Mpatrol

First of all Hi everyone!

I am the third owner of this 2000 Lexus RX 300 AWD with 192,545 KM.

It has been a great vehicle with the first owner dealing with the dealership directly for all required service. Sadly the second owner has neglected the over the past 102,00km of ownership and the car shows some wear. Cosmetically the vehicle is pristine outside and in sadly three major issues has arisen that I feel must be rectified.

The first issue is that the Rear Main Seal is leaking oil nothing excessive but it is starting to mark up my driveway sadly. I have searched the forums and noticed that Auto Rx is a popular remedy before pursuing the total dealership repair. I have ordered two bottles of Auto Rx and picked them up yesterday however i am unsure of which oil to use? The vehicle has been using a correct synthetic oil and I read from the site dino oil is needed. I wish to do an oil change and add the Auto Rx however im hesitant because im unsure which brand would help address the RMS accordingly?

My second issue is that the tone ring on the Right Rear drive shaft has broken. I had the vehicle taken into my local lexus dealership and they stated on the invoice " ABS RELUCTOR DAMAGED ON RIGHT REAR DRIVE SHAFT " . With winter here I feel that this issue must be fixed for safety however I feel lost as what is the correct remedy? I am wanting to use a used Lexus drive shaft but I have had no luck on ebay finding one sadly are they interchangeable? I have found left ones recently in my searches. I have a local mechanic who will install the part however I need to locate this part first as the dealership had quoted me 1200.00+. What are my options with repairing this ring? I have read many of the posts and am still lost.

Lastly I am concered about the state of the transmission with the second owner most likely not changing it should I perform a full fluid and filter change?

Thank you in advance for your time! I am not terribly mechanically inclined but nevertheless I am willing to learn

PS also this is the nicest car I have ever owned!

droolerk9

If you have a tone ring that's broken, you're also going to have a fault code. I don't know what the TR looks like on your specific drive shaft, but I'd replace the drive shaft with an OEM part. And it's been my experience that brakes are a poor thing to economize on - or learn on for that matter. If you did the repair yourself you may find that it's hard to get the wheel speed sensor in the right location for the system to work.

If your RMS is really leaking, the way to fix it correctly is to take it apart and find out why it has failed. Anything else is a temporary fix.

Sometimes pre-owned cars need a little help, I guess that this is one of those situations.

You can do something like get an account on AllData (a mechanics database) for a nominal fee, and learn what parts are involved in your anticipated repairs (and the how to's too) and see if you'd like to tackle these repairs on your own.

BK

Mpatrol

Thanks for input droolerk9!

I fully agree brakes are not something to learn the hard way from, to speak to the TR I have the same boat or errr car as 81corolla, I intend to replace it with a used OEM Lexus or Toyota Drive shaft however I am unsure where else to procure used parts besides ebay.... any tips? After purchasing the car I had all new OEM pads and rotors installed about 3000km after the TR broke.

The RMS is a moderate leak at best and I am worried Auto RX will make it worse if I do not use the correct oil. I understand I am attempting to put a band-aid over an oil leak however a vast majority of post on this forum speak highly of this snake oil. Worst case I'm out 50-100 dollars and have to get the job fixed correctly, best case it fixes the leak.

I have searched Alldata after reading a few posts on the forum recommending them i'm considering it.... sadly I do not own many tools and the learning curve is a little off putting.

Thanks

salimshah

Read this
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...ne-ring-3.html. Use it as a guide to see if you can repair yours. This would be my first choice. Remember to mark each joint as you should put it back the same way to maintain rotational balance.

There are after market parts available. Just dont pick the cheapest. The OEM stuff will be lot pricy and if you dont have to pay a mechanic, you can replace 2-3times over in the same price.

For autoRX ,,, (a product I have not used) ... the best thing is to read the manufacturer's literature and follow i to the "T".

Salim

Mpatrol

Thanks salimshah for the reply

I have read that post over many times as well as subsequent other posts, im positive I will not be able to do the work myself but thank you for the information.

Are there any after market part makers you could recommend? I have heard that some of the after market drive shafts do not even come with TR. I apologize for my ignorance I have currently been searching ebay for used drive shafts which are between 60-200 dollars however I would be comfortable in buying an after market shaft that is of high quality.

Yes I do intend to follow them to the T I am just wondering from members who have used it and their thoughts on oil.

RX300CE

Auto RX works for my car, I got RMS leak because I used Mobil 1 then I put only one bottle autoRX with dino oil (I used Castrol GTX 5w-30) after 1k miles no more leak not even one drop, stop synthetic oi if you have RMS leak.

Mpatrol

Hey thank your RX300CE ill be doing an oil change today with Castrol GTX 5w-30 and looking forward to results ill park it in the garage to monitor leaks. Im glad to hear it stopped your leak and I hope it can stop mine!