EPayne42

Hello,

I'm starting this thread as a place holder for the rear main seal job I'm about to do on my son's 1999 ES300. If anyone knows of a DIY thread/video covering the real main seal job on this car, please post below. I'd really like to just punt this job to the local dealer or independent Toyota/Lexus shop, but just can't fork over the money right now. If you want some history on this car, please check out;

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es3...-problems.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es3...ng-places.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es3...ite-smoke.html

The car has progressed nicely since it's purchase a few weeks ago. To summarize what you'll find in the links above, the following has been replaced/fixed/completed;
Both VVTi sensors
New power steering rack
Inner & outer tie rods
Front sway bar bushings
Front sway bar end links
Both half axles
Front lower ball joints
Trans filter/fluid
Fuel Filter & Air Filter
Valve cover gaskets & sparkplugs
Battery
Hood Struts
Clay bar, machine polish, & wax
Axle seals - in progress as of 9-JAN-2015
upper & lower intake gaskets, & coolant bypass hose - in progress as of 19-JAN-2015 - DONE
timing belt, cam seals, water pump & new drive belts - will complete by 23-JAN-2015 - DONE

In the future I'll be rebuilding the rear end and also the brake system, but currently they're in decent shape. I also have some cosmetic items on deck like HID headlight conversion.

Regarding the rear main seal, I'm getting a slow drip from the area where engine and trans meet. I also have some oil/road grime built up next to the access plate for the fly wheel;



I'm going to pop the access panel tonight to see what I find. I'll post pictures (if possible).

LeX2K

Replacing the rear main seal is very easy, getting to it is the hard part.

EPayne42

Yep! I may wimp out and take it to a shop. Going to start tonight. The axles seals need to be done, so I'll see how I feel after getting the axles out. I'm really not looking forward to dropping the subframe. If I can figure out a way to possibly drop the trans w/o doing the subframe, I'd been ecstatic. The other thought is to hoist the trans out from the top using an engine hoist. Ugggg. I know I can do the job by the letter, I'm just not up for wrestling with the trans and taking everything apart. I would ****** the engine, but don't want to deal with the exhaust manifolds. If any of those studs break... I'm going to dig around inside the trans through the flywheel access panel. If I don't see any oil, this whole thing could be chalked up to some bad axle seals.

OceanView

If the leak isn't too bad, I would just leave it alone.
These cars are old now and aren't worth the time or trouble.
How do I know? I just got rear ended on my 98 and the insurance company is gonna total it and give me almost nothing.
Considering that I spend $2500 in the last 2 years for maintenance and new parts, I'm not gonna recover the amount put in.
Just drive it till it dies.

EPayne42

I hear ya loud and clear bro. By the end of this weekend I'll have about $3500 spent (that includes the purchase price of the car + tax & tags). God forbid this car gets hit, but if it does and it's not into the frame, I'd go to the local salvage yard and swap out body parts. I'm hoping to have an air compressor this year and I want to learn how to paint (body parts and so on). I don't mind putting money into the car to keep it rolling as long as it doesn't get outta hand. I bought my oldest daughter a car a couple years ago. She's about 300mi away at college and her hoopty kept breaking down. I bought her a 2012 Nissan Sentra. Car note and insurance is $600/mo ...so if I can keep my son rolling in the ES300 for a $1000 or so per year in repairs, I'm happy.

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

Both are valid points of view.

I personally can't help but fix anything that's wrong with my belongings. It becomes obsessive at times, so a result I've spent around $10k on repairs, since I got the car in 2011. The largest expenses were on modifications that I later regretted - I consider them Automotive Education.

As of today, there are only two things that I would still like to fix.
1. Squeaky mattress-like rear struts (recently replaced).
2. Toxic underhood odor getting sucked into the HVAC vents.

If I keep the car on the road, which I plan to keep driving for as long as possible, I will eventually break even. I'm a few miles away from 222,222

Back on topic, I think you should do the DIY guide as a lot of people will benefit from it, going forward. As Oceanview has pointed out, the ES300 is getting older and the RMS leak is inevitable on a lot of our cars.

EPayne42

At 10K in repairs over 3-4 years you're still ahead of the game in comparison to a newer car on a loan. I assume the amount you spent was on the high side because the work was performed by someone else?

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

Most of the repairs were done by me. I only used external help for assembling aftermarket struts, R&R an exhaust section, repairing exhaust leak, and extensive bodywork.

Largest expenses: aftermarket struts, exhaust work, and bodywork.

I have learnt a lot over the years and consider myself a Lexus ES300 specialist. There are some components that I fixed/replaced unnecessarily, but I still think they improved the overall performance of the car.

The exhaust is the only mistake that I am still trying to resolve to this day.

BDSL

I have not replaced the rear main seal on my 97 ES300 but I have replaced the rear main seal on my 91 MR2 turbo. It takes time to remove the subframe and transmission....took me +15 hours for the entire job. And when you get there, you might as well replace other parts that are old and on the way out.

And this is not a weekend job. When you take stuff off, things will break and you will have to order them which takes a few days to get in....depending on what the part is.

EPayne42

Agreed BDSL. I'm probably going to punt this job to a shop. I'm in my 40's now and the idea of wrestling with a 200lb transmission on my garage floor is giving me 2nd thoughts. I've done this job on other cars and its a major PITA if you don't have access to a lift and a transmission jack.

EPayne42

Just got a quote on the rear main seal job from an independent Lexus repair shop (with high reviews & BBB awards). $1,250! Time to get the wrenches ready. I'm going to pull a trans out at the local salvage yard to get some practice (and to have a spare trans to rebuild). If it turns out the rear main is bad, I gotta do this job myself.

EPayne42

Bump for an update,

Good news, I don't believe this car needs a rear main seal or torque converter seal. I put the front of the car on stands, cleaned the area around the leak, then turned the car on and put it in drive. I watched the axles spin and waited for drips. The drip is coming from the (U.S.) passenger side output shaft (half axle) seal at the trans. It's dripping onto the cat converter and causing some smoke due to the burn off.

I replaced both seals about a week ago, but the pass side is still leaking. I bought a new seal last night, installed it, and tried the test again. Still leaking, but not nearly as bad as before. I'm guessing this aftermarket seal isn't up to spec. I'm going to buy a seal from Toyota/Lexus, install, and try the test again. I'm thoroughly relieved that I don't have to wrestle the rear main seal, but this drip is very annoying and I'll be swapping this seal for the THIRD time. Lesson learned. Will use Toyota/Lexus parts on these sensitive parts going forward.