Rusty Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 My 2001 ES300 has developed an engine oil leak. The car has 152K miles on it. When I had my oil changed, they told me it was the rear main seal. That shop does not do this type of repair, so I will get a second opinion, and quote, before going ahead with any repairs. Does anyone have any past experience with this problem and how to go about getting it fixed ? I am told the engine needs to be pulled out of the car, which sounds like a major, (expensive), task, is this true ? Should I replace any other seals at the same time ? Is there any other maintenance or replacements that should be done while the engine is out ? Any ideas how much I should pay for this job ? Any comments and suggestions are appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbhrps Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 Rusty, I've been fortunate enough to be able to acquire a small stable of cars, one of which is a 90 Nissan 300zx. Its just a toy in my case, but about 8 years ago it developed a minor rear seal leak that only showed up after the car had had a run and parked. Then it would drip 4 or 5 tablespoons of oil on the garage floor. I had considered doing what you describe as well, but I put the question to a 300ZX Forum online and several people suggested another course of action. It appears that if the PCV valves (this car has 2 of them) plug up, they raise the interior block pressure when the engine is running to the point where that forces oil to seep out of the rear seal. They suggested changing the PCV Valves. I did so, and I have not had another oil leak since that day. I'm not saying that this will be the same for your vehicle, but it would be worth investigating. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomWoodLexus Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 it involves dropping the cradle, then the engine/tranny and seperating the two. The simply pry the seal out and jam the new one in like this: BAM BAM BAM!!! Then put it all back up! There is alot to take off, many connections including axles, rack(steering) and fan, radiator.... ect... True on the PCV valve. If the seal is dry and hardened, there may be nothing you can do except replacement. But try PCV valve first and let some time pass. This valve should be replace every 20K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexlogic Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 True on the PCV valve. If the seal is dry and hardened, there may be nothing you can do except replacement. But try PCV valve first and let some time pass. This valve should be replace every 20K. On my 93 chrysler minivan 3.3 V6 engine 76000 miles, PCV was not replaced on time cause the pressure to leak out somewhere. You guess right....Engine Rear seal! Had to drop the tranny down to replace the $17.00 seal. I learn my lesson! But try replacing PCV first and don't use any STOP LEAK additive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomWoodLexus Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I just did a rear main last weak and it came back today with a bigger leak! GRRRRR!!!!!! Everything was done right.... seal lloked fine, it just didn't seal! Parts warrenty... lexus got to pay me to do it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexlogic Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 I just did a rear main last weak and it came back today with a bigger leak! GRRRRR!!!!!! Everything was done right.... seal lloked fine, it just didn't seal! Parts warrenty... lexus got to pay me to do it again. It leak again? It could be that the crankshaft is bent or misaligment. Have you replaced the rear seal again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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