lrobi

My mechanic (not Lexus) just gave me this diagnosis on a '99 Rx 300 with 60k miles. Light use, regularly maintained. Anyone have any ideas why this should happen so early to a quality car ??? This was a certified preowned but now out of warranty by 4 months. Would Lexus extend the warranty. The mechanic says it could easily have been leaking while under warranty but not discovered till now. Totally bummed out !!!

HarrierAWD

What made your mechanic say it was leaking? Did he see oil in the coolant? or did your oil look like milk shake? (Two classic signs of oil and coolant mixing together.)

Check it yourself. Check the oil on your dipstick. See if it look opaque like milk shake. Oil should be transparent even when dirty (unless really dark, then you should do an oil change.) Open the coolant reservoir (just pry it open with hand) and look inside. See if you can find oil floating on the surface.

lrobi

Thanks Harrier. We can see the leakage stain on the exterior of the engine. It's in the early stages as no noticeable coolant loss yet. The oil looks good. I'm no expert on this but seems like this is not normal and not a good thing and simply a matter of time until the problems you describe would develop. Therefore, I should address this now. Do you agree ???

mek88

Perhabs the valve cover gasket is leaking instead of cylinder head gasket.

Most important: coolant doesn't contain oil, AND oil doesn't contain coolant.

WhiteTiger

The other possibility is, if this is only a coolant stain you still may not have compression issues and may be able to live with a minor coolant leak (since changing a head gasket is not cheap). Although this is probably a sign that you are in for a larger failure if you don't address it now.

The passages in the head that contain the coolant are separate and you may just have a minor leak at one spot. So before you go tearing off the head to replace this I would check your compression and/or do a leak down test near the cylinders where the leak is showing. The oil test that other have mentioned will also show signs of coolant in the oil to let you know how serious this leak might be.

Lastly, is there a block plug near where the leak is showing? If so, it might just be the plug which is very inexpensive compared to a head gasket.

Just some thoughts to consider.

lrobi

Thanks to all that responded so far. I've called the dealer and they seemed concerned that this would happen at such low mileage. Will take it in next week for their opinion. Will double check on the block plug.

I'll let you know what happens as regards the car and how I'm treated by the dealer.

HarrierAWD

Did you spot the leak first then bring the RX to the mechanic? Or did the mechanic show you the leak? Some rough shops are notorious for scaring unsuspecting customers.

Many years ago, I took my old car to NY state emission inspection. The tech offered to do free 19-point check. I said alright. Then he showed me that I had a leak in one of my struts and warned me to replace it at once. "You might lose control and get into an accident." I told him that my aftermarket struts were gas-filled, not liquid. I could see this guy's face turned white, then red, then green. Apparently he sprayed some liquid on it. I gave him the NY one-finger salute and drove off.

salimshah

If it is not for RX bolts on the cylender head needed to be retorqued at certain milage. (Aluminum block). I wish I could confirm it from the service manual.

There is a reccomended torque sequence, so do your home work first.

Salim