don't care if our SUV is basically some what of a Beauty Queen Land Curiser.

Daddylee76

Alright now, I finally took it to Lexus here in Sacramento. The original quote was $160.00 to check and inspect the Fan Clutch, but I ended up going with the entire tune up. Is there supposed to be a sticker on the Air box that time and date stamp the timing belt change? Well the Lexus dealer put one on my Air Box tube and said it should've been there if there's service. The total was for the entire timing belt, water pump, fan clutch, and 8 new spark plugs as listed below is less than the labor charge. They also charge extra for the spark plug change. Total was $1599.52 with tax. That problem seems to be gone away with the fan clutch change, thanks!

hankinid

Sicker for TB usually is on the front of the driver's side cam cover. Did dealer run the VIN to see if the belt had been serviced in the past?

Prices for TB / water pump / fan clutch don't seem out of line, for a dealer. Plug prices aren't bad. Labor on the plugs is crazy as the job takes about 30-40 minutes if you take your time. Plug #7 is the only one with just a tiny bit of access.

You're welcome on the clutch stuff...mine failed about 2 days after 90K timing belt change. Easy to fix.