oil leake in rear main seal
 

Hello everyone, this is my first time so I'll try to be as consice and clear as possible, please bear with me.
I've put a deposit on a 2001ES300 and had it inpsected by a Lexus dealer this saturday. I'll have a faxed copy available tmrw when I get back to the office but so far the information I have is the following. There is a minor (I'll have to find out exactly what minor means) oil seepage coming from the rear main seal, where the engine and transmission meet. According to the seller (who actually sugested I could have it checked by dealer since it was there getting a rear view mirror replaced under warranty) he seepage was not enough that it was actually leaking to the drive way and the dealer says that the problem should be resoved by replacing the gasket.

I went to the library and checked out some car maintenance books and also did some research on the internet and realize that if it is in fact just the gasket that is a fairly simple and inexpensive solution. But my concern is the following:

1-An oil leake can be known to manifest in one area but originate in another part altogether so I'm concerned that they might be guessing and through a process of eliminiation they are addressing the gasket first because it is the least expensive solution.

2-Therefore, if it's not the gasket it could be the main seal which I've found out is a more complicated and expensive repair, aparenty any where form mid $300's or considerably more depending on the mechanics rates.

3-If it is the main seal, is this covered under the powertrain warranty? The seller mentioned that is is and i checked out Lexus web page but it's not that specific.

4-Last but not least, I would like to get some opinions as to wether or not this is something I want to deal with even if it is under warranty and it doesn't end up costy me a penny? In other words, will it be a major Pain?

FYI, the cost of the car is 17,400 and it has 50k miles, it got taken to the dealer when it still had 1 mile left for warranty.

It would be so helpful to me to get some feedback from people such as yourself who have experience with lexus cars. I've thought of requesting a fourescent oil test where they use a dye and a fourescent dye to detect any place in the dar that is leaking oil. Has anyone had that test done, it is something that is covered under warranty? I\

Thanks again,
Vonnie418

Welcome to Club Lexus

Vonnie

personally i would stay away from any (not just Lexus) cars that were leaking oil

usually when the rear main seal leaks it is expensive to fix

so if you go ahead and purchase make sure it is fixed before you buy

good luck i would also try asking this in the ES forum

good luck

johnny

I concur with johnny, however, the rear main seal should be covered under the powertrain warranty (6 yr/70k mile).

call 1-800-25-LEXUS and ask customer service to verify and get the reps name for reference if needed at the dealership. Find out if the powertrain warrany is transferable when the car is sold. It should follow the car and not the original owner.

Definately have this done before you purchase. Leaks are leaks and should not be present. Leaks only get bigger and lead to more problems. It is not the gasket cost that puts it over the top, it is the 6-7 hours labor that they will get you with.

steviej

Thank you both T>L>W and Steviej for the advise.

your welcome if you feel something's not right it

step away

oh and for got my welcome aboard greeting LOLhttps://www.clublexus.com/gallery/da...boat-thumb.gif