PanicUnit

Hope people don't thnik I'm some kinda product shill or somethign since this is my first post, but I haven't had questions until lately, and I wanted to recommend a product for anyone with the dreaded rear main seal leak.

Yeah the local lexus specialist quoted like $200-400 for the seal and another $2000 for a "whole day's worth" of labor... this for a 1995 SC300 worth $5000-5500 tops, but still drives like a champ and has never had a repair more significant than the pulley.

Well I had been unemployed awhile and couldn't afford that even if I decided it was worth it, so I just let it keep leaking for a whole year, occasionally topping off the oil, and getting used to enjoying the smell of burning oil every time I drove it. Then people were telling me the seal would eventually blow completely and I'd be totally f'ked, so the other week I finally let a friend convince me to try this "real main seal reconditioner and repair" that you pour right into the crank case. The burning oil smell was gone within an hour. It's been 6 days of driving since now, including some pretty hard 100mph+ driving on the interstate today in the heat of the day - still no burning oil smell, not even from outside the car. I'm real funny about putting additives of any kind in my cars, but I'm sure glad I tried this stuff. It's like a miracle cure. I'm going to add it one more time during my next oil change to see if I can makes the seals even stronger. I feel like I've probably added another 2 years of life to this wonderful car and the best part is I spent not even 1/100 what I was eventually expecting.

Wanted to share this in case anyone else was stressing over their own leaky RMS. Here's what I used, bought it at sears automotive:

lolSC600

I'll bite..

I work at an auto parts chain and I always advise people to avoid using additives. Pointless waste of money/band-aids 99% of the time. Unless it is a virtually worthless car and approaching it final miles...

The more I think about it the more I think I'm replying to a troll lol

TomLee

iTrader: (3)

first post lol

Meanshyguy

iTrader: (11)

I don't have anything against additives, I don't use them though, but if in this case this worked, I'd say as long as it lasts a couple of months while he finds a cheaper mechanic, It's all good.

PanicUnit

Well most people who have alot of mechanical experience advise against additives, I've found. But my buddy said this almost completely sealed the leak in his maxima, and I was afraid if I didn't at least do something about my leak, even a band-aid, that I would end up really screwed sooner-or-later. I didn't expect this stuff to work very well, much less stop the leak completely. I was nervous as hell pouring it all in.
Did I really just luck out big time? Or is the whole seal still waiting to pop out completely without warning in a year or something?

Klaus

iTrader: (1)

So it plugs the rear main seal, but not the front mail seal? Now that is interesting! Do you need to get a different one for the front main seal? Do they have these for cam seals? What about if I want to reseal my valve covers? Do they have a different one for the left and right?

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

I can get you a bottle for the right side, but the left is on backorder. That along with the bottle of cylinder 1-3-5 compression restorer seems to be the most popular products among the bright community of the 1SC

ALLWiTE2JZ

Yeah, I tried this when my SC was leaking oil to be a cheapass as well. Bought a bottle of "StopLeak" from Walmart and it didn't work at all. ACTUALLY, it made my oil leak worse. Except I had a really bad camshaft seal leak, not a rear main leak as I had originally thought. Even though this crap wasn't successful for me, more power to you if it has worked either permanently or temporarily for you. Regardless of the situation, I would definitely get it fixed the right way and be done with it, instead of worrying about if it will ever start leaking again. Either that, or sell your car and not worry about it at all. I have really learned that you can't be cheap when things go wrong on cars, especially our SC's.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

Also, it doesn't cost $2000+ for a rear main seal at a lexus dealership. Most legit dealers will quote you for $900-1200. If you go to regular (again, legit) mechanic, you can get it done really cheap. My friend got his done for under $400 using OEM parts and fluids.

ALLWiTE2JZ

Not true. My Lexus dealer said the same thing. About $2300 to fix with parts/labor and a loaner vehicle. Replacing the rear main seal is a big job in the SC300 since you have to drop the tranny, etc.

xknowonex

iTrader: (2)

If you do your 90k service througly, you should replace front main seal along with the cam seals. It is the rear main seal that is a pita

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

Maybe it's because of location. The rear main seal is an 7-10hr job with a lift and that equates to $770-1100 ($110/hr from the dealer). The parts cost less than $150. My friend who is a lexus master tech who performed the rear main seal for my other buddy took only 4 hours. The time consuming part is wrestling with the exhaust piping so the tranny can be dropped.

ALLWiTE2JZ

Yeah, the price variance must have something to do with different dealer locations.

xknowonex

iTrader: (2)

Tho from Vinam did it? Parts for a rear main seal cost $150? What did you end up replacing?

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

I'm just guesstimating worse case scenario for the parts although it doesn't even come close to that. The rear main seal from the dealer itself is only $30. Tranny fluids will set you back another $30 or so. I don't remember what else needed to be replaced, but the parts should be cheap as hell. Labor is the huge chunk of course.