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I did use a borescope to look at the top of the pistons through the spark plug tubes, which looked great thankfully. I think most of the inspecting of the VVT-i can be just seen visually with your eyes with the cover off. I checked to see the infamous backed out pin, but mine was still receded properly. Apparently that pin can work its way out until it hits the inside edge of the timing cover, which causes the phaser to grenade itself and cause the timing to go haywire.
With the cover on, unfortunately I wasn't able to see anything properly, there are too many baffles in the valve covers to get a clear image and I was doubting myself pretty hard on what I was seeing, it did reveal that there was lots of sludge in there though. Pulling a camshaft sensor also confirmed my suspicions of how much crud was in there, as well as a VVT-i solenoid. You can also remove the filter and get a look of that as well, mine were very dark and full of sludge bits.
With the cover on, unfortunately I wasn't able to see anything properly, there are too many baffles in the valve covers to get a clear image...
Darn. I really have no good reason to remove the valve covers, but I did just buy an endoscope camera.
Good news on your Pin being where it should be, though!
I've mentioned it before, but I bought my RX with 33K miles, clean as a whistle, regular oil changes, and it still sounded like a diesel the first time I started it.
This is the way the 2GR's are, I tell myself. Often.
At the dealership, we'd get new 2GR-FKS cars in and they STILL sounded like diesels on cold starts (even with 0W20), it's even worse in the winter. Seems to be a trait of these beasts, the '14 RX we have is the same as well. Meanwhile my Highlander's 1MZ is dead silent. I do like the more mechanical sound of a 2GR except for that "diesel-esque" clatter lol.
That’s great power out of a pickup. I also like my friend’s TDI Jetta with the 1.9 L. He’s got a bigger turbo and is pushing 400 ft-lbs out of it, pulls like a freight train!
Tying up some more loose ends on the RX. The new Sienna blower blows real strong, but it's all going to waste because my two main climate vents are smashed up. Before replacing the passenger side, I heard from a member of the RX facebook group that RHD RXs / Harriers have a cup holder on the passenger side instead of the driver! So you can have cup holders on both sides by getting the RHD version for the pass side. You need to trim a little bit of the dash but it's no biggie, and the best part was it was the cheapest one on the internet at the time! May as well kill two birds with one stone and do another upgrade!
So far the wheel wells, trunk hatch and front driver side door have been sound-deadened. There's already a noticeable difference when you close those doors! I still need to do the other front door, the two rear doors and the roof then I'll take some more measurements! I covered up the horrible factory trunk deadening with some adhesive mats, but they didn't stick too easily to the factory stuff. I'd probably just skip doing this or maybe glue it on, but they seem to be holding for now.
I'm also preparing the car for a reverse came just like my Highlander! On the RX, it is a lot simpler to remove this garnish and also to prep it for a camera as well. No Dremel required! Just a pilot hole and a 15/64 drill bit!
Ran the wire through the hatch switch grommet, no hole-drilling required! Super clean and looks factory from the outside. It'll be pre-wired for now until I get my head unit down the road when I get some more cash flow coming in!
The RX is chugging along nicely and I'm kind of forced to drive it exclusively now due to a fuel line leak on the Highlander! (Thankfully it's just the filler neck tube, not the worst job in the world but $$).
The rear is still apart because life is busy and I still need to finish sealing up failed seams which are leaking when it rains. Now, I can confidently say the front is back together and it is definitely nice to drive a car that doesn't look like a baja buggy with the interior all stripped out! Cup holder is nice to have and so is the climate vent for those hot summer days. The 01-07 Highlander / 99-03 RX300 glovebox light with a 74 bulb was a nice touch too in order to complete the white LEDs I have for all the other interior lights. Now I have a matching glovebox bulb, with a proper switch as well so the darn thing isn't on all the time, it works too! There was even a hole cut out for it as if they scrapped the idea last minute - hilarious!
Next up was packing the other front door (passenger side) with sound deadening and investigating the rattling noise that was coming from it. It didn't take me very long to find out why either.
YUP! Believe it or not just like the trunk - this factory sound deadening is really cheap crap that disintegrated and was hanging on by a thread. Pretty lame as my 2002 Highlander has all the original sound deadening that is still holding strong to this day, but I digress. I ripped this junk out and packed it full of some Noico 80 mil butyl-based deadener, that stuff is awesome!
