Just put my Mk1 GS300 in the garage to try an locate an oil leak that started recently. Just had a call that they recon it is leaking from the sump gasket and also the rear crankshaft oil seal. Anyways, They recon it is an engine out job, do you agree or should it be a gearbox off job (which I would assume is cheaper). If the oil seal has gone, any ideas what might have caused it. Is it likely to re-occur quickly if there is something else causing it? The Oil leak is not hugely fast at the moment, enough to cause the oil that ends up on the exhaust to smoke once i am at a stand still, which casues some panic from other motorists especially in the pertrol station I may be use 1/2 litre of oil every 1000 miles, obvioulsy the harder I drive the more I use but taking it easy it loses very little (i.e. I did 250 miles yesterday and couldn't tell I'd lost any on the dipstick). Any thoughts/ideas on what to do next? costs involved?

Cheers

Rick

the rear crankseal is a known weakspot on the 2JZ engines (1JZ as well)

Its a 5 hour job (drop gearbox) to fix

part is £50 ish

the oil drops on your drive will be at the junction of engine/gearbox

Hope this helps

Thanks for the reply Dave. Oil drips on the drive are from all over the place mate as it is leaking from the sump gasket as well. This is what is bothering me a bit. How likely is it that a sump gasket and oil seal would spring a leak at the same time? How do you tell if there is a crankshaft seal leak (as it is in the bell housing)? i.e. could oil leaking from a sump gasket creep in somewhere that might make it look like the crank seal is leaking? I'm kinda clutching at straws in a vein attemp to avoid a £500 plus job. How easy is the sump gasket as a DIY job? I would consider myself more than able bodied at DIY, so anything not requiring heavy lifting tackle or expensive specialist tools I can do myself. Is it worth fannying about doing the sump gasket to see if that cures the whole thing? Any other thoughts?

i'd go for the sump gasket first myself.

maybe get it steam cleaned as well afterwards to make sure you can see where its coming from ?

Thanks Dave.

Called Lexus today to get a quote for changing the rear crank oil seal, came back with a figure of £941.25 including parts and VAT. Sounds quite steep to me, what do you guys think?

I'd get a local mechanic to do it, you don't want to pay Lexus rates for work like that. Even a Toyota dealer (who'd be familiar with the engine) would be cheaper than that.

Trying to get some slightly more reasonable quotes today.

Does anyone know if the sump gaskets can be changed with the engine in the car, or does the engine have to come out?

Anyone??

Get it on a ramp or in tha air and check if there's anything stopping the sump from being dropped in situ , a lot of cars sumps can be removed without engine out jobbies , ramps will do mate.
Regards
Paul.

Just got the car back this afternoon. They found that the torque convertor oil seal (no idea which one) was also gone once the gear box was off. Both seals replaced for £311 all in. Not bad compared to the £940 quoted by Lexus for the crank seal. I'll deal with the sump later if it does indeed seem to be leaking.

hi mate i seem to have the exact same problem on my 96 gs300 sport. just wondering what garage u took it to and how they fixed the leak on the converter?

The garage is called Westend Motors in Loughborough, Leicestershire. I assume (although don't quote me on it), that the convertor is bolted to the flywheel and there is a seal between the gearbox output shaft and the the torque convertor. I'm guessing it was this seal that has gone and they just replace it easily once the gearbox has been removed.

Hi,the garage should take the convertor and box together,coz if u take the box out first, it the seal,and yes that is the seal.anyway back to your eng oil leak,put a mirror at the back of the eng,there is a breather box,with rubber pipes,and when that leaks,the oil runs down the back and some how looks like the sump is leaking,so check that before doing the sump gasket. all the best