dirac1254

So my Lexus 2002 ES300 was assessed to be leaking oil from the oil pan in a quick checklist. A few days ago I mentioned all the issues but a couple of you mentioned that the oil pan rarely has this issue.

If it's the gaskets or something else, is there an easy way I could check this myself?

If it is the gasket, what's the typical amount of time of labour involved vs the pan replacement itself?

Thank you!

Arsenii

Hello,

The pan leaking is indeed a pretty rare occurrence, there are basically only two things that can cause it to start leaking - if someone messed with it before, or if the mating surfaces are starting to rust, the latter is extremely rare and goes back to the first point.

The thing is that the Pan is sitting on the Bottom of the engine, any oil that leaks from above does end up traveling back down in one way or the other, hence why just about any leak from the engine ends up getting the pan covered in oil.

Start by looking over the entire engine, see where else you have oil stains, I would be quite surprised if you won't find any. Other thing you can do is wipe the entire area clean and see where you will get oil again, if it will be precisely on the parting line between the Pan and the Engine, then you will know that it is the Pan that is leaking.

As for the amount of time it takes, well, you are taking the pan off anyway, putting the gasket on a new pan or reusing your old one won't make any difference whatsoever in terms of time it will take, all you will get is a bill for a new pan that you likely don't need.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

fortitude

As mentioned above and here
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es-...-replaced.html

It's uncommon for an oil pan needing to be replaced. To find the source of the leak(s), you can try this
.
along with a black light

From your other thread, the laundry list the shop provided warrants a second look/opinion.

dirac1254

@Arsenii @fortitude

Thank you for you input and advice