xHartawann

iTrader: (2)

Car: 2006 IS350
Style of driving: First 1 1/2 years drove normal to hard. for the next 1 1/2 years, almost normal because of the 20" rims. Recently I have been driving hard again.
Problem: Oil leak (car has smoke coming from under), losing oil (quite a lot, went from a little over the max to down to under the minimum.

Initial diagnose by a mechanic: I went at 5:30pm today and they were closing for July 4th so diagnose was not thorough. Initial diagnose says, broken seal between engine and transmission.
What I did before this started happening:I went for a really spirited driving through the mountains last night. Often hitting redline and staying on 3rd and 4th.

Could the initial diagnose be right? I am going to another shop on Monday and see what they say. As for now I have a quart of oil for Monday's drive and the car will be sitting here for the weekend. Shop 1 says it is approximately $500 for the service because they have to dismount transmission.

Anyone else have an opinion?

Thanks.

Update: As I was driving to the dealership today, when making a right turn, it lost gear at 4th for a second. It went on neutral for a second and when I let off and gassed again, it was back to normal.

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

Damn that sucks

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

the only way is to look for yourself... it sounds like a reasonable diagnosis, but keep in mind there are multiple places an engine can leak oil, and the rear main seal is by far not the most common...

what you can do yourself is to go to an auto parts store and buy a dye kit... you put some dye in the engine oil, then use a black light in your garage or shaded area to see where it is seeping out... once you put the dye in, go for a little drive, then park it, put it up on jackstands or ramps, then use the black light all over... where ever you see traces of the dye, you have an oil leak... if you see it at the rear of the engine, coming out of the seam between the engine and trans, they are probably right, however, you will want to make sure it is not coming from above that area and leaking down into the area...

other possible oil leaks are valve covers, cam seals, oil pan, and I believe the variable valve timing has an area or hose that is prone to leaking as well...

xHartawann

iTrader: (2)

Hmm I will try that dye method. Thanks for the tip.

scooter58

iTrader: (2)

always do the cheapest things first..

VVT-i

How many miles do you have on the IS? How many times did you past the redline and how many RPM?

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

always do the most serious things first...

xHartawann

iTrader: (2)

It is at around 55k. I didn't really pass redline that much, always shifted at or slightly before redline. And at most during the life of the car, probably 25 times that it hit redline. Maybe during the donut run, it was at redline? But it wasnt that long. However, I did it about 10-15 minutes after the hard run.

BTW, Where can I buy a blacklight locally?

RCPnoi

Redlining the car on an upshift doesnt really cause to much problems ints not good but its not bad either....
I've been drifting cars for the better part of 4 years now and 6 cars later
i never had any problems with oil leaks due to red lining....now if you
redline on the down shift...theres a cause for concern....you can blow seals, rings,and gaskets and even blow a hole in your block.

My IS has about 70K on it right now and i drive it hard all the time, go out drifting and i do redline it quite a bit....in which the rev limiter takes over and protects the engine.
the only time the rev limeter wont be able to do its job is during a down shift.

I reccomend doing what mitsuguy said and do the dye approach...you could just have a worn rear main seal due to premature break down or it could be leaking uptop and dripping down to the same location between the tranny and engine block which makes it look like the rear main seal.

Good Luck
and hope the problem isnt to expensive

RTIS250

iTrader: (9)

You do realize with only 55k miles on your car, you are still covered under the powertrain warranty.... Dont mention how you drive the car, just bring it into a dealer and complain of the leak. The common oil leak areas on these cars is the front timing cover, and the #1 oil pan, right at the back of the engine (making it appear to be a rear main seal)...

xHartawann

iTrader: (2)

Oh crap thanks for reminding me. I forgot the drivetrain was 6yr/70k miles.

xHartawann

iTrader: (2)

Update: As I was driving to the dealership today, when making a right turn, it lost gear at 4th for a second. It went on neutral for a second and when I let off and gassed again, it was back to normal.

RTIS250

iTrader: (9)

Jeez.. keep us updated as to what the problems is/was.

xHartawann

iTrader: (2)

Dealer is going to drop the transmission, possibly the rear main seal. That is what they said. My car won't be done until Friday (dropping the transmission)

RTIS250

iTrader: (9)

Im willing to bet it will end up being the #1 oil pan that is leaking I only say that because i did one last week.. looked like a rear main seal leak, took the trans out, ended up being the upper oil pan. Keep us updated.