sderman

Last year I found that new 07RX and (07ES) rotors from Sewell (with Club Lexus pricing) was less expensive than having our Lexus dealer machine the old rotors.

arsharp84

Hello,

I'm getting ready to attempt replacing the front/rear brakes and rotors on my wife's RX330. There is some noticeable shuttering when braking, i may start with the front and see if that improves the pulsation and quit while i'm ahead. My main question, when pushing the calipers down to fit the new pads back in, there seems to be debate about whether or not this will damage the master cylinder, i'm wanting to know is that a valid/realistic concern? I see most people have not had an issue but the fact that anybody brings its up makes me curious. I know some people recommend bleeding the brakes. I'm just trying to get an idea for whats the best and potentially safest way to avoid issue. Eric the Car Guy employs this method where he pinches the main brake line off, opens the bleeder valve and lets the old fluid from compressing the piston go into a soda bottle. I guess another question to ask , is if i wanted to go ahead and replace the brake fluid too while i'm doing this, is there an order of operations? I have an ES330 myself so i know most of the maintenance between the ES/RX 330 is transferable so this would be great info to have.
Thanks for all of the great info on this form.

shikbas

Do not worry
If you are there already replace all the rubber bushing put new grease for the pins with the little ring bushings first clean its housing on the caliper push the bushings first with the bolt that has no bushing should be the upper one then slide the greased bolts other wise it will trap air and will not stay in

mandyfig

Bleeding of brakes, check the quality or condition of the fluid, if it is all clear, you are good. If murky or dull, you need a flush. Remember brake fluid absorbs water. Once it is exposed to the atmosphere and it is humid, it will absorb humidity. It loses the integrity and as a result when compressed, it does not transmit the full force. Hence the bleeding process is recommended. There is a warning on brake fluid bottles, check it out, once opened it has a shorter life cycle.

arsharp84

Thanks for all of the info. Still wondering about what's best when pushing the calipers back in. I've seen others post about possibly damaging the master cylinder with that backward pressure. If that's a valid concern, what's the correct way to go about doing that? I've seen other posts/videos where they're not clamping the brake line but leaving the bleeder open while they push the piston back in and replacing fluid in the master cylinder as the go around.

Barry2522

A trick I use it to use a flat screwdriver or pry bar between the inside pad and the rotor gently work in and push the pad back the piston will slid right back in the caliper . If your not changing pads be careful not to chip the pad . Do this before you unbolt everything . I would see if reservoir is down a little on fluid should be no problem . If its full suck a little out .

shikbas

I just use an old brake pad and a c clamp to push the piston,,,,no problems

arsharp84

Thanks everyone, i understand the process of using a c clamp, old pad, etc. I was more curious about why some people say you're putting the master cylinder at risk when you push that piston back. It seems to be the common way to do it though so obviously more people than not dont have a problem with it.

Neofate

iTrader: (1)

A bit late.. but for future readers.... There is no danger in Pushing the Caliper Piston back in -- Just a few things you need to do:

1) Make sure the master cylinder cap is off. That pressure has to go somewhere.

2) Don't use a screwdriver, or C-clamp directly on the Piston.. this can damage.

3) A great method I often use, and many shade tree mechanics use.. Is take the pad you pulled off .. Put it against the Piston (just as it would normally sit as the Piston compresses the brake pads), Ensuring you have a full even flat pressure against the Piston itself, and then use a c-clamp to slowly/gently push the Piston back to even (or enough to fit your new pads).

4) Don't over-do the compression of the piston back into the body. Just twist the c-clamp against the old brake pad against the Caliper until it looks relatively close to even with the caliper housing itself (There is a little room where the piston can be out a mm or two from flush and new pads will fit just fine).

I've changed the Rotors and Pads on a Lexus RX 330, and LS 400 many, many times over the years and never experienced any problem with this method. On some other vehicles the pistons aren't designed to simple be pressed inward like this and require a certain tool to turn them back in, etc.. But in the case of the Rx 330.. It's just fine to do it in the aforementioned way.

I just changed the Rotors and Pads on a 2006 Lexus Rx 330 yesterday and here is a picture after I had the caliper off and old rotor off -- With bungee cord holding the Caliper up.



Click thumbnail to see full picture Above.

Sometimes the Old rotors on these cars require two 8mm x 1.25 pitch bolts to remove,.. and sometimes, as was the case for me yesterday,. The rotors come off on their own.

For anyone thinking about doing a brake job on this particular vehicle,.. it's very easy, and very very straight forward. I only recommend that if you are replacing the Rotors,.. To buy OEM Toyota/Lexus -- And For pads choose what you like.. In my case I found a good deal on New Lexus OEM Rotors and Lexus OEM Pads for $190 (Front). Otherwise I would have likely gone with a different Pad.

Take care,

GearHead36

I just went through this thread. Twice. And wasn't able to find P/N's for the brake pads. Since I researched it, and found the P/N's, I thought I'd share. Especially since I DID find lots of useful info in this thread on torque specs.

2004 RX330
Front pads: 04465-48100
Rear pads: 04466-48060

omsok

mandyfig

Amazon...it will tell you if they are OEM. Of course you can get them direct from the Lexus dealer. You can try to price them up here: mylparts.com

Good luck.

BBJdriver

We have owned our 2009 RX350 for 8 years now (bought it 2 years old). I have serviced the front brakes a couple times and rear brakes once. The Lexus Brake Parts are interchangeable with TOYOTA Parts. When you get parts from Lexus, they will likely be in Toyota boxes. The '09 RX350 brake parts are interchangeable with the Toyota Highlander.

I reference https://parts.lexus.com/ to look up the parts I need and then enter the part numbers into https://partsbarn.sunnysidetoyota.com/

I've found SunnySide to be much more affordable than any Lexus parts suppliers. On occasion, Rock Auto carries OEM parts, but more for things like plugs and sensors which are made by third party vendors and retain their own label even on the part for the Toyota Label like Denso or NGK. But I digress,

If you're desire is to retain OEM parts on your vehicle, this approach to obtaining parts may be helpful for you.
Personally, we use OEM brands for our Lexus as we love the Toyota/Lexus reliability and quality and the Lexus ride. So to retain these, we've chosen to remain with OEM, though others may find more cost efficient non OEM parts provide a quality they are happy with too.