Transmission-differential Leak

[JoeInHNL]

Aloha

I've been lurking the forum and learning a lot for the last few months after picking up a 2004 RX330.

My powertrain warranty is about to expire so I did some crawling around this weekend and discovered this leak that I had not noticed when I looked a few months ago. A quick check of the bolts did not reveal any loose ones.

Prior owner had the pan gasket replaced 2 years and 16,000 miles ago due to a leak, so it could be a continuation of the same issue.

It goes to the dealer on Wednesday. Replacing the gasket between the differential halves (if that's what's leaking) looks pretty ugly.

Anyone have a similar issue? Do I really want them ripping this apart to fix the leak on an otherwise perfectly good drive train?

Joe

04 RX330

Honolulu

[RX in NC]

Yep, you really do want to get that leak repaired, especially while you're still under warranty. Small leaks usually get worse over time and you don't want to be 100 miles from home (maybe that's not possible on Oahu) and suddenly lose half of your transmission fluid. Did Lexus fix the initial leak with the previous owner? Toyota gaskets are normally quite good, so it's unusual for a new leak to have surfaced so quickly in the same area unless an inexperienced technician drew the short straw that day and was handed your vehicle for repair....

Ask the dealership to carefully check the metal flange areas that the gasket seals against. You could have some slight burring on those areas that is causing your problem. If that's the case, they'll need to machine it down to smooth metal surface again so your new gasket will seat and seal properly....

Good luck and keep us posted what they find and then do to finally solve this problem....

[JoeInHNL]

Thanks, for some reason I was having difficulty recognizing the right answer on this one.

P.O. had the pan gasket replaced. It appears to be leaking again although it could be fluid flowing down from above. I definitely have another leak besides the pan gasket.

About 60 miles is the furthest I can get stuck from home. Until recently I could have gotten stuck on Maui but unfortunately a very vocal minority sent the Hawaii Superferry packing.

Aloha, Joe

[JoeInHNL]

Got the vehicle back on Friday.

The dealer replaced the engine rear main seal (they said it had a pin hole leak), a seal on the torque converter, resealed the transmission case and replaced the pan gasket.

Looks good after a few days and about 100 miles.....

This leak was not visible without dropping the large plastic "silencer" plate under the engine and transmission. Glad I took one last before the warranty expired.

Aloha, Joe