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Rear Main Seal Leak


sgriffith

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I had the spark plugs on my 99 RX300 with 73,000 miles replaced yesterday (I know, it was a little early) and the dealer told me that my rear main seal is leaking a little oil. I know I am not supposed to, but I recently switched from regular oil to synthetic oil. Could this be causing the problem? Also I was quoted $1100.00 to get this problem fixed. YEEESSH!!! I hadn't noticed any oil leaking but paid close attention this morning and there was a small amount on my driveway. If I switch back to regular oil will it solve this problem? Any more "cost efficient" ideas on what I could do here? I don't have an extra $1100 stashed away anywhere to fix this right now. The only thing the dealer told me to do was watch it and if it seems to be leaking more oil than it is right now then I will probably need to get it taken care of. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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I wouldn't worry too much at this time. Synthetic oil does flow better than petroleum-based oil, so you may want to switch back the next time you change oil, even if that's one year from now. (Most synthetic oils can go 12,000 miles or one year, whichever occurs first). I would definitely NOT use high-viscosity oil, such as 20W-50; it will only do more harm than good. Stick with the manufacturer's recommended viscosity and your engine will last a very long time.

In the meantime, save your pennies because one of these days you will need to have the seal changed, even if that's a few years from now. :cheers:

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Weren't you the one that emailed me about the pricing on the spark plugs change? The rearmain seal leaks you will need to fix it as soon as you can. Switch from regular to synthetic doesn't have to do with your leak. Toyota seals are bad about these, Toyota engineers came by the shop to take oil sample and such. The newer seals will be much better.

JPI

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  • 3 weeks later...

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