Last evening, I noticed some oil on my garage floor. The 2002 ls 430 is the only car being parked there. It looks like engine oil. Where is it most likely coming from?. I looked under the car with a flashlight but could not see any obvious place where it was leaking. All ideas greatly appreciated, I am at 124XXX miles

Thanks in advance,
Harry

 

Camshaft seal/seals... Sorry, but it's kinda expensive to fix. If it is that - camshafts have to come out and be split, then reassembled by toyota uzfe certified tech ONLY (otherwise you can ruin your enigne).
To confirm use a flashlight from top of the engine and inspect the area around belt.

 

let's down a less expensive path first, did you recently have your oil changed? Perhaps the plug or filter was not installed tightly, or filter was overtightened and seal is warped. The LS has so much covering underneath that it's hard to see without removing it, so you might have to remove to see exactly where the leak might be coming from. If you don't see any big puddling, then could be a slow leak and just gathering on the splash guard.

Hard to say where it's coming from by just saying it's leaking, you have to remove the cover and look to isolate where it's coming from.

 

Did you do valve cover gaskets yet? If not, its most likely them.

 

If it is the valve cover gaskets, you should have some seepage at the back of the heads. Take a paper towel and wipe around back there.

(2002 LS430, 84,000 miles and no leaks)

 

+1 for the valve cover gaskets. Mine went around that mileage. Mine were leaking pretty bad. Brought into dealership because of burning smell. Oil was actually leaking and hitting exhaust system and burning.

 

My oil leak appears to have stopped. Havent seen any oil on the garage floor in 3-4 days. This oil on my garage floor happened while I was in the hospital undergoing surgery. The car (2002 ls430) was parked for 10 days when I noticed the leak. I know there was no other vehicle parked there so it had to cxome from my car. Any ideas??

Thanks,
Harry

 

Took my car into the Toyota dealer today and they say its probably coming from the valve cover gasket(s). Quoted me a price of $399. Is that reasonable? Sounds high to me.

Thanks,
Harry

 

I have a leak in mine, goes through a quart @5k miles, tech just told me he thinks it's the dipstick tube o-ring, but he didn't take a real hard look. Doesn't drip on the floor though because it doesn't leak while sitting I guess, but with the car on a lift its obvious there's a leak i.e. the car is not burning up the oil. Mine is '02 with 133k miles, had leaking valve cover gaskets done at 110k.

 

$399 sounds reasonable actually, I mean it is a lexus. Local lexus dealer near me quoted me $800 I almost passed out!!!

 

399 sounds reasonable - pulling valve covers on the LS motor looks like a non trivial task. Lots of stuff in the way.

 

Hey, anything with engine and you can escape with $399 damage is a steal. I would say parts is perhaps $80, and rest is labor ($100/hour) and disposal, shop parts, etc. I would say not bad. Would have been better to not have it go bad, but for what it is... ahhhh...

 

One thing I didnt mention or make clear in my last post was that he said it was PROBABLY valve cover gaskets. He said they would fix that and quote "go from there" I'm concerned it may be a main bearing seal. Has anyone had any problem with main seals at 125000 mi.? The car is a 2002 LS430. I dont think they removed the bottom cover and took a real good look.

Thanks for all the replies.

Harry

 

I did mine at 89k/mi. Dealer quoted $730, my jaw dropped and after talking with a manager I got a price reduction to $670. A price quote of $400 is a steal! Grab it, sign for it, don't let them say the price changed after they do the fix like they did to me.

 

I wanted to give an update on my oil leak. Turned out it was the valve cover gaskets.Described as leaking badly. Toyota dealer did the work and cost was $319.73. Thanks for all the input!

Harry