Next was swapping out the long factory antenna for a more sleek one from a Sienna. This ended up being a little bit of a disaster and a learning lesson, but I made it work at the end of the day. Basically, there are some shark fins available for our cars that retain the exact same connectors, etc and work well. However, I wanted something sleeker as I'd feel it would look a little off as it sits on the passenger side so I wanted to hide it as much as possible. This lead me to the 2015 Sienna one which is VERY low profile and a unassuming, unpainted black so it won't stick out at all.
Here's where the disaster comes in: The Sienna antenna uses a different mounting style so I had to grind down the extra pin/tab and level it flat like the stock RX antenna, this didn't put up a fight or take long as it is cast aluminum, but I can see this instantly turning a lot of people off from running one of these. Part 2 which is WAY worse is the fact that this isn't a full "proper" antenna, it's a satellite antenna strictly for GPS/NAV. While our RX's stock antenna has two wires, one for GPS AND an antenna one for your AM/FM radio stations. To add insult to injury, the connector was different on the Sienna antenna so I had to find a connector from the junkyard and wire it up to the RX. After that, I used a small marine dipole antenna and shoved it in the assembly, this was a PITA and didn't provide good FM coverage, but it worked fine for AM, I only use the radio for traffic anyway so this didn't matter much to me.
Looks good, but I basically sold my soul to get that darn thing to work!
Now for the fun stuff, SUSPENSION!
The final, original suspension component on my RX350 that I haven't changed yet were the rear sway bar end links. They're very loose, clunky and the boots are dried up so it's time for a nice upgrade! 2000-2011 Ford Focus (Delphi TC2022) alloy front end links on the back! Same 237mm size and M10 stud as stock so they're a direct fit! I found these after looking through a list of about 2,030 end links. Funny enough, the 2011-2018 Ford Fiesta ones were a direct for my 2002 Highlander, thanks Ford!
These links are a lot beefier than stock as they're designed for the front sway bar of another car. They're 13mm thick instead of 10mm, nearly half the weight, SUPER stiff and strong, cheap and they also have a 15mm welded at the back for easy installation and removal just like a Moog, except cheaper and maintenance free! These are objectively better than our factory end links in every way, they also have more threads on them so you can run a massive rear sway bar like the Addco 2109 and never worry about a nut coming loose!
Aluminum end link installed. You can also see I installed a 3-dot "camber correction" bolt at the rear for some rear camber adjustment. You will need the 08-09 RX struts and the 08-09 knuckles that have M17 bolts, or the 08-13 Highlander / 09-15 Venza knuckles which also use the larger front strut bolt size. These are an OEM product and are cheaper, stronger and are more simple to use than the aftermarket alternatives in my opinion. You can set them by loosening both strut bolts and pulling the knuckle out for more positive camber, or pushing it in for more negative camber. Any decent alignment shop can also adjust these with ease. I have the less aggressive 2-dot bolt up front as the rear needs a more adjustable bolt to achieve the same amount of negative camber. With these bolts, you can reach a negative camber of almost -2 on all four corners, or almost -3 up front with the 3-dot bolts. On the 08 RX I set mine to exactly -1 on all four and the handling and turn in is noticeably better, the Highlander is set to -1.75 in the front (bolt fully set to negative) and while the cornering and turn in is INSANE, it feels like a car with more aggressive camber and tracks a little as a result. I personally love it, but it's not for everyone. Since the RX is more comfort-oriented over the Highlander, the -1 camber feels basically stock with a bit more spice to it. These two setups suit each car respectively.
I also got an alignment after this and the car drives beautifully and confidently now with a 100% fully brand new suspension. The Moog 2011-2018 RAV4 greasable rear toe adjustment bolts worked perfectly, the 01-03 Highlander steering rack gave me no issues, and these camber bolts REALLY work! The car drives awesome now and is very comfy and capable at the same time, it's hard to believe how far it has come from stock already. I can't even imagine how good it'll be with a bigger rear sway bar and my equally as beefy custom rear sway bar brackets.
Next up: Dropping the headliner to do more sound deadening, finish sealing up and sound deadening the trunk and put the interior pieces back together, enjoy the car even more!
