I had a completely new PS pump put in today and after being home for an hour, i went to check to see if there were any leaks... yes, there were

but i'm not sure if it's residual PS fluid (the mechanic said he cleaned the engine bay and he did but, maybe be some left?) or if a gasket has failed and the transmission is leaking.

the 2nd pic is just a pic where it leaked toward the back of the car (i guess while i was driving).

 

#2

 

I'm not sure what your looking at because on the bottom all i see is the blackish tar looking stuff on the bottom of the car. As far as that goes, a mechanic told me that black stuff is a type of fireprofeing stuff that is applied in case something underneath happen to catch fire.(this is what i was told so, a second opinion from somebody would be useful.)

 

Looks like motor oil to me due to the color.

 

wipe it away, clean it up and then check in a few days see if its still leaking

 

My money is on the rear main seal of the engine. Its probably just seeping a bit of oil, and its accumulated over time. Its a fairly common problem across all makes.

 

Thanks guys,
I went to the dealership (it is still leaking) and had them check it out and it's bad news... it is in fact the rear main engine seal (upper). The quoted me ~1500$ to repair.

Not sure if I'm going to fix it or trade it in for a different car

 

In July 1999 I had the rear main seal replaced in my SC300 by a non-Lexus dealer repair shop that specialized in Lexus repais. The labor was $530 and the seal was $26.

 

Yeah...its a turd to do a rear main seal. Gotta pull the trans, torque convertor, and flex plate. Usually rear main seal failures aren't bad enough to hurt the engine...just messy. Is it using any oil? If not, then I'd just keep driving it, and live with it.

 

Hey hellasboy

I had the same problem with my 95 SC400. I noticed oil leaking from the same spot, and yes its oil because tranny fluid is dark reddish- purple. Anyway I took it to a couple places and everyone said it was the rear seal, so I had my mechanic open it up. When he did he said it was the rear O ring in the oil pump and that had cracked and that was leaking oil and not the rear seal. But since he had already opened everything up I told him to change the rear seal too, it’s just a $20 seal and it’s not worth opening up the tranny again for. I paid $300 for everything so doesn’t be fooled into spending $800 or $900 by the Lexus dealer. I live in southern Cali so if you have any other questions or if you need help on anything just E-mail me at TR85MJ@yahoo.com and ill be happy to help.

 

i've checked one place so far and they have quoted me at ~760 dollars.

The guy who usually works on my car (he worked in Japan for a few years w00t!) was going to install a torque converter for ~400$. Does getting to the engine seals (or possibly o-ring/oil pump) require much additional work? If not, then i'll kill all the potential transmission problems with one 'event'.

What about getting new transmission brackets since it'll be dropped or will lots more work be needed?

I was planning on the supercharger early next year, if I go ahead and get all this fixed/serviced, do you guys think i will have to worry about all this again with a supercharger installed?

Oh, the dealership told me that they would have to drop the transmission and slightly raise the engine... do they really have to slightly raise the engine if in fact it is the upper rear main engine seal?

I'm losing ~1.5 quarts of oil every 3500 miles or so. Not to mention the oil on the floor of my garage (on plastic, i don't need stains in there!)

lexiss_sc400, 300$?!? that's so cheap for opening the tranny and that work... heh, too bad i'm put over a barrel here in CO, it just might be cheaper for me to drive to CA and get the work done.

Thanks!
Nick

 

I like your price a lot . Where in southern CA is this garage?
I have one of my car in Pomona, CA that might need some work done.

Thanks,

 

Hey,

1) To get to the rear main seal the whole tranny and torque converter and everything has to be taken out. So yes you can change your torque converter, tranny mounts, ect ect anything that falls between the engine and the tranny can be done. And I'm not sure if you have to raise the engine but I'm sure the tranny has to be pulled out.


2) I have been working with my mechanic for a while now and I love his work, and he has very good prices. But the only thing is that you have to make an appointment with him, because you can’t just show up. Usually it takes a week for him to fit you in somewhere, but other than that I have no complaints. The name of the shop is DIGI- TECH AUTOMOTIVE and it’s in Reseda, in the San Fernando Valley. And if you guys want to call him up his # is (818) 881-9132