Did My Mechanic Just Ruin My Ls400? Went In With A Drip, Came Home Wit

[TxRedMan]

Here's a thought:

You bought the car a month ago and put the car in the shop to have the gasket changed and also the oil changed. This tells me that this is probably the first time that you had the oil changed.

Now I do not know how fast stop leak works or how long it lasts, but there is a possibility of the original owner having stop leak in the car when you bought it, which could have made it leak slow and when you had the oil changed and took the stop leak out and put fresh oil in the leak became faster.

He also might have been using a heavier oil than recommended.

This would be my guess, if this was the first time that you changed the oil.

Jerry

I did the oil change the morning after I bought the car. So I literally drove it home that night, and changed the oil in the morning, therefore I have no idea if there was a small leak, but I think it's coming together now, and you probably nailed it. I figured there was a reason why this guy was willing to accept $4100 for a car that could have brought $5500 given the shape it's in. He probably got the quote on fixing the rear main seal from Lexus of Las Vegas which would run him about $1500 and decided to strap a bandage on it and dump it.

Ah, well, we'll see what happens when the rear main is fixed. Hopefully at least 35K miles of driving!

[ArmyofOne]

Being a mechanic myself, i concur with your diagnosis.

All engine blocks have pressure...enourmous amounts of it. The Positive Crankcase Ventilation Valve (PCV Valve, for short) is the vent for these gases. I have a sneaking suspiscion that, in addition to your leak, you have a clogged PCV valve.

Now, with that said, its a cheap and easy fix. the part is $8 tops. its in your valve cover or your intake manifold (my memory sucks today, been a long time since i worked on an LS), I believe the left side.

As for your leak, get a book, some tools and it sounds time for a DIY. it is NOT cheap to replace a rear man, esp at a lexus dealer.

But the bad PCV valve sounds to be the culprit of the original leak. when you take it out, shake it. if it doesnt rattle clearly, or sounds like its gunked up, its clogged.

[TxRedMan]

Being a mechanic myself, i concur with your diagnosis.

All engine blocks have pressure...enourmous amounts of it. The Positive Crankcase Ventilation Valve (PCV Valve, for short) is the vent for these gases. I have a sneaking suspiscion that, in addition to your leak, you have a clogged PCV valve.

Now, with that said, its a cheap and easy fix. the part is $8 tops. its in your valve cover or your intake manifold (my memory sucks today, been a long time since i worked on an LS), I believe the left side.

As for your leak, get a book, some tools and it sounds time for a DIY. it is NOT cheap to replace a rear man, esp at a lexus dealer.

But the bad PCV valve sounds to be the culprit of the original leak. when you take it out, shake it. if it doesnt rattle clearly, or sounds like its gunked up, its clogged.

Replaced PCV valve just for good measure...

Rear seal was replaced...no leaks whatsoever...a little over $700 for: replacing lower oil pan gasket, fixing rear main seal, PCV valve. I may be sensitive to hearing little noises that mean nothing, but it seems to have a new noise while idling, but it goes away when you step on the gas so i'm not worried about it. Only I can hear it. I have a knack for hearing annoying little noises no one else notices.

Thanks to all who helped during this time of headaches and what to do's.....

Next up on my list of things to do: Taking the guy who sold me the car to small claims court for lying to me and advertising the car under false pretenses and for selling a car that was missing a lug nut on all four wheels along with a couple other things an attorney thinks will win us the $800+ spent on repairing the car in addition to his legal fees. I contacted the seller and of course he never contacted me back...good thing he just signed a lease on a house right around the corner from me and I have all of his contact information...

[Brett in AK]

Being a mechanic myself, i concur with your diagnosis.

All engine blocks have pressure...enourmous amounts of it. The Positive Crankcase Ventilation Valve (PCV Valve, for short) is the vent for these gases. I have a sneaking suspiscion that, in addition to your leak, you have a clogged PCV valve.

Now, with that said, its a cheap and easy fix. the part is $8 tops. its in your valve cover or your intake manifold (my memory sucks today, been a long time since i worked on an LS), I believe the left side.

As for your leak, get a book, some tools and it sounds time for a DIY. it is NOT cheap to replace a rear man, esp at a lexus dealer.

But the bad PCV valve sounds to be the culprit of the original leak. when you take it out, shake it. if it doesnt rattle clearly, or sounds like its gunked up, its clogged.

Replaced PCV valve just for good measure...

Rear seal was replaced...no leaks whatsoever...a little over $700 for: replacing lower oil pan gasket, fixing rear main seal, PCV valve. I may be sensitive to hearing little noises that mean nothing, but it seems to have a new noise while idling, but it goes away when you step on the gas so i'm not worried about it. Only I can hear it. I have a knack for hearing annoying little noises no one else notices.

Thanks to all who helped during this time of headaches and what to do's.....

Next up on my list of things to do: Taking the guy who sold me the car to small claims court for lying to me and advertising the car under false pretenses and for selling a car that was missing a lug nut on all four wheels along with a couple other things an attorney thinks will win us the $800+ spent on repairing the car in addition to his legal fees. I contacted the seller and of course he never contacted me back...good thing he just signed a lease on a house right around the corner from me and I have all of his contact information...

Your going to sue the guy who sold you a car that is 15 years old with 165,000 miles on it because it has an oil leak and is missing 4 lug nuts? Come on here, what ever happened to caveat emptor? I sympathize with your situation, but you've got to "man up" a bit and get over it. In time you'll probably discover other things that need to be repaired on the car, are you going to sue him for that as well? Personally I'd be surprised if you prevail on your case contrary to your lawyers advice. Surely you had the opportunity to inspect the car before your bought it. And of course your attorney has nothing to lose here, either way he's going to get paid for his time. Also why would you retain the services of an attorney for such a paltry sum? Haven't you heard of small claims court? Your best bet is to start setting a little money aside from your paycheck and save it for future items that will need to be replaced. Good luck with your car, I hope it treats you well.

[billydpowell]

dude, are you going to sue us for our comments?

[vroom8]

Help.....please.....having a day from car owner hell.

.. the mechanic shop I was going to use has been in court lately for false diagnostic work...

You're not talking about this dude are you?

AHHHH......LEXUS!

LEAKS...LEAKS...LEAKS....

[jpourcy]

Next up on my list of things to do: Taking the guy who sold me the car to small claims court for lying to me and advertising the car under false pretenses and for selling a car that was missing a lug nut on all four wheels along with a couple other things an attorney thinks will win us the $800+ spent on repairing the car in addition to his legal fees. I contacted the seller and of course he never contacted me back...good thing he just signed a lease on a house right around the corner from me and I have all of his contact information...

You are wasting your time and money filing a lawsuit with this guy. You did not buy it from a dealer and it did not come with a warranty.

If it even makes it to court, the judge will slam his hammer down and say, "Buyer Beware", and he will throw it out of court.

You have a good car and instead of paying $4100.00 for it you paid $4800.00 for it and you said yourself it was worth $5500.00 or so.

Save your attorney fees. Chill out. Don't worry, be happy. :D

JP

[nc211]

you're going to sue him?

How about the guy who gave you a clean bill of health on the car during it's "inspection" that most folks do when buying a used car from an individual? What, no inspection report? Oh, that's not gonna look good. Any research done prior to buying the car? No? Oooops......

[amcdonal86]

I hope you win your lawsuit. :)