Jump to content


Lexmonster

Regular Member
  • Posts

    3
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Profile Information

  • Lexus Model
    SC400

Lexmonster's Achievements

Progressing

Progressing (3/14)

  • First Post
  • Conversation Starter
  • Week One Done
  • One Month Later
  • One Year In

Recent Badges

0

Reputation

  1. I recently brought by 1997 SC400 to the dealer for an oil change. I’m currently at about 106k miles. When the mechanics finished working on the car, my service advisor told me that the rear main seal and the oil pan gasket are leaking. The advisor characterized both leaks as “moderate.” She says that their price for the oil pan gasket is about $290, which agrees pretty well with Alldata’s figure of 2.4 hours; however, they want $1200 for the rear main seal. I know that it’s a lengthy job due to the need to remove the transmission, but Alldata says it should be done in about 6 hours, and a technician I know at another Lexus dealer says he has done them in 3—not the 12 that the dealer quoted. I had a mechanic friend jack the car up and take a look underneath, and he confirmed that there is some oil on the back of the engine, but he said that it could probably be ignored for a few months, so long as I keep an eye on the oil level. I do see some oil on the oil pan, even without crawling under the car, but I cannot determine its source. I can say with pretty good certainty that the valve covers are not leaking, since they were resealed less than a year ago. I am not saying that the dealer is dishonest, but I know that they aren’t in the business of saving customers any money. I figured that if there is indeed a “moderate” leak, I should be able so see some signs of it underneath the car. I have NO oil spots on my garage floor under my car, but just to be sure I placed a large sheet of clean cardboard under the oil pan and the back of the engine… 16 hours later, there is not a single drop of oil on the cardboard. Now for my questions: 1.) I know that a RMS leak is not totally unheard with this (or any other) car, but do you think that there could be a “moderate” leak that doesn’t deposit at least a little oil on the floor? In other words, if I’m not dripping enough oil to spot the floor, should I even worry about it? 2.) Can anyone recommend a specific independent shop in northern or central NJ, or northeastern PA (i.e., within 30 miles of the Clinton, NJ area)?
  2. Thanks for the reply. I suspect that you're right about the tensioner--moving it by hand causes all sorts of unhappy "creaking" noises, and it doesn't move particularly smoothly. That tensioner from Parts America does look like a good deal; the cheapest I've been able to find the OE one is about $170. My next question is... how do I replace the tensioner? It looks like I have to remove the upper and lower timing covers on that side of the engine, unbolt the tensioner, and pull it out. Am I on the right track? Also, can the timing cover gaskets be reused, or must they be replaced? Oh, and that rubber square? I'm still baffled. I spent an hour looking for a clean spot on the engine, or any other clue that would give away its former location, but I found nothing. Oh, well... Thanks, Ben
  3. Hi everyone, I was working on diagnosing a repetitive "squeak... squeak... squeak" from the engine compartment of my 1997 SC400 (seems to be the drive belt tensioner) and I must have bumped this little rubber pad. Unfortunately, I don't see where it goes, nor did I actually see it fall; I just heard it hit the plastic engine undercover. I picked it up, and it is about 1.25 inches square and made of black rubber. It's coated with dried-up adhesive on one side. There is a little dent in the uncoated side, so I assume it was used to protect something flat from something else sharp. Unfortunately, it seems that all of the adhesive residue stuck to the pad, and none to the part it was stuck onto, so I was wondering... ...does anybody have *any* idea where this thing goes? Thanks, Ben
×
×
  • Create New...

Forums


News


Membership