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Update: started this afternoon and it must be my lucky day! Torn down the car to the hubs and, some how, both fronts popped off with a couple hammer blows! These are the originals, so not sure how I got that lucky. Looks like I’ll be returning the air hammer and chisels I purchased, unused. 👍
The whole process has been straight forward. I’ve decided to replace the original struts and mounts with KYBs from RockAuto all the way around. New pads and rotors up front and new front hubs. The mechanic that has done all the work on my vehicle said the rear passenger hub was replaced last year, but all other components (that I’m changing) are original to the car. I probably should have ordered the driver rear hub, but that wouldn’t take long to replace later if necessary.
Biggest pain in the butt? Taking the rear seat out and working around all the mess. Used a tutorial from CL that really helped the process go quickly.
All struts are out and tomorrow I will rebuild and reinstall. I managed to tear a boot in one of the front calipers, and finding one is a PITA. Hopefully the Lexus dealership will have one or else it’s a long wait for one to ship with the holiday weekend. Hopefully reinstalling everything will be fairly painless.
I’ll keep you posted.
One note: I initially installed the wrong hub on the drivers side. The side matters because one of the sensor wires won’t reach the plug if it is installed on the wrong side (which fits, but will be backwards). Don’t make the same mistake I did!
Another note: I popped off the top 2 control arms so I could reach one of the nuts for the hubs up front. Swinging the whole assembly out was the only way I could see to reach that nut!
Update: started this afternoon and it must be my lucky day! Torn down the car to the hubs and, some how, both fronts popped off with a couple hammer blows! These are the originals, so not sure how I got that lucky. Looks like I’ll be returning the air hammer and chisels I purchased, unused. 👍
The whole process has been straight forward. I’ve decided to replace the original struts and mounts with KYBs from RockAuto all the way around. New pads and rotors up front and new front hubs. The mechanic that has done all the work on my vehicle said the rear passenger hub was replaced last year, but all other components (that I’m changing) are original to the car. I probably should have ordered the driver rear hub, but that wouldn’t take long to replace later if necessary.
Biggest pain in the butt? Taking the rear seat out and working around all the mess. Used a tutorial from CL that really helped the process go quickly.
All struts are out and tomorrow I will rebuild and reinstall. I managed to tear a boot in one of the front calipers, and finding one is a PITA. Hopefully the Lexus dealership will have one or else it’s a long wait for one to ship with the holiday weekend. Hopefully reinstalling everything will be fairly painless.
I’ll keep you posted.
One note: I initially installed the wrong hub on the drivers side. The side matters because one of the sensor wires won’t reach the plug if it is installed on the wrong side (which fits, but will be backwards). Don’t make the same mistake I did!
Lucky you, it might be due to the fact that you live in a southern state. That tool did NOTHING for me and I banged on it for a whole day. I ended up using an air chisel.
Lucky you, it might be due to the fact that you live in a southern state. That tool did NOTHING for me and I banged on it for a whole day. I ended up using an air chisel.
Ok. Finished up the back! I now officially change my ‘worst/hardest part of the job’ note previously. Getting the rear strut onto the bottom mount was a B***h! None of the tutorials I found had great instructions for that part. I didn’t want to tear apart all the control arms, but kinda wish I did to make it easier. Bugger, that was a pain!
Hopefully the fronts will go smoother. I’m seriously looking forward to going for a ride after this. The original struts were very worn out…she should drive like a dream after this!
So fronts went in super smooth. MUCH easier than the rear struts once you disconnect the top 2 control arms.
I did, however, hit a snag. The left front ABS activates with even the slightest pressure on the brake pedal. Ran my scanner and it showed ‘debris on the sensor’ but that was not the case. I disconnected, cleaned and even used a little bit of dielectric grease but same result.
Ordered a replacement hub from rockauto and will install it assuming that the sensor in the hub itself is defective. Once done, I’ll update the thread. Car is currently getting bumpers repainted because they were in dire need. Rear bumper peeling Front bumper
Sorry for the long delay in posting here. I ordered a new hub and that fixed the issue immediately. Was definitely a bad sensor in the new hub I got from Rock Auto. They were easy to deal with in exchange and the replacement went on in no time since I have now torn apart the front end several times over a 4 week span (ugh). After a quick tire balance, she rolls and stops as smooth as ever!
Also got the front and rear bumpers painted based on a recommendation from my detail guy. They did a phenomenal job and matched color perfectly. Couldn't be happier. I've had to travel a ton recently and it's been a true pleasure to cruise down the highway. My mechanic checked all the control arms and we are in great shape, so hopefully I can enjoy the ride and not wrench for a bit.
Sorry for the long delay in posting here. I ordered a new hub and that fixed the issue immediately. Was definitely a bad sensor in the new hub I got from Rock Auto. They were easy to deal with in exchange and the replacement went on in no time since I have now torn apart the front end several times over a 4 week span (ugh). After a quick tire balance, she rolls and stops as smooth as ever!
Also got the front and rear bumpers painted based on a recommendation from my detail guy. They did a phenomenal job and matched color perfectly. Couldn't be happier. I've had to travel a ton recently and it's been a true pleasure to cruise down the highway. My mechanic checked all the control arms and we are in great shape, so hopefully I can enjoy the ride and not wrench for a bit.
Great to hear you got it all sorted out and are rolling smoothly again! These cars being so complex and difficult to troubleshoot at times, once all the little (and some not so little) bugs are corrected, these big machines cruise so nicely and effortlessly. And surprisingly, they're pretty nimble for their size once you get used to their handling and road mannerisms. My favorite part is the motor and 8-speed and how well they mate up to each other.
08-29-21, 04:02 PM
