Took my IS into the dealer (lexus of chandler) for recall work and they advised that the timing cover is leaking. 2300.00 to replace seal. They advised that engine needs to be removed in order to repair. Anyone attempt this on their own? My first assessment would be to take off belt pulleys and water pump. Does the engine really need to be removed?

 

According to the TSIB, the first step is to remove the engine and it pays the technician 18 hours, which is on par with the time it takes to remove the engine. Here's a little excerpt from the TSIB:
GR–FSE SERIES ENGINE OIL LEAK – EG001-07 February 16, 2007
Page 3 of 4
1. Remove the engine assembly.
Refer to the Technical Information System (TIS), 2006 model year GS 300, IS 250, or
IS 350 Repair Manual, Engine/Hybrid System – Engine Mechanical –
“3GR/4GR/2GR–FSE (applicable engine) Engine Mechanical: Engine Assembly:
Removal”.
2. Disassemble the engine to remove the timing cover and replace the RH and LH
Camshaft Housing Sub–assemblies.
Refer to TIS, 2006 model year GS 300, IS 250, or IS 350 Repair Manual,
Engine/Hybrid System – Engine Mechanical – “3GR/4GR/2GR–FSE (applicable
engine) Engine Mechanical: Engine Unit: Disassembly” (steps 1–57 only).
3. Reassemble the engine.
Refer to TIS, 2006 model year GS 300, IS 250, or IS 350 Repair Manual,
Engine/Hybrid System – Engine Mechanical – “3GR/4GR/2GR–FSE (applicable
engine) Engine Mechanical: Engine Unit: Reassembly” (steps 30–75 only).

 

If u were getting warranty work done shouldn't the repair be covered by ur warranty???

 

Nope 109,000 miles. Warranty up at 100k

 

sorry for the confusion i meant recall work.

 

If engine must come out then I would guess 2300 is correct. Anyone know any mechanics in AZ?

 

Ive done this work like twice.. It take a lot of times like remove ac compressor, alternator, lots of bolts, drain oil for remove the oil pan, lower bottom of oil area, and tons of other parts...

 

WOWI saw this topic and got very angry of the word Timing cover. I just had mine replaced as it was seeping oil on my 2006 4runner with 30k miles. I was a few months out of warranty and made Toyota good will it to me as it is a $2500 repair and 99% labor as the part was $50. Always buy the upgraded warranty as you just never know!

 

Going to try to revive this thread with the proper title vs make a new thread.

I just bought an IS350 with 137k, full service history all at one lexus dealer by one owner. Very clean car with recalls done and very up on maintenance. (AC recharge, new tires, rear shocks +++)

Anyhow, just read about this awful timing cover leak that some people seem to be affected by. Did quite a bit of searching and reading but unable to figure out:

How common do we estimate this is for the IS350's? i.e. 10% ?

How exactly do I monitor for this? Can someone tell me where to look in the engine bay? Still learning this engine, I came from an Audi 1.8T which I was very familiar with. I consider myself mechanically inclined.

Thanks guys!

 

I have a 2006 IS350 that has 90K miles on it. Two separate mechanics, on their own, noticed that my timing cover was leaking. I never noticed it because the car is designed so that oil cannot drip to the garage floor, and mines not leaking enough to cause any noticeable loss in oil (I maybe lose 1/2 quart over 6 months). My current mechanic said that they'll monitor it every time they change the oil, and that if the idea of the leak doesn't bother me, it doesn't necessarily need to be fixed right away. BTW it was first diagnosed with the problem about 2 years ago, and who knows how long before that it actually developed the problem. I haven't had any problems with reliability and don't plan to get if fixed unless it starts leaking to the point that my mechanic feels it could cause significant damage.

That's just me, and in my situation I don't plan to sell it anytime soon. To each their own.

 

^In your case I'd just monitor the oil loss closely and forego the repair. Cost of replacing the seal vs the lost oil doesn't make any sense, I'd check the oil level weekly knowing it is actually leaking though.

 

FYI, just returned from the dealership to get my regular maintenance for my 2007 IS 250 with only 65,000 miles. They have informed me of the timing cover leak and a cost of $3400 to fix.

Service guy did say that it currently isn't much of an issue, and that I could drive with it like that for a couple of years before a decision should be made.

The bummer is that it has low mileage and I always did my scheduled regular maintenance.

 

Wow, sorry to hear about the bad news! This is the first time I heard of the IS250 with this problems as the issue was more with the 3.5L engines.
Anyhow, I was in the same situation almost 2 years ago with my 2006 IS350! I decided not to get it fixed and the leak still hasn't gotten worse after over 20k miles.

 

I also have at least 15,000 miles on mine after knowing of the leak (who knows how long it was leaking before it was diagnosed). It's a bummer to find out for sure, but if you plan to keep your car for awhile more, then there's a decent chance it won't have any effect on reliability and it shouldn't make a huge difference in trade-in/resale value by the time you want to sell it anyways.

 

Wow. That's all great news. I'm also hoping that if and when the time comes, that Lexus will do a "goodwill" and lop off some of the price, since it had been a known issue.