Bob1998es300

I have a 1998 Lexus ES300. My car was off a lease plan and I did not have the service information. I received a letter from Toyota about the sludge problem. About that time (at 75K miles),I experienced the problem. I contacted the Lexus dealer in Huntsville AL and they promply scheduled a repair and furnished a new ES300 during the week repair. No hassle about the previous oil changes or loaner car. Since the dealer/factory sponsored sludge repair at 75K, I've only used Full Syn and change it myself every 5K. The car now has 149K miles without oil useage or problems until 3 weeks ago when about 2 miles from home the oil pressure light flicked a few times then stayed on. Oil level was full. Since the oil sensor was low cost, I replaced it. Oil light was off until the engine warmed then same problem as before. I next added a Gunk flush to the existing oil and let it idle for 5 minutes per recommendations. I then changed oil and filter. Same o same o. Next I connected an oil pressure gauge (liquid) to the sensor port to be sure I don't have instrument or electrical problems. At cold idle, the gauge reads about 20-25PSI. At warm idle 15-20PSI. At 3000RPM, the pressure drops to 5 PSI or less. According to what I have found idle, pressure should read 43-70 PSI or so at 3000RPM. I might add that I parked the car immediately after the light came on and now only crank it to test. No noises so far. My next step was to drop the oil pan and check/clean the oil pickup screen. That turned out to be an easy task on the 98. According to some sources on the internet, the oil pump is pretty reliable but a suspect if the pickup is ok. Turns out that a 2" piece and smaller bits of the black RTV that was used on the lower oil pan as a gasket was clogging the screen. I cleaned the oil case cavity and the pick up screen and replaced the black RTV with an after-market Felpro gasket (about $10) from Auto Zone. My oil pressure gauge then read 75 PSI at cold idle and about 60 at warm up. Hope this helps someone with a similiar problem.

Since a dealer/factory sponsored sludge repair at 75K, I've only used Full Syn and change it myself every 5K. The car now has 149K miles without oil useage or problems until a week ago when about 2 miles from home the oil pressure light flicked a few times then stayed on. Oil level was full. Since the oil sensor was low cost, I replaced it. Oil light was off until the engine warmed then same problem as before. I next added a Gunk flush to the existing oil and let it idle for 5 minutes per recommendations. I then changed oil and filter. Same o same o. Next I connected an oil pressure gauge (liquid) to the sensor port to be sure I don't have instrument or electrical problems. At cold idle, the gauge reads about 20-25PSI. At warm idle 15-20PSI. At 3000RPM, the pressure drops to 5 PSI or less. According to what I have found idle should be around 5 PSI but 43-70 PSI or so at 3000RPM. I might add that I parked the car immediately after the light came on and now only crank it to test. No noises so far. My next step is to drop the oil pan and check/clean the oil pickup screen. According to some sources on the internet, the oil pump is pretty reliable but a suspect if the pickup is ok. Any words of wisdom or similiar experiences from you guys ? All help appreciated. Bob

Since a dealer/factory sponsored sludge repair at 75K, I've only used Full Syn and change it myself every 5K. The car now has 149K miles without oil useage or problems until a week ago when about 2 miles from home the oil pressure light flicked a few times then stayed on. Oil level was full. Since the oil sensor was low cost, I replaced it. Oil light was off until the engine warmed then same problem as before. I next added a Gunk flush to the existing oil and let it idle for 5 minutes per recommendations. I then changed oil and filter. Same o same o. Next I connected an oil pressure gauge (liquid) to the sensor port to be sure I don't have instrument or electrical problems. At cold idle, the gauge reads about 20-25PSI. At warm idle 15-20PSI. At 3000RPM, the pressure drops to 5 PSI or less. According to what I have found idle should be around 5 PSI but 43-70 PSI or so at 3000RPM. I might add that I parked the car immediately after the light came on and now only crank it to test. No noises so far. My next step is to drop the oil pan and check/clean the oil pickup screen. According to some sources on the internet, the oil pump is pretty reliable but a suspect if the pickup is ok. Any words of wisdom or similiar experiences from you guys ? All help appreciated. Bob