Jump to content


97 Es300 Leaking Oil


jremi21

Recommended Posts

Hi guys,

My es300 is leaking oil. At first I thought it might be the power steering pump since it's dripping off there but some further investigation showed oil clearly leaking from around the valve cover gasket and possibly the cylinder head gaskets. I had my mechanic check it out and he said it's pretty common for es300s to develop these leaks. So he retourqed the nuts which were pretty loose but it still seems to be leaking but I'm not sure if it might be coming from a different spot.

I guess I've got to get under there and clean it up to see where the oil is coming from now.

Has anyone else had similar issues? Are there any other areas that tend to leak?

It's not the oil pan gasket. I've already checked it out.

Thanks,

JR

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Its probably still the VCG, its pretty simple to change. Clean up everything to help find the flow.

Yeah, I guess cleaning it up to find the leak is the next step.

The VCG is easy to change with out removing the engine?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I recently had to change the valve cover gaskets VCG on my 1993 ES 300. The rear bank is a pain, you will have to take off the air intake on the 1993, not sure if its the same on the 97. Its not difficult to do just a pain on the rear bank. I also changed the PCV valve and its grommet and hose. I would recommend putting TOYOTA parts from my past experience with the same parts. Also I later found an article here or on ClubLexus with another solution to this problem, if you use the search feature you will see that this is a common problem. Hope this helps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just remembered, when I replaced the VCG, i needed a new set of spark plug gaskets (6 of them) and I had to drive to the dealership again just to get these. You may want to have a set of these handy just in case.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
Hi guys,

My es300 is leaking oil. At first I thought it might be the power steering pump since it's dripping off there but some further investigation showed oil clearly leaking from around the valve cover gasket and possibly the cylinder head gaskets. I had my mechanic check it out and he said it's pretty common for es300s to develop these leaks. So he retourqed the nuts which were pretty loose but it still seems to be leaking but I'm not sure if it might be coming from a different spot.

I guess I've got to get under there and clean it up to see where the oil is coming from now.

Has anyone else had similar issues? Are there any other areas that tend to leak?

It's not the oil pan gasket. I've already checked it out.

Thanks,

JR

I just dealt with an oil leak from my 98... At first i was relatively sure that it was the front main, but the leak came on pretty suddenly, and was fairly severe. (dropped about a quart of oil in the driveway from letting the car warm up in the morning)... upon closer inspection... and i do mean close... i found that it was the oil pressure switch. The way i finally got to the bottom of it was to remove the right tire, remove the splash shield (2 bolts)... and then squirted brake clean on the drenched mess.... I gently hit it with an air hose to dry everything off, and had my wife start it up while i was ready with a mechanics mirror and a flashlight. It wasnt easy to see in that spot, but after running just about a minute, it started running down the switch, and down the block to all of the places that were soaked.

If anyone needs help with the tools needed for that sensor let me know... it was a pain to figure out what the SST (Special Service Tool) really was since it is so buried in a hole....

Ron

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...

Forums


News


Membership


  • Unread Content
  • Members Gallery