Valve & Trans Gasket Leaks

hmkim · October 1, 2016

According to a Toyota service center, there are engine oil and transmission oil leaks in my wife's '06 ES330 (165k mile). They gave me a quote: $406 for trans gasket replacement and $900 for valve gasket replacement.

I have two questions. Are the price reasonable? Are these leaks serious? FYI, I haven't noticed any fluid on my garage floor yet.

gbhrps · October 1, 2016

hmkim,

One has to understand the Dealership Rational on problems. They will tell you about every little potential problem that could arise, in the hopes that you will OK the service work, and help them make a profit. They are in business to make money, lots of it, and a great deal of it comes from really unnecessary service work that uninformed owners agree to.

So, to your issue. You say that you can't find any oil on the garage floor, so the leaks are minor. Most people, myself included, would not bother fixing these kind of leaks unless you are made of money and an absolute fanatic about perfection. When it gets to leak badly enough to show up on the garage floor, which it may never do, then it depends on how bad the leak is, and whether its worth the money to correct. If it leaks half a quart of oil between oil changes (oil costs $3.00 a quart) is it worth $900 to fix? How many quarts of leaked oil will it take to equate to $900, and how many years to get there? Will you still even own the car?

Each of my 70 year old antique cars leak oil, and I just put a drip tray under them, and check their oil levels frequently. It isn't worth the money to me to correct the situation. I have seen some cars that leak a quart of oil in a week. Now that's a situation that needs addressing before something nasty happens to the tranny or engine.

As cars age, seals and gaskets dry up and start to weep oil. Its a given. Only you can decide how much of an oil leak you're willing to accept, and if its absolutely necessary to correct. But from what you have described, I'd tell them "No!", but I'd keep an eye on the situation, and check the garage floor to ensure its not getting worse. Good Luck!