shammi5

Hi everyone, newbie here.

I have a RX300 1999 Model, last few days i noticed a few oil droplets on the floor, nothing big, but after taking a closer look under. it seems to be coming from the bell housing, it seems to be a dark brown\gold color, so naturally i thought it was not gear oil. can someone please tell me what else it could be? maybe motor oil? and is it a costly repair?

Any help would be appreciated. love the car so much and hate to get rid of it. if i can't afford to repair.

Lexmex

Welcome to the Club.

That sounds more like oil. What kind of smell does it have?

What kind of RX300 do you have, an AWD or FWD.

Any pictures you can add underneath, even if you don't catch where it is dripping many help, as sometimes I may see something odd or out of the ordinary.

Around that are, a main seal issue. If it were that, that would be somewhat of a costly repair as it would involve separating the tranny from the engine (I've got pictures of what that area looks like apart), take a look at this old thread of mine https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...went-bump.html

I'd also like to know what kind of oil, both brand and weight, you are running.

This isn't something to panic about at this point, and there are some options you could take for now that may thwart a future issue (certain additives, slightly thicker oil) if this is the issue, but it depends how far along that issue is.

hypervish

If it is the rear main seal, I suggest running some Auto-RX through it.

I had a rear main seal leak for a month, it happened when I switched to Pennzoil Platinum (of course, it could be a coincidence) . It went away after a few hundred miles, by itself.

code58

I agree with Hypervish. My brother has an '05 Toyota Hylander and he said it just started to have a drop or two of oil from the rear main (bellhousing) area. It is essentially the same as an RX 330. I told him to use Auto RX and within 2 days, it was totally dry, no more oil.

shammi5

Thanks for the quick reply guys,

Its a AWD


i noticed one thing, after i cleaned it and left it for over a day without driving. it didn't leak, but the next day when i went to work and got back it started. seems to happen with a hot engin.

not sure about the oil, what should it be?

Lexmex

Just to make sure, take a look around the transfer case shown below.

What does the oil smell like?

code58

That's because the oil is BELOW the level of the rear main seal when sitting. When the engine is run, the oil is splashed around pretty violently in the pan and gets past the seal. My money is on it being the rear main seal, and if it is, the Auto RX should make the leak go away and not come back. USE AS DIRECTED!

shammi5

Transfer case seems to be ok, nothing around it.. the smell is different to the Motor oil, it didn't have much of a smell, but the motor oil i got off the dipstick had a much stronger smell.



so then the Auto RX is my best bet for a start?

Thanks for the replies
sorry about the image size.

Lexmex

If it had a sulphuric smell, then I'd say gear oil from the transfer case.

However, if oil, then AutoRX is by far the best choice.

shammi5

Thanks for the help guys, haven't had a leak for almost 2 weeks now. no idea how it just stopped. should i stick some ARX in anyway?

Lexmex

Watch for leaks and take a look at your dipstick for any change in the oil level.

shammi5

The ARX didn't fix the issue, after about 3000km with it.. the leak continues..looks like its worst case scenario.

Lexmex

What kind of oil are you using right now (brand/weight)?

shammi5

using Mobil 5-W30 at the moment, what should it be? i had a look at you DIY and realised you have used 0-W30 is this what i should be using?

Lexmex

I'm not a fan of Mobil 5W30...some of their other grades like 0W30 and 0W40 are much better in my opinion. When I was using M1 5W30 in Mexico, I found myself using additives a lot due to consumption issues and M1 dominated the market (it was affordable), but I wound up paying a lot more to get a better oil. I then eventually started doing some mixes with M1 5W30 and M1 0W40, tried running 0W40, but finally found Castol Syntec 0W30 and settled on that, but I have not see in it in stores in some time.

I've experimented also with Pennzoil Ultra 5W30 (their Platinum 5W30 is very good, too).

The 0W30 I like because I find it smoother, quieter, better on start ups. I am actually experimenting with a Lucas 0W30 right now to get some impressions with it. Not sure what I am going to run next.