1997 Lx450 oil pump

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C

cshell

Joined
Aug 12, 2024
Threads
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Location
Nashville Tn
Hi, first time asking a question here and so hopefully I do this correctly and I make clear sense.

I own a 97' Lexus Lx450 that has 216k miles. It suddenly sprung some serious oil leaks while on a trip. Thankfully I was able to get back home to my regular mechanic without serious damage. They diagnosed it with several things causing the leaks including a bad or faulty oil pump. They referred me to a shop with the proper equipment and experience to tackle replacing the pump or working out what might be wrong with it.. The new shop was convinced they had it diagnosed accurately except the oil pump itself. They replaced quite a bit and it appeared good to go at first, but then a couple weeks later it was clear it still was not fixed. They did more work related to the oil system and again seemed good to go. I know they did: Upper Oil Pan Gasket, Real Main Seal, Valve Cover Gasket Set, Oil Filter, Crankshaft Seal, Added 10w40, Sealant, Brake Parts Cleaner, Fly Wheel Bolt, then took it back and said the front timing cover accessory was leaking so fixed that, the front crank shaft seal and oil pump gasket.

Soon after this my power steering that had been replaced a couple years prior suddenly goes out. They replace it and the gear box, but it goes out again. We warranty it out 3 times I believe.. but soon after as I was driving I notice my oil pressure gauge seems to not be moving as my power steering began acting up. I can not recall exactly what caught my attention specially, but I notice any difference in feel, sound and drive pretty fast and knew to pull off. I then had my truck towed to the mechanic shop. Now after being adamant it was not my oil pump, I am told told they believe the pump is indeed bad and it in turn is what has been causing my power steering pump issues. At that point I had invested a tremendous amount in repairs and now am being told it is going to cost an additional 5,000-7,000 for oil pump replacement. None of this was sitting well, so I parked it and debated selling vs searching for another mechanic. Unfortunately I had a terrible accident that left me unable to walk and so my truck took a back burner. I am able to walk again so all is well, butt before I do sell it, I just want to be certain I am not selling it when it may not be the pump but rather may be more along the lines of some of the things I have seen discussed on this forum such as, the "harmonic balance bolt or pressure sender".

I am feeling stuck and really do not want to regret selling my Lexus that I love only to regret it. I am not comfortable with another $5000-$7000, but I would keep it if the cost was far more reasonable. I do know that it starts and sounds good, but I only started it for a couple minutes to prevent any possible damage if there is truly very low oil pressure. Can anyone offer any thoughts or opinions on what to do at this point? Thanks!
 
Sounds like they did not torque your crankshaft bolt back to factory spec, 306ftlbs this would cause the oil pump and power steering gear to not engage properly and cause the issues you are describing. This sounds like a warranty issue if correct. I would not mention this to them, I would go to the shop and watch them retorque that bolt if it tightens then you know they did not torque to spec and owe you whatever work is necessary to make this right! I would remove the oil filter and cut it open to inspect for metal, if the oil pressure is low then likely the bearings got chewed up. But maybe not. The oil pump are not a common failure point on these engines I have never heard of one personally on this forum. Not applying the proper torque is a more frequent issue usually resulting in an engine failure and Full rebuild.
 
Where is this $5-7k number from replacing the oil pump is also pretty straightforward. A new pump is under $200. Unless they want to replace the timing cover than that’s a big job.
 
Sorry you are going through this.

Listen to @Fj80oregon

I was searching for why the crank bolt needs such high torque, which I knew but didn't know why (because the oil pump gear is not keyed), I came across another thread about not enough torque was applied to tighten the crankshaft pulley after fixing a leak, causing the oil pump to fail.

The dude in the picture is only using one arm! 💪
1751070004417.png
 
I'm always amused at that page. And the one before it taking the bolt off.

$5k to replace an oil pump is criminal. I agree with @Fj80oregon that replacing the timing cover sesal is a big job, but it's still not $5k, IMHO. Especially in Nashville. Maybe in Dallas, 'cause everything's bigger in Texas, but sheesh.

If you were closer, I'd do it for you, but given tha fact we can't get over the mountians right now, maybe not. You go NCDOT!
 
Malleus said:
I'm always amused at that page. And the one before it taking the bolt off.

$5k to replace an oil pump is criminal. I agree with @Fj80oregon that replacing the timing cover sesal is a big job, but it's still not $5k, IMHO. Especially in Nashville. Maybe in Dallas, 'cause everything's bigger in Texas, but sheesh.

If you were closer, I'd do it for you, but given tha fact we can't get over the mountians right now, maybe not. You go NCDOT!
Click to expand...
I suspect that OP meant all of the work recently done on his rig, which was a helluva lot, had totaled up to that figure.

I can't imagine what 304 ft lbs of effort feels like.
I should have asked the guy who did my crank seal, a former mechanic for the local Toyota dealer who now works out of his own garage, how he accomplished this.
All I can recall is that he made a point of telling me "It's not coming loose".
 
Thanks for the replies.

