sunnyside

I finally figured out that the clunking from the rear of my 2014 RX350 is lilely worn out stabilizer bar bushings. The repair looks simple. Has anyone changed these with the wt. the wheels or is it easier to jack the car and take off the wheel?

RX in NC

I have not had to replace the sway bar bushings on my wife's 2015 RX350 FWD yet, but every other vehicle I have done this job on has always been much easier to jack up the vehicle. In some cases it was also easier to go ahead and remove the wheel also.

MattRX

I was able to change them on my Highlander and older RX without even jacking the cars up even though they're lowered w/ lowering springs. The newer RX looks even easier as it has more ground clearance and the bar is even easier to access. I would be careful and soak with penetrating oil and heat before removal though. If the studs break off, they don't look easy to deal with like on the older cars where the bracket can be replaced or drilled out - it's mounted to the subframe on these newer RX.

Clutchless

To make sure we are talking about the same thing, as the bushings rarely fail but the end links are known to fail as they are under more stress.
The end links are the things at each end of the sway bar that connect to the vehicle. If you grab them and pull back and forth and they rattle or move, they are likely bad.
The bushings are the 2 black rubber things in the center of the bar where it bolts to the frame.

To replace the bushings you can just lay under the car and remove the 2 bolts that hold each one and swap them out. It only takes a few minutes if the bolts cooperate. Always spray with PB Blaster the day before and when starting the job. That is all I did when I swapped the factory bushings for polyurethane ones.
To replace the endlinks, follow the recommendations above and spray them with PB Blaster the day before to loosen the bolts & nuts.

sunnyside

Thanks for the advice. I may Jack the car up and rattle the bar to see if the link on the right has failed. I just took this car on an 800 mile trip and fell in love with it again. We have been traveling in our F150 hybrid since we bought it to tow a travel trailer. Love the truck and all of its tech. Now the 350 feels like a sports car.

Johnsboy

I think I have the same issue. I have posted before. Tried the sway bar end links and new shocks. Noise still there.
have you found a place to buy the rear bushings for a 2014 RX350 base model that isn’t at the Lexus dealer?

Clutchless

If the bushings appear intact and the sway bar when grabbed and pulled does not move, then the rear sway bar bushings are fine. These bushings rarely fail. It appears OEM is the only source these days.

I suspect your issue is the rear trailing arms bushings. This is a common issue with age and mileage. You need to replace both rear trailing arms. You first need a correct diagnosis before throwing more parts at it.

I got the Mevotech Supreme ones from Rock Auto, however, removal and installation is a pain without a lift and you need lots of tools and a torque wrench to do this properly. It would not take an independent repair shop more than a couple of hours to replace them.

​​​​​​https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...n-threado.html

Johnsboy

I would have thought the the garage I took it to 1st that changed out the end links no fix. Then Lexus dealership had to hook up microphones and came up with shocks which I had replaced but no luck. Only around 55000 miles on our RX.
I am just going by listening to YouTube on the sound bad sway bar bushings make.
is there a way to check the rear trailing arms bushings?

Clutchless

As you have found out, tracking down suspension noises is not easy and can lead to many attempts which fail to eliminate the noise. It may or may not be the trailing arms.

Try spraying silicone on the trailing arm bushings and see if they are quieter. Some just do that every few months to keep the noise down. See the link above for photos.

Johnsboy

Thank you I will give it a try. It can’t hurt and maybe the issue.

Clutchless

See this old and large thread on the subject of noises from the rear. https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...n-threado.html