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I replaced the rear calipers, rotors, pads, sway bar links, struts and wheel bearings for the wife RX330 before winter. Air tools are your friend, about 2 hour per side.
I replaced the rear calipers, rotors, pads, sway bar links, struts and wheel bearings for the wife RX330 before winter. Air tools are your friend, about 2 hour per side.
Looks good!
How hard was it to press in the wheel bearings and what was your mileage?
It looks like you have AWD so I'm sure you had to pull the axles to do it.
I haven't replaced mine yet at 156K miles, maybe previous owner already did them.
Mechanic Note: REAR STRUT(S) ARE WORN OUT - STRUTS ARE RECOMMENDED TO BE REPLACED EVERY 75 TO 100,000 MILES.
Looking at this pic more closely it looks like it could be a torn inner tie rod boot instead of cv axle boot- can't be sure it's zoomed in so close.
I'd have to go under the car for perspective.
Wishing for you success with a 2nd or 3rd opinion for your $8,000 estimate.
"The car failed inspection for the strut boot issue so I will be addressing that and several other issues."
Please take this advice for what it's worth: Fix only what is needed to make your car legal and pass inspection. Then re-assess all the other repairs.
From what you're telling us, your 13 year old car doesn't necessarily "need" all those repairs, at the moment.
There's a balance to owning older cars and just dumping $$ into them and fixing what's necessary at the time.
I installed Monroe quik struts on the rear of my 2007 rx350 several months ago and No it did not raise the rear any higher than the OEM strutsI don't know how mechanically inclined you are but you can buy kyb Strut cartridges and new Strut Towers and reuse your OEM springs and rebuild them
"My second RX (2009 350 in great shape) has only 64k miles - including a cross-country trip (3000 highway miles). It's been garage kept the entire time and looks like it just drove off the lot. ..." Nice, low mileage!
Took this RX350 in for a Virginia inspection sticker (failed for torn strut boot) and got the bill for struts and other work. I don't think so. Maybe they meant the torn CV boot in pic below?
Mechanic Note: FRONT STRUT(S) ARE WORN OUT - STRUTS ARE RECOMMENDED TO BE REPLACED EVERY 75 TO 100,000 MILES I'd get a 2nd opinion on whether they are worn out or not. Don't fall for the "should be replaced every x amout of miles" nonsense- it's a sales trick and I seen it every day at the shop I worked at. If the struts are bad and/or leaking it's time to replace but the mileage they fail depends on climate and road conditions. If you live on a dirt road they can die at 30k and if you do highway driving they can go 150k.
This whole estimate looks like a good old fashioned screw job and makes me want to lolololololol.
-> Arrow points to a leaking CV axle boot not a strut boot.
EDIT -> after looking at it again it might be the inner tie rod boot- hard for me to see.
Much more can be said but I'll leave some for everyone else. lol
I talked to another mechanic - over the phone after sending him the picture - who said its not a CV boot for the driveshaft, it's the boot over the Power Steering Rack. I'm going to have him confirm it Monday morning. I'm going to ask him to check my struts to see if he recommends much of the other $8,000 in work. Its a test where I hope he comes back and says if you aren't having any signs of issues while driving you can wait on the expensive replacement of all the struts.
I found this thread on the Power Steering boot so I'm eager to see what this 3nd mechanic advises. I've had miniml Power Steering Fluid leakage since last April. - still above the cold minimum level. https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...g-at-boot.html
I went to the second mechanic today. Gave me a lot of confidence when he said I could wait on the struts, power steering pump, and transfer case.
The second mechanic quoted me $1,356 which is $700 less than the $2,040 estimate I got from the first mechanic.
Realizing that I can go back to a mechanic (third) I used for both the RX300 and RX 350 before we moved a little away. But for major work like this and then the eventual struts, power steering pump, transfer case, I called him to see what the options are with him. His strong advice is to go with OEM parts especially if I'm going to keep the car for 5+ years. He prefers OEM parts on anything power steering-related, brakes, electrical.
His estimate for dealer OEM parts is $1,720. If I went with aftermarket it would be $1,620. Atlantic is the manufacturer. Both of those options are for new items. A remanufactured no-name option would be $1,440. The problem is the OEM Toyota parts are not available now - probably sitting off the coast of California in a container ship.
If it was a third mechanic's car, he would replace the torn boot to get through inspection and wait for the OEM parts to come in.
I'm definitely harder on tires and brakes than most. Probably why I'm under 5/32 threads on my Michelin 235/55R18s which were guaranteed for either 75 or 55k miles. I'm at less than 16k miles on these tires.
What would you guys do? Also, since I'm looking at replacing my Michelin tires soon, is there a better option to go with than the Michelins the way I drive my RX 350?
