krew

Disappointingly, the 2008 SC will remain unchanged from the 2007 model.

I'm right in the middle of this process myself, but from what I've read, a powerflush can be bad for your tranny and can lead to problems with seals. Instead, I have my mechanic drain the pan and refill every time I have work done (which recently has been every two weeks -- brakes, exhaust, oil change). I'm going to continue this until my fluid is the right color. I've had it done twice and the change while driving is very noticeable, and my fluid color is improving. Good luck!

A few things have happened since I posted this problem: * I took it to my mechanic and had only the one side reseated with a new gasket (he told me the other side was perfectly fine). * Noticed an absolutely amazing difference in noise level, how can a little ring make such an impact? * Last week, I noticed the other side was now making noise, and made an appointment to have it fixed. Before I took it in, it was cold out and I noticed exhaust escaping from BOTH sides, even the one that had been fixed already. My mechanic fixed both for free and used a high-temp sealant to make the seal even tighter, and the noise is way way down with the car (so much so that I'm noticing new noises!). * Problem is, when going over the previous owner's service records, I noticed he had the same thing done at 70k (the car's now at 90k). This got me worried, as it seems like a potentially larger issue. I read at this link: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=143739 about a similar problem and it was caused by a blockage in the Y-pipe -- thing is, I'm not experiencing any power loss at all, and the car's running smooooth. Can anyone give me an idea of what else could be causing this flange seperation? PS. As an aside, I had this entire problem fixed at my mechanics for $25 -- the previous owner paid $300!! Thanks everyone!

Thanks for the advice, I'll update with the results -- I'm going to capture the seafoam treatment on camera. Should be an interesting photo!

Thanks so much for your response, 92Lex, much appreciated. I'm almost positive that the exhaust is leaking between the flanges. I saw white exhaust right from the seperation, which disappeared after a minute or so, though I could still see a bit of heat shimmering. The exhaust pipes look quite good, with only some surface rust. To get the parts I need, I was planning to just go to Lexus and explain it to them, then bring the parts over to my trusty mechanic. Another thing I'm wondering out of curiousity, what would have caused this, just wear and tear?

Hi all, I've noticed my '94 LS400 has been quite a bit louder on start lately. At first I thought it was just the cold winter, but a couple days ago I started up the car and found that exhaust was escaping through a slight separation in the exhaust joint closest to the engine. I took a photo: The exhaust stops escaping and most of the sound goes away after the car warms up, but the car still sounds louder when accelerating. My questions are: * Is there a gasket in this joint? If so, where could I find the part #? * Would this slight seperation make the car sound louder? * It looks to me like all this needs is to be taken off and reattached using new bolts, it doesn't seem like the exhaust is damaged -- has anyone experienced this before? * How long would it take a compentent mechanic to remove and reseat this? Any tips I should pass along? Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.