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Question About Rear Main Seal


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So i have a 99 GS300. I am the second owner and the car has 106,000 miles on it. Since I bought the car I have run synthetic oil in it exclusively. I was due for an oil change and took it in yesterday to an independent shop to have that done. These folks have worked on my car for years, and I felt comfortable giving them repeat business. I got right in and things seemed to be going fine. I know the manager personally and he came out and told me that they had found a problem - the car was leaking oil between the engine and the transmission after they performed the oil change. He didnt know why, and pointed to the fact that there was no residue on any of the components to indicate that the problem had been there prior to the oil change. He said he would have a mechanic from the sister business (a mechanical shop that owns the quick lube where i was getting the oil change) take a look at it before he released the car to me to drive it. That to me is where it gets interesting. The owner of the mechanical shop and his chief mechanic came over immediately and inspected things. neither one would address me directly after inspecting my car. I was told by the manager of the quick lube that the reason I was having the leak is because the rear seal is going, and changing the oil with fresh synthetic exposed my problem. Further, I was told that the part to fix things was only $8, but that they would have to drop the transmission in order to perform the repair. Further, they told me a rough estimate to fix things would be in the $700 to $1000 due to the labor intensive nature or the repair.

so i ask you good folks, that car had never leaked anything before, and I am meticulous in my maintenance of my car. does something seem fishy to you about what happened to me yesterday? These folks have treated me right in the past, but I dont like the way they handled things yesterday and that has raised my suspicion. and for those of you that have had to replace a rear seal as they are recommending, can you give me an idea of what you paid to have that work done?

any advice would be welcomed. thanks in advance.

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I would wait and watch the leak and see if it gets worse over a weeks time, then you can decide what to do.

Replacing the main seal is a big job and expensive.

The previous owner had Lexus replaced the rear main of our gs300, the receipt showed about $1000.

Personally I would leave it alone until it starts dripping oil on the driveway and then only after the driveway needs a good power washing would I rent a tranny jack and spend a few intimate hours replacing the seal myself.

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So i have a 99 GS300. I am the second owner and the car has 106,000 miles on it. Since I bought the car I have run synthetic oil in it exclusively. I was due for an oil change and took it in yesterday to an independent shop to have that done. These folks have worked on my car for years, and I felt comfortable giving them repeat business. I got right in and things seemed to be going fine. I know the manager personally and he came out and told me that they had found a problem - the car was leaking oil between the engine and the transmission after they performed the oil change. He didnt know why, and pointed to the fact that there was no residue on any of the components to indicate that the problem had been there prior to the oil change. He said he would have a mechanic from the sister business (a mechanical shop that owns the quick lube where i was getting the oil change) take a look at it before he released the car to me to drive it. That to me is where it gets interesting. The owner of the mechanical shop and his chief mechanic came over immediately and inspected things. neither one would address me directly after inspecting my car. I was told by the manager of the quick lube that the reason I was having the leak is because the rear seal is going, and changing the oil with fresh synthetic exposed my problem. Further, I was told that the part to fix things was only $8, but that they would have to drop the transmission in order to perform the repair. Further, they told me a rough estimate to fix things would be in the $700 to $1000 due to the labor intensive nature or the repair.

so i ask you good folks, that car had never leaked anything before, and I am meticulous in my maintenance of my car. does something seem fishy to you about what happened to me yesterday? These folks have treated me right in the past, but I dont like the way they handled things yesterday and that has raised my suspicion. and for those of you that have had to replace a rear seal as they are recommending, can you give me an idea of what you paid to have that work done?

any advice would be welcomed. thanks in advance.

Ok, synthetic oil is alot thinner than conventional oils. Oil performs many jobs in the motor. And one of those jobs is to keep the seals conditioned. If the previous owner ran conventional oil, as the motor rolled up the miles it may have gotten a sludge ring seal. ( Basically it's old oil that is forced into the gaps of a seal and inadverdantly helps plug the holes.) So, as you kept changing the oil with synthetic, you may have been cleaning the ring and exposed a weak spot. This is one of the problems of older vehicles changing to synthetics.

And yeah, the part is like 8-15 bucks. It's just a seal gasket. But I would check around some independant garages. You could probably get a better price. If you decide to do it, you may want to replace the motor mounts at the same time. As the motor mounts wear, the engine moves more and stresses the seal. Which may be why your having this issue now. They will have to drop the tranny and replace the seal anyway.

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