Bokenrosie

I have an '01 LX470 with 130K I was told by dealer last time I went in that I have a bearing problem and the Drivers' front bearings should be repacked. I have been also been experiencing a pulsing brake issue and wondered if the two could be related? My local guy had replaced brakes last year and I've never been happy with the way the brakes worked.

So questions are:
1. Brakes only pulse when going faster than 60mph. Hardly any pulse around town.

2. Is the bearing repack something I could do myself?
3. Also, noticed that price of brake parts was relatively cheap compared to having them done. I was considering doing that myself.

Thanks for any advice.

krye

Could be bearings, bearing adjustment or front rotors. I would suspect that the front rotors need to be cut or replaced, but to do so, the bearings need to be repacked. So I would suggest that you service the front bearings and repair/replace the front rotors. Unless you are very comfortable doing repairs, this is not a simple job, may easily run $400 at a shop, plus the cost of the rotors.

V8_Fan

I doubt a loose bearing will cause pulsation. You would, however, feel slop in the steering. One way to check is to jack the front end up, then grab the tire in a 6-12 o'clock and 9-3 o'clock positions and see if you can feel any play when you wiggle it. My guess is the pulsation is from a stuck piston. Does the car track straight if you hit the brakes hard on a flat, smooth street and let go of the steering wheel? Also look at the brake pad wear. The inner and outer pads should wear pretty evenly. If you see an area with excessive wear, the piston is probably stuck.

The bearing repack requires some special tools...snap ring pliers, brass bar, sledge hammer, spring scale, torque wrenches (small and large), 54mm 6-point socket SST, and bearing packer. Parts-wise, you need new inner oil seals, new lock washer, and drive flange gaskets (for both sides)...about $50-55 in parts (if you buy them at the toyota dealer, $100 if you buy from lexus) plus a tube of MP grease. The reason why it costs like $350+ to have done at a dealer is it takes like 4 hrs of labor. This is also the time to replace the front rotors (it only involves removing 6 bolts from the hub) and brake calipers if you need to (and pads/shims).

I don't trust the dealer doing my bearings since last time, they over-torqued them and fuel economy dropped 2 mpg. I discovered this since I replaced the rotors/pads a few months later since the OEM ones were grabbing, discovered the lock nut was at something like 70 ft-lbs instead of the 43 ft-lb spec.

krye

what are the drive flange gaskets?