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Need Help: Mysterious Oil Leak

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Old Jul 1, 2025 | 07:51 PM
  #1  
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carlLi
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Default Need Help: Mysterious Oil Leak

Hi just bought my LS430 a few weeks ago and it’s been having this mysterious oil leak. I looked online and on the forum couldn’t really find anything similar. Toyota dealer wasnt too helpful either. I would appreciate any help as to what’s leaking and the parts I would need.





Last edited by carlLi; Jul 1, 2025 at 07:56 PM.
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Old Jul 2, 2025 | 03:26 AM
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Spray the whole area with degreaser and then jet-wash it off to give a clean starting point.
Then cover the whole area with talcum powder and go for a drive.
The source of the oil leak should be pretty obvious after that.

Almost impossible to diagnose where a leak is coming from based on a few pics.
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Old Jul 2, 2025 | 07:30 AM
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its probably your valve cover gaskets
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Old Jul 2, 2025 | 11:36 AM
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The first pic is fairly vague; most of the wet areas could very well be power steering fluid.
The weak links in that area are the hose between the reservoir and pump, as well as the return hose from the hard line back to the reservoir.

The second pic shows a variety of potential issues.
The most obvious is the oil pressure sender/switch. The sensor itself typically doesn't fail, but the O ring inside does, allowing the leak.
This is an important sensor, buy the genuine Toyota part, not a cheap aftermarket band-aid.

The smaller (sub) oil pan is very wet.
Usually, gently snugging the pan bolts will stop most leaks. This also applies to valve cover gaskets. Emphasis on "gently" as over tightening will make matters worse.
This area could also be wet from a leak above it dripping down...


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