I have 2008 Rx 350 with 250k miles living in southern california. I probably need to do almost everything you did but havent. I did change spark plugs and serpentine belt at 125k. I had 3 bad ignition coils I replaced in front. Somehow the rear 3 are ok. My sway bar links and bushings are shot. I did do the end tire rods and 4 strut mounts in all corners and struts. I did fix oil cooler line which was dealer recall. I thought I had a bad power steering pump, but I just reclamped the hose and its fine. Funny story. I didnt even know drivers side had cup holder till several years I put my foot up because it hurt and accidentally made the cup holder pop out. Probably saved me of tempting me to bring along with me a coors light on the road.
The RX350 is finally fully back together and is so nice to drive! Not a single clunk or noise can be heard now and the ride is super smooth and quiet. I finished off the sound deadening with the rear doors, trunk, roof and wheel wells, it is on par with the 2014 now in terms of quietness, except with even less suspension noise. Pretty impressive because I have lowering springs on it and it still manages to be quieter over big bumps and handles far better. Overall, this car just knocks the socks off our 2014 in most ways except for a few creature comforts. Car handles very well for an SUV and is pretty similar to the Highlander except it's a little heavier and lacks the overall stiffness due to softer springs and struts. However, that's not what this car is for but it still manages to excel at it quite well and is a fun little car overall with the 2GR-FE power behind it. After taking the Highlander to Auto X with the larger sway bar, it's apparent that I need to get those brackets done ASAP, throw them on this car and the Highlander, and get a larger rear sway bar custom made for this. I can get that done quite easily, but I need to decide if I go with a 22mm or maybe step it up to a 24mm. I'll determine that after my next set of brackets goes on the Highlander and will see if there's enough of that sweet lift-oversteer that I remember having with the 22mm rear bar on. Maybe the one I'll get made for this RX will be adjustable so I can leave it in "street" mode and then adjust it to be stiffer if I ever want to take this thing to Auto X as well just for fun. Apart from that, I do also plan on getting some coilovers for the car down the line as well. Swapping between the strut/spring combo for winter, and running the coils in the summer to save them from corrosion and extra wear and tear.
As pictured: 99-03 RX300 armrest (left), 04-09 RX arm rest (right)
99-03 black RX300 armrests installed! 20 dollars pulled from the junkyard and a 100% direct fit! These resemble the 01-07 Highlander ones. They are bigger, longer and more padded than the worn out originals. These don't look as streamlined but I don't care because they are super plush!
Sealed up all the leaking, rusted areas, sanded them down then treated them with rust converter (this was before the paint)
Did the same for the trunk, these cars tend to suffer from this problem so it's worth taking a look at if you have it apart. I also took the time to sand down and paint the entire metal trunk threshold piece with a paint brush to breathe some new life into it
Dropped the headliner and sound deadened the entire roof. This was the most aggravating part of the interior section, but worth it at the end! I'd still say doing the wheel wells will make the biggest difference though
RX400h outer tail light adapter I made for a 100% P&P installation
RX400h inner tail light adapter. This one was a lot more simple as you can see!
RX400h tail lights installed! A nice touch! Still can't thank 01LEXPL enough for getting these to me and saving me a 5+ hr trip to the junkyard
Trunk is 100% cleaned and fully back together! It finally doesn't sound like a cargo van anymore while going down the road.
Next up: In preparation for winter, I will finally start wiring in the 2020 RX350 heated steering wheel and air bag!
The RX is doing pretty well right now. While the other cars have been problem free for some time now, I need to iron out a few more things on the RX. Some things I have completed in the meantime in order from the last post (all 2022):
- Fixes / Mods -
- Sept 21: Replaced broken cigarette lighter bezel with illuminated one from 2002 Highlander, it was pre-wired
- Oct 1: Deleted intake resonator near airbox
- Oct 19: Replaced driver's side cupholder / vent with good used junkyard one
- Oct 24: Replaced broken factory key with 89752-33070 for an IS300, it's almost half the price and a perfect fit for the RX350
- Nov 3: Installed factory spare tire w/ used mechanism from junkyard 2004 Highlander
- Nov 4, 2022: Installed HID headlights!
- Nov 8, 2022: Replaced exhaust rubber hangers
- Nov 22: Retrofit illuminated door sills (They weren't pre-wired on my car)
- Nov 23: Replaced exhaust gasket & hardware near catalytic converter
- Nov 25: Sealed seams on trunk to prevent water leaks
- Nov 26: Scored Weathertech front floor mats from a 2002 Highlander at the junkyard
- Nov 28: Installed RX400h rear aerodynamic covers
- Nov 29: Replaced driver's side RX400h outer taillight, everything works properly now!
