Hi all apologies in advance for not having photos attached, but I’ve just recently discovered I’m leaking oil in my 00’ GS400 it APPEARS to be leaking from the passenger and driver side corners of the oil pan where the lower pan meets the upper pan. I recently got the car with 225k and have managed to put another thousand in a month, it is on lowered springs and seems to be dropped almost over an inch and it had no oil leaks to begin with. I replaced a ton of parts
radiator, “new” throttle body, entire fuel assembly etc I plan to do water pump and timing belt next but it runs great now… however I recently bottomed out pretty hard on an incline turning onto a main road a week ago and had my yellow oil light flicker a couple days after that the same day I just happened to be installing my throttle body, I searched it up on here and figured it was just a sensor, without thinking much of it. Went for my first long drive from Broward to Miami and back and noticed the light kicking on more. She still ran like a ****ing champ the whole way didn’t feel anything weird. Checked my oil level that night after getting home and realized it had about just a quart in her 😵‍💫. (Dipstick was at L) That’s when I realized it was leaking. I immediately refilled that next morning after luckily limping it around the corner to an advanced auto parts maybe a mile away. Also got a bucket to catch the oil, it seems to leak at a constant 1-2-3-4*drip*1-2-3-4-5 drip, bottomed out maybe a couple times before that but not as hard. I’m feeling it is likely the oil pan, I will lift her up on Monday and clean everything and assess more. Thanks for your input if you decide to give some!

 

It seems really unlikely you damaged the oil pan, much more likely it’s your valve cover gaskets leaking bad like all of them do, and it’s just hard to see where it’s running down the sides of the block til it reaches the oil pan. You might have an oil pan problem, but it’s pretty certain you’re valve cover gaskets are leaking unless you have dealt with them recently? They aren’t too hard to replace, the power steering pump is the other common source of leaks, but it will leak ATF, and usually into the alternator. But this is another DIY project anyone with a little time and a few tools can solve pretty easily

 

You need to get the car in the air, remove the plastic lower engine cover, and trace the highway point of where you see oil using a flashlight.

As said above, the valve cover gaskets are a common leak that flows down and to the back of the block. It makes it appear that other gaskets are leaking.

I just replaced my valve cover gaskets last week (and the spark plug seals in the valve cover) due to a leak.

good luck

 

so I haven’t been able to lift the vehicle up and clean it yet but I have noticed just by visual inspection the valve cover gaskets are leaking at the seams (this wasn’t present upon purchasing the car and after beating on her a bit it’s safe to say I probably killed the little bit of life left on those gaskets) if it is just valve covers my plans for an engine swap are gone , I have noticed more oil gradually dirty up the header on the passenger side and oil leaking down the block on the driver side from the valve cover so I’ve got my fingers crossed I’m due for just valve cover gaskets and not due for an entire dreaded cam/crank seal job. I’ve noticed that the leak has slowed down a bit nearing the full capacity as I overfilled the car the day after discovering it had no oil (the dipstick displayed L but now that I think about it I checked while the engine was still hot so I don’t think it was an accurate reading) thank you for the advice!
I am also leaking PS fluid but
I don’t think it is leaking directly onto the alternator as I haven’t had any issues with power whatsoever. I’m more curious to know what parts I need to essentially have a fully “rebuilt” power steering system. AutoZone has like 4 different hose and return assembly’s and I just want to narrow down what I need exactly. Would a brand new pump be necessary, or can I rebuild the sucker myself? Thanks!

 

You can get a rebuilt power steering pump. They usually cost about $200 or more. So I got an OEM rebuild kit and did it myself for about $40, you won’t know if any of the hoses are shot until you can get access to inspect them. You’ll need a new banjo washer when reinstalling it, it’s also a good time flush the old disgusting atf out of the P/S system. Almost every GS I see with the hood open, I notice the P/S reservoir is stained black from dirty fluid. And a new reservoir is about $150. So I cleaned mine out, just pulled the internal filter out of it and then ran an in-line filter that I can pull apart and clean the filter regularly. I also added a power steering fluid cooler to keep it from becoming a problem again down the road. It was fairly easy and less work than rebuilding the pump again in a few years.
The fluid won’t ruin the alternator right away, but it will shorten the life, so if you just give it a clean up with electric parts cleaner, and rinse all the atf out of it, and stop the leaks, your alternator will last much longer.