HaryGahtoe

I just bought our 07 RX and while checking out the struts I noticed I have no rear sway bar or end links and need a bar & hardware and a used 04 Highlander rear bar is $ 130 and an Addco 22mm bar is less than Highlander bar new
So has anyone used a Addco 22 mm rear bar with the RX350 OE 23-24 mm front ? I'd rather Not pull the rack, engine mounts & struts just to change the front bar although I understand I'll be rebuilding the OE sway mounts due to added force
What does the car handle like normal to sporty driving up to the power and handling limits ? Or is the used Highlander bar a decent drive considering $$'s ?
Thanks for any replies
Hary

MattRX

Is this the Addco 2109? If the Addco is for the 2001-2003 Highlander, it won’t fit on the car unless you remove the spare tire. It may still incorrectly state “2001-2007 Highlander” on the page. I’m glad to hear you’ll be addressing the mounts. Your stock sway bar brackets will not last long with the bar, probably around a month or two as me and another member on the Toyota Nation have found. I had to make custom brackets that won’t flex or break like the junk stock ones. If you need help with those, I have them mocked up in CAD. These were 3D printed and confirmed to fit both my Highlander and RX350. They’re easier to fit than the stock brackets, tie into more of the frame, and use universal k90397 bushings.

You’ll want to use Delphi TC2022 end links, they’re the only links that are the exact same size as factory that will fit the thicker sway bar due to having more threads sticking out. These are from the front end of a Ford Focus and are very beefy, lightweight affordable and super strong. I have the 16mm Highlander bar on my RX350, it’s a noticeable difference but not worth it unless you can get it for cheap at the junkyard.

I’ve had the Addco 2109 on my 2002 Highlander for years and it has been the single best thing I ever did to the car. Though, with the stock 23mm front sway bar do note that if you’re taking a long sweeping corner at high speeds, you shouldn’t lift off the throttle or else you can get some pretty crazy oversteer. Eventually, I did go to the 26mm 2010-2015 RX350 front sway bar which calmed this down and still lets the oversteer happen if you want, but it’s a lot more predictable and controllable.

With both the sway bars and brackets, stiffer springs, 18x8” wheels w/ 245 tires and -1.5 degree front camber. It feels amazing for an SUV. Better than any SUV I’ve ever driven by a long shot. Feels like a good-handling car, not like an SUV. Normal driving will feel a lot more confident and you won’t feel nearly as much leaning anymore. It doesn’t feel sketchy in heavy winter / rain conditions, but definitely more attention and care is required. I took it to Auto X and it did great for an SUV. My tires were the weak point. I wouldn’t hesitate to throw Pilot Sports on this car once I need new tires.

HaryGahtoe

Hey, thanks for the reply MattRX.
I emailed Addco and yes the bar is the 2109. When you talk about the spare tire do mean temporary removal for install or is that permanent removal ?
I'm considering all the variables to access if I really feel it is worth the work of installing a 26 which is only 3mm different in size and then the costs
If you don't mind me asking; How much work was it removing the rack, engine mounts and struts ? Sounds like a full day or two job The ugly part sounds like the rack with fluids.
I'm trying to justify $ 500 (+/-) or just going with the Highlander 16mm bar and poly bushings in the OE front
I appreciate your thoughts and love to hear what both directions offer
Thanks
Hary

MattRX

The 2109 is designed for 2001-2003 AWD Toyota Highlanders or 1999-2003 Lexus RX300s which have the spare tire inside the trunk vs underneath like our RX350s because of the third row for 2004-2007 Highlanders. They didn’t just carry the sheet metal over from the 2001-2003 Highlanders like they should have (stupidest part about our cars!).

Due to the spare tire being placed under the car, they had to make the sway bar curve around it. It unfortunately isn’t possible to use the 2109 or any RX300 or 2001-2003 Highlander sway bar with the spare in place. I tried to get a 2004-2007 Highlander / 2004-2009 RX bar made with Addco. But a lot of the guys on the Highlander forum decided to back out due to the price and it never came to be unfortunately.



99-03 RX300 / 01-03 HL bar. It only curves over the exhaust, not the spare tire





2004-2007 HL / 2004-2009 RX bar. This curves under the exhaust and spare tire so it has this weird shape. I had to temporarily remove the spare to change it on the car


I want to get a custom sway bar made for 2004-2007 Highlanders and 2004-2009 RX. I already have the 2001-2003 bar fully modelled, and plan to do the 2004-2009 bar next. There aren’t a lot of us 2001-2003 Highlander owners out there anymore compared to 04-07. Our cars are less reliable, harder to find parts for, and getting old now. However, it’s stuff like this that makes me appreciate them more than the newer cars.

As for the front sway bar and removal of the rack, struts and rear motor mount. That was the easiest and fastest way by far I have found. The front sway bar links need to come off too, but you’ll need to swap those to 2007-2017 Camry or 2007-2009 ES350 (beefier) to clear the wider bar due to the struts being spaced further apart on the wider 3rd gen RX. You can use the 3rd gen RX or 2004-2020 Sienna AWD upper brackets too which are significantly beefier as well. I can confirm that some 2nd gen 2007+ RXs have these as I’ve seen at the junkyard (Japan and Canadian made) but mine didn’t come with them. I’m not sure if it was random or part of the premium package, but mine is a base model. There’s a chance your car already has them.








I always wondered if it was possible to just pop the outer tie rods out, disconnect the two rack frame bolts and have it sitting up high while the bar gets squeezed in. Unfortunately, in both cases I never got to try this as I just decided to replace the leaky rack on both my Highlander and RX350. I just remember the clearance being much easier with the two struts and rear engine mount out. I didn’t need to lower the subframe a bit in both cases, but that would make it easier especially if the rack was in place.

I would probably skip over the 04-07 Highlander bar entirely due to how easily they rust and how weak they are. All three of my rear stock bars on my cars have the metal chewed through because of bushing wear. I bet that the weak stock flexing brackets didn’t help at all in this case. The easy option is to just get the aftermarket Cusco 18mm bar with bushings, but I still think that’s not enough for these cars. Ideally, if I were to make some bars for these I’d make a 20mm for people with the stock 23mm front bar, and an adjustable 22 or 24mm rear bar + bracket set for people who have the 26mm front bar. If only people were more into modifying these!

HaryGahtoe

Our family and the places we travel dictates a great deal of car parts relating to use so although I want the Addco 22mm sway bar but I need a spare tire. Best default is Highlander 16mm bar, poly bushings and Delphi aluminum rods for our car.

MattRX

Are there any local junkyards near you? It was a standard part on 2004-2007 Highlanders, but Sport model 2004-2009 RXs could come with them too. They only charged me around 15 for it pulled from the yard.

HaryGahtoe

MattRX; I have much respect for your in-depth research, work documenting all that info
Thank you for sharing

I checked with all the ones within 150 mi. without luck. I was able to source one from a recycler from Or. state that is en route.
Now that I’ve handled this I need to circle back to the original problem, wasted shocks, bump stops, top mounts, boots and spring seats.

MattRX

Glad the info could come in handy

This might help! Made this a while ago but it applies to our RXs too, just added part numbers today! (2004-2007 Highlander applies directly to 2004-2009 RX):
https://www.toyotanation.com/threads...#post-14633037