- Nov 30: Replaced damaged telescopic steering column adjustment button
- Dec 12: Removed & bypassed VSV near intake airbox, deletion of airbox flap coming in 2023
- Dec 13: Installed 2020 RX350 heated steering wheel
- Dec 29: Installed 16mm 2004-2007 Highlander rear sway bar
- Future Plans -
- Retrofit 1999-2003 RX300 subwoofer like in the Highlander
- Install a nice touchscreen head unit
- Install Hyundai OEM trailing arm bushings
- Finish VSC off button
- Install power steering cooler
- Install factory front subframe cover / aero cover (behind engine cover)
- Make custom exhaust
- Coilovers
- Convert entire interior to LED like Highlander
- Change gauge cluster needles to red Lexus ES330 ones
- Complete version 2 of custom sway bar brackets
- Make custom rear sway bar - Fix problems!
- Problems -
- P0441 Incorrect Purge Flow (Confirmed purge valve is bad, new one on the way)
- P0430 Efficiency Below Threshold Bank 2 (Front cat seems to be going bad, looks like high-flows are happening a little sooner than anticipated)
- Transmission can misbehave itself a little when in cold weather in 1st gear, it'll slip up until 3k rpm until 2nd. Only happens once and never when it is warmer outside or if the trans is warmed up. This is currently the biggest issue with the car and is a little concerning to say the least. Let's hope I don't have to make a transmission replacement post down the line.
My RX 1-year anniversary is in 27 days! Do I regret anything? Heck no! I'm as glad now as the day I got this car. Here's to many more years! Happy New Year everyone!
Jan 7:
- Acquired WEAPON R 2011-2016 Sienna headers for my RX. This'll be fun! This is a response to my P0430
- Found another 99-03 RX300 subwoofer to retrofit into the RX350! I'll be using a Dayton CF120-4 4.5" woofer to replace the stock one
Jan 11:
- Completely deleted the intake VSV
- Removed the final intake resonator and replaced it with a small water drain.
Jan 12 (2 issues solved):
- Installed new purge valve. No more P0441!
- Did another trans fluid drain & fill. For a little while, the fluid was definitely on the low side which was leading to
slight slippage while cold. I shouldn't have blindy followed the FSM as my RX gobbled up a whole 4L like my Highlander while running at full temp before it was at the max line - WHOOPS! Issue solved though!
Jan 14:
- Picked up sweet Lexus OEM card holder and some red needles from a 2006 ES330!
- Picked up front and rear 2005-2012 Toyota Avalon JBL door speakers
Jan 21:
- Installed Avalon JBL speakers
- Soldered in 1206 SMD leds to make all window switches white (DIY COMING SOON!)
- Replaced damaged passenger rear arm rest (DIY COMING SOON!)
- Replaced chrome door handles w/ body coloured ones from 2006 RX400h
These JBLs add some clean bass and midrange to the base model RX's stock otherwise anemic system.
MUCH brighter and a better fit than the pukey yellow/green!
Door handles aside, those IS350 rear brakes are wearing in nicely! Got to love overkill
- Problems -
- P0430 Efficiency Below Threshold Bank 2 (With a solution already brewing!)
These little interior goodies should hold me off for now! They may seem small, but they really do add up and make daily-driving my RX even more enjoyable. Aside from that, it's going to be an absolute BLAST making the exhaust for this thing! Weapon R long tube headers with 1.75" primaries into a 2.25" merge, two Magnaflow 8" high flow cats, 2.25" true dual piping all the way w/ an x-pipe into a 22" resonator, then out the back into two Vibrant 15" mufflers and 9" 304 stainless Mustang GT exhaust tips. Can't wait!
RX ownership has passed a little over a year! In short: This has been a helluva good car! Does everything I need it to do and more and was as good as I imagined it could be. I've put it to work just like my Highlander and it hasn't complained at all. When I first got it, it ran terribly and had a bunch of issues, now I'd trust it to go anywhere on long trips just like my Highlander, despite this RX approaching 365k kilometres!
