Starting this lexus that sat for 5 years an found it to be smoking after warming up, I feared the rear main seal but hoped it would work itself out as they swell from being lubricated again.

got under the car while bleeding the brakes and found transmission fluid dripping on the exhaust flange. wondering if anyone else has this issue, it looks like most of the lines on my car have a sweat but as my picture demonstrates this one is dripping.



(picture shows the steering rack, but the fluid has dripped onto it from above this is clear because my ps fluid is brown and hasn't been dealt with and my transmission fluid has had 2 drain and fills and is in much better condition.)

 

it's not the trans. the trans fluid doesn't go that high at any point.

probably power steering line or pump.

 

yes, very likely power steering - the colors are just throwing you off

why not clean this whole area with engine cleaner or solvent so that with everything clean, the source of the leaking should become much more clear

it is extremely rare for any part of the transmission to leak on LS400, except perhaps at the pan gasket or drain bolt due to incompetent technicians, but these two places are very easy to clean and check for leaks

the power steering in LS400, however, is notorious for leaking from almost every part in the system, although the rack is the least common place.

 

Like has been said already, it looks like power steering fluid.

 

smoking after warm up is also a sign of a bad IAV valve on the power steering pump. most people just bypass the valve and plug it up, then the smoking should go away!

http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/steer...mpremoval.html

 

Thanks everyone and timmy for the guide, will check that out sounds promising.


Interesting to hear about the poor quality of the power steering lines but hopefully I can repair some of those? are they threaded fittings I could use thread sealant on or how can those be repaired, We plan to do the power steering flush the same time we do a compression test because we don't want to abuse the starter.

 

the most common leaky part is the $3 o-ring between the reservoir and the pump - make sure to use the real Toyota part on this!

high pressure and low presuure hoses can leak, as well as the o-rings inside the pump

the rack o-rings could also leak, but that is much less common

if you are a backyard mechanic, all of these leaks are cheap to fix!

extremely rare for LS400 to have any failure on the engine itself, other than normal wear items such as cam & crank seals

 

rear main seal is super common on the LS, and pretty much every engine. it's a wear item.

 

maybe at 250-300K but I think he has got his hands full with what goes out by 125K

 

car has 122,300 miles . . .

So hopefully its not the main seal, car sat for around six years though so I need to do further investigation and find the source. If it is the rear main I have heard ATP at-205 might actually work to help it swell up so ill try that before ripping things apart.


Still needs air > strut conversion, tie rod replacement and front sway bar bushes before we attempt the out of province inspection and get an alignment