Looks good!
How hard was it to press in the wheel bearings and what was your mileage?
It looks like you have AWD so I'm sure you had to pull the axles to do it.
I haven't replaced mine yet at 156K miles, maybe previous owner already did them.
Sorry for the delay but I don't check this site that often. No need to press out the bearing.
1. remove the rotor.
2. remove axle nut (air tools are your friend)
3. hit the axle with a drift to verify that it is loose (air hammer is your friend)
4. remove the 4 bolts that attach the bearing.
5. wack the bearing since this is why you're replacing it (air hammer is your friend)
6. remove brake dust shield from the wheel bearing.
7. replace in reverse order.
My second RX (2009 350 in great shape) has only 64k miles - including a cross-country trip (3000 highway miles). It's been garage kept the entire time and looks like it just drove off the lot. I plan to keep it a lot longer after selling my 2003 RX300 with less than 100k miles.
Took this RX350 in for a Virginia inspection sticker (failed for torn strut boot) and got the bill for struts and other work. I have yet to go back to the shop. I do ride rough - accelerate and brake quicker than normal drivers which may have led to replacement needs at a lower mileage level than most others. I'm looking for options, maybe upgrade the sway bar, etc., based on this thread for a better ride over the long term. Watched the video above so I'm going to avoid Chinese parts but other than the KYB option for struts, are there other better ones than KYB to purchase if I'm willing to pay a fair price while shopping for the best OEM alternatives.
Shop Notes:
REMOVE / REPLACE FRONT AND REAR STRUTS W/ SWAY BARS LINK KITS
Part Description Quantity Sale Extended
SPEEDY STRUT ASSY/Suspension Strut and Coil Spring Assembly 2.00 $343.62 $687.24
SPEEDYSTRUTASSY/Suspension Strut and Coil Spring Assembly 1.00 $320.13 $320.13
SPEEDYSTRUTASSY/Suspension Strut and Coil Spring Assembly 1.00 $320.13 $320.13
STABILIZERLINK/Suspension Stabilizer Bar Link 2.00 $53.35 $106.70
555SWAYBARLINK/Suspension Stabilizer Bar Link 2.00 $68.74 $137.48 Labor: $1,119.65 Parts: $1,571.68 Job Total: $2,691.33
Looks like he wants to toss the coils and go with an all-in-one strut and coil assembly. Yes, these coils are 12 years old, but less than 70,000 miles. Willing to replace the coils if that is a better option - especially since I'm keeping the vehicle for several more years.
I am hoping to find another option to reduce the $1120 labor charge.
The car failed inspection for the strut boot issue so I will be addressing that and several other issues.
REPLACE BELLOWS BOOT: STRUT BOOT/Suspension Strut Bellows and outer tie Rod (no extra labor) Labor: $239.93 Parts: $34.56 Job Total: $274.49.
The mechanic is also recommending:
Replacing the TRANSFER CASE COVER - AWD Labor: $2,879.10 Parts: $0.00
STEERING GEAR (COMPLETE) - Remove & Replace - [Includes: Adjust toe-in on Rack and Pinion type
Steering Gears.
Replacing Steering Rack w/o Outer Tie Rod Ends 1.00 $572.58 Tie Rod End-Front Outer 2.00 $76.86 $153.72 Labor: $719.78 Parts: $726.30 Job Total: $1,446.08
OUCH. If I'm going to spend around $8,000, I want to make sure the items will last for a while and certainly benefit from the improvements up upgrading quality parts. Also makes sense since my driving characteristics might benefit from upgraded options to handle the extra wear and tear. Might as well purchase all the parts on my own for upgraded struts, sway bars, tie rods, etc., if I'm going to spend a lot to have a lot of work done. Mechanic Note: FRONT STRUT(S) ARE WORN OUT - STRUTS ARE RECOMMENDED TO BE REPLACED EVERY 75 TO 100,000 MILES Mechanic Note: REAR STRUT(S) ARE WORN OUT - STRUTS ARE RECOMMENDED TO BE REPLACED EVERY 75 TO 100,000 MILES.
Power Steering leak has been an issue for a while but I haven't added any for a while so I'm wondering if this is just residual and not getting worse. Looks bad but who cares if I'm not having any other signs/noises. Last April, the mechanic said it was leaking so I needed to monitor it. It's never dropped below cold minimum so I've never added any fluid.
That for sure doesn't look like p/s fluild, more like oil seeping pass the timing cover, thanx to not enough sealant from the factory, typical 2gr issue...
I replaced all of mine with aftermarket struts from rockauto.com for around $400. I didn't notice a change in height and they were pretty easy would recommend an alignment afterwards
12-10-21, 06:45 PM
RX330 Rear strut, brake, caliper and bearing