Still dealing with the P0430 but my gas mileage is still better than the recommended amount even with my lead foot, 245 tires and 87 octane fuel. The only other more pressing issue that I need to fix is a leaky oil cooler o-ring, but that'll get done when I do my headers as access to that area is a lot easier with the front manifold off. While I'm in there, I'm also going to be adding a power steering cooler as well so stay tuned for that! The thing that bugs me the most about this car is the power steering feel. Replacing the steering rack with a 2001-2003 Highlander one was a right step in the direction and gave me feedback, but the flow of fluid is still an issue so I also plan to try a bunch of different power steering pump flow control valves. I drove a friend's 2006 Chrysler 300C that I just did a bunch of work on and that steering feel from the pump is what I want in my RX. It's still a little light which is what I'd want in a DD, but you can't turn the wheel with one finger like you can in the RX. The 300's steering was more akin to my Highlander and uses the same pump body as my RX350. You already know I'm going to try it!
With that aside, I'm enjoying the 2005-2012 Avalon JBL door speakers quite a bit! The only other speakers from that car that are a direct fit on our RXs are the 3" rear quarter panel speakers which mount and plug into the front dash speakers. While they look and feel pretty high quality, I can't recommend them though as to put it bluntly - they just suck! I get that they're only a 3" and aren't going to hit lows or mids super well, but the highs are just plain muddy and the mids are lacking badly! You'd definitely need to add a crossover / capacitors / bass blockers or something to these too because they distort badly at lower frequencies. EDIT: ALL OF THESE ISSUES WERE SOLVED BY TAKING THE RESTRICTIVE FRONT DUST COVER OFF! Now they sound great! Now, I'm eyeing some 3.5" Infinity or JBL 2-way speakers. Drops right in without any brackets either. I'll be salvaging these JBLs for the connectors so I can make a P&P harness - so it's not all bad!
For the factory tweeters, these are pretty disappointing too, but I have found a drop-in solution that probably won't suck! They're JBL tweeters for the Toyota Harrier equivalent of our RXs in Japan! Same 4-pin connector that links them to the dash speakers, same bracket (except painted black) but with a nice aluminum JBL tweeter like the one you'd find in a Toyota Highlander! In my Highlander, these aluminum JBL tweeters sound fantastic and are strong, crisp and real heavy duty! You can feel how heavy duty they are in your hand even. This should be a good improvement but I have to wait in anticipation for them to ship! You can get these on eBay right now for super cheap! These older tweeters are better than the larger, more mid-oriented ones in the Avalon.
Toyota Harrier JBL pillar tweeter
Stock RX Pioneer pillar tweeter - Note how the bracket and connector are the same. I don't think I'll need to re-arrange the pins on the JBL tweeter but we'll see!
I also tried to see if the 1999-2003 RX300 4.5" underseat subwoofer would fit my RX and it was a total failure! Unlike my 2002 Highlander where it bolted right in, one of the bolt holes was occupied by the yaw rate sensor! I tried removing the sensor and while the speaker would bolt down, it didn't really mesh with the carpet very well. After trying to put the seat back in, the height adjustment motor would interfere with the little sub box too - it wasn't even close! That's a solid 3 reasons why it won't work which is just a shame! At least I can say it won't fit however. That is what motivated me to explore a bigger, rear sub.
As for a subwoofer, that's what I'm missing in my RX! I plan on stuffing an 8" low-profile subwoofer into this cavity in the rear trunk. This should be super stealthy and will let me retain my trunk space that I so badly need and frequently use on this car. This is actually exactly what my 2014 RX350 does except on the passenger side instead of the driver's side. While the factory 8" Mark Levinson sub on it could be better, it's definitely way better than nothing, and it bumps pretty good! It'll be more than enough for someone like me who isn't a bass head or audiophile.
That's it for now! Should have an update out when I do my dash speakers and JBL tweeters, also I'm going to try and retrofit a 2011-2017 CT200h / 2010-2014 IS250/IS350 illuminated mirror switch so stay tuned!
Great progress Matt! Bummer about the small sub but it wouldn't have compared to the new idea, maybe for the better
I thought about trying to fit a sub in that area but for the amount of time I drive vs hauling cargo, figured I would just remove the box when I need to move stuff.
I probably never would have known that the feel of the steering could be changed without your thread either, that's a tempting idea for later. Can't wait to see how else I'll benefit from your creativity
Thanks! Hearing how much the sub and the rest of the speakers changed your enjoyment while driving really pushed me to try and figure out how to get some bass and sound quality in this thing!
I can’t wait to mess with the power steering. The best part is this valve can be changed without removing the pump off the car!
07-13-22 | 03:59 PM
