Havoline 5-30 and Rear End Seal leak

[yummy88]

I have a 1992 Lexus LS 400 with 200K miles. I bought the car a couple months ago and car ran fine with no leaks whatsoever. After reading in this forum that Havoline 5-30 Dino oil is excellent, I started using it. (Previous owner said that he used Dino 10-30 oil.

Right now I am using about 1 quart every 400miles ! There is no smoke coming from the exhaust. I do notice a patch of oil under the car which leads me to suspect the Rear Main Seal is leaking.

Does Havoline have a very powerful cleanser that is causing the seal leak? Maybe Havoline is wrong for me. any suggestions? ARX ? I bought 5 quarts of Havoline 10-40

 

[Clyde65]

quote:

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Originally posted by yummy88:
Does Havoline have a very powerful cleanser that is causing the seal leak? Maybe Havoline is wrong for me. any suggestions? ARX ? I bought 5 quarts of Havoline 10-40

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Well Havoline is a very good oil. Do you have the 10W-40 in there right now with the leak? 10W-40 is a very smooth weight, you made a good choice.

Do you have access to Havoline high mileage 10W-40? It sounds to me like you could really use an oil with seal conditioners. If not, give Maxlife 10W-40 a try, it's extremely good oil.

 

[jorton]

Sounds like you have 5w-30 in the engine and you're using the 10w-40 for make-up oil.

Have you checked the oil filter? What was the last maintenance performed before you noticed the oil on the floor? The oil change? Then the leak was caused by that. Either the filter is leaking, or the crankcase was overfilled. A disconnected PCV hose can cause an oil leak, too.

Try to locate the exact point of the leak.

 

[dave1251]

Not only is Havoline not the problem. Find out what mechianically is not sound with your engine. Fix it. Then run a double dose of Auto-Rx. Hard to tell what crud is caked in your engine.

 

[Clyde65]

Like I said in my earlier post, try some high mileage oil, it might cause that seal to swell up stopping your leak. Seems like a no brainer to me.

 

[mechtech]

1 qt. in 400 miles is a major problem.
It is not caused by the Havoline oil.

 

[Quest]

If you do not see 1 quart of motor oil puddle on your garage floor, bet ya it must have "disappeared" somewhere ... (lemme guess---tailpipe?!?)

don't forget that if you don't see smoke coming out of the tailpipe (not in a significant manner) doesn't necessarily means that your engine is not burning oil at all. Afterall: there are many used car lot "tricks" to keep the smoking down (e.g. "motor honney", STP, etc.) to impress buyers enough for a quickie sale.

 

[Hirev]

I agree with mechtech. One qt in 400 miles is not a good thing, and it does suggest a big problem. Havoline is not the root cause of this problem.

 

[dave1251]

How is a HM oil going to immediately help with a major leak like that?

 

[Clyde65]

quote:

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Originally posted by dave1251:
How is a HM oil going to immediately help with a major leak like that?

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It may or may not, but if it did, that certainly is easier and less costly than pulling the motor to change the rear seal.

 

[yummy88]

I now suspect that it is a leak of some sort. Probably from the Rear End Seal. If it were actually burning 1 quart every 400 miles, the plugs would be fouled and I should be seeing some smoke.

I had read that Havoline 5-30 Dino is an excellent oil (lots of raves about it over here)which is why I tried it.
I am suspecting that perhaps the Havoline was cleaning too well (same problem that folks face when they suddenly change to synthetics then face seal leaks). I will try to change to Havoline 10-40 oil (SL rated)and see if there is an improvement with a thicker oil (after all car has 200K miles !). If that does not work then I might go for AutoRX as a last resort.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

quote:

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Originally posted by yummy88:
If that does not work then I might go for AutoRX as a last resort.

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Your "last" resort is getting that rear seal fixed by a mechanic.

 

[AndyH]

quote:

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Originally posted by yummy88:
I am suspecting that perhaps the Havoline was cleaning too well ...

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IMHO, the cleaning ability of a modern PCMO is minimal. If you want to do some internal engine cleaning, you need to use a product such as Auto-RX.