@Fj80oregon @Malleus

Correct, after they did the above mentioned work (around $6000) which did include the timing cover, the power steering replacement/repairs and other things mention in my OP, I was pretty upset and unable to justify an additional $5200 to replace the oil pump that they insisted was good but then later blamed for the power steering nightmare. .

Fast forward a couple years to now. I was approached by someone asking if I would be interested in selling. I said I would consider it. The person who approached me said he was told it would be $7,000 to replace the oil pump. I literally laughed out loud at that nonsense. Supposedly these mechanics (one of which is his friend) and their buddies all own these trucks and are well versed in them. They are a Lexus offroad car club. I can not imagine they are not aware of the bolt issue. Something is making me feel they are attempting to BS me into a killer deal, but maybe not.

Regardless, I would rather keep my truck if I can get it back on the road for a far more reasonable cost. If I can actually find someone near me who knows about these bolts or has strong enough mechanical understanding to follow the instructions is this something they could do in my driveway?
 
Do yourself a favor and get yourself a copy of the factory service manual (FSM) here from the resource section. Knowledge is free.

If it was my truck, I would grab a big ass torque wrench and check the torque on that crank bolt.

Autozone has a free loaner.

I am too far away to help now, but I was just in Nashville this past April with my LX450.
 
The oil pump on these do not "go bad" without serious engine damage. A loose crank shaft bolt will starve the engine from oil and cause a loss of power steering. If the bolt is loose, you may have been starving the engine of oil causing all sorts of mayhem. Send an oil sample out for testing to Blackstone Labs to verify.

See OTRAM's video on this for good information:

Today's tech's have no real understanding of these vehicles. It is highly advised to seek out someone who has real experience on these, which is getting more and more difficult. As an example, I was in a hurry and took my rig into a chain to get it aligned. Long story short, they ask me where I got the solid front axle for the truck and then asked me if I had the instructions from the lift kit that listed the alignment specs. Total waste of time...

On these, it is best that you do the work yourself unless you can find someone who knows these rigs. Get with your local Ih8mud club, who probably has a page here, and get some suggestions from them. The mud team are an exceptional bunch of people who are always ready to help.
 
Last edited:
I stopped in at OTRAMM on that Nashville trip.

Here is also a short from Ryan himself about the crankshaft bolt.



Punchline: New engine needed due to not torquing down the crankshaft bolt properly 🤦
 
cshell said:
... If I can actually find someone near me who knows about these bolts or has strong enough mechanical understanding to follow the instructions is this something they could do in my driveway?
Click to expand...
Excellent suggestion from NeverFinis to check the bolt torque. Yes, that could be done in your driveway.
 
Devils Paw 80 said:
I suspect that OP meant all of the work recently done on his rig, which was a helluva lot, had totaled up to that figure.

I can't imagine what 304 ft lbs of effort feels like.
I should have asked the guy who did my crank seal, a former mechanic for the local Toyota dealer who now works out of his own garage, how he accomplished this.
All I can recall is that he made a point of telling me "It's not coming loose".
Click to expand...
I ended up using a 300+lb torque wrench and a 6ft pipe to tighten that darn nut... My FIL who was in Army aviation watched and provided commentary... He said, "that thing is the 80's Jesus nut"... lol.
 
I don't think anyone mentioned it, but whatever oil filter you have on it, if it doesn't say Toyota, take it off and install a 90915-YZZD3 filter.

You don't even have to drain the oil to do this.

The WIX and NAPA Gold filters are known engine killers on this engine.
 
BILT4ME said:
I don't think anyone mentioned it, but whatever oil filter you have on it, if it doesn't say Toyota, take it off and install a 90915-YZZD3 filter.

You don't even have to drain the oil to do this.

The WIX and NAPA Gold filters are known engine killers on this engine.
Click to expand...
Don't forget Fram!
 
"Something is making me feel they are attempting to BS me into a killer deal, but maybe not."

Go with your gut.

Echoing what's already been said, IME you have to learn to do these repairs yourself, or find some buddies to help/teach you, or find a small trustworthy shop (OTRAMM for example) that knows this model. Otherwise expect to get a bad result because they won't know what they're doing (or otherwise), every time you take it somewhere that's unfamiliar with this model.

The @OTRAMM oil pump pressure video above showing what happens with a loose crank bolt is better than a few thousand words in dozens of threads.
Well done.
 
Y'all have been so helpful in your responses. Thanks so much.

Given I am a chic and not a dude, I will say I am not strong enough nor confident enough in something like this and so must find a trustworthy mechanically literate strong person or shop to help. I understand mechanics well enough and can almost always figure out the issue and then get the right people for the job, but I am kind of stuck on this one.

The only shops I have come across that might have been able to help seem to not know about the crankshaft bolt issues and instead quoted an insane price for oil pump replacement. The original shop has some pretty solid mechanics and yet they did not know about it when they are the ones to determine the oil pump was the cause of the power steering failing. Seems they did zero research.

Anyway, I have been searching for help for a hot minute and am not getting very far. Any suggestions for someone to help in Middle Tn around Nashville?
 
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