brianmch

+1 on the Alenza HL's. They are a little noisy but not roaring.

80es300

Did you check for any play on tire when jacked up? I had similar issue on my es300 and it was from worn out lower control arms

SkiMe

I did jack up the vehicle on each side and tried moving the tire up and down (and side to side). No play in there and feels tight.


Wife took the car to Idaho (was originally planning on Suburban), so I won't be able to dig into it until she returns (end of July). So this thing is going to have to wait a bit. Thanks for everyone's input. I will drill into the tires more. This vehicle eats tires quickly! I've been through several sets with Discount Tire.....

brianmch

Shouldn't eat tires too badly unless there are 4 issues:

1-tires have a short tread life by spec
2-mis-aligned
3-suspension problem
4-install shop sets them up wrong or does #2 or #3 above to sell you more tires!

The Alenzas at 150K are the third set to go onto my RX. That's about 75K per set which I think is pretty reasonable.

And regarding #4, I was told to take my LS to "the alignment guy" everyone raved about. Well, he screwed my LS up so bad I had to replace a BRAND NEW SET OF MICHELINS AFTER 10k. $800 spent for a jacked up $80 alignment. Well, it wasn't their fault, of course! But the car had never eaten tires and hasn't since then either.

SkiMe

It's been awhile since I've thought about this, but I guess that tells you how much we drive this car. We contemplated selling the vehicle as we just hit 166k, but after looking at the price of newer cars $30k+, we've decided to keep it a bit longer and put a little more money into it.

My last oil service at Toyota, they noted that the brake pads were almost up so probably need new brakes fairly soon. So, I've decided to replace the rear wheel bearings for each side and then go ahead and replace the brakes while I'm in there.

Called a shop how much to turn the rotors, $15 each. Amazon NEW rotors are $21 and $27....so I opted to get 4 new rotors too. Got two new NSK wheel hubs and some Wagner Thermo quiet Pads.

I'll be putting everything on tomorrow. Putting in another $285 in parts, I think, is a good investment! Hope it fixes the small vibration (rear bearings)!

SkiMe

Also, just as an FYI, my wife did test drive a few vehicles. Mainly, 2015 Acura MDX. Her conclusion, it's not as quick as her 400h! I look at the 0-60 times for the 400h and MDX, and they are pretty close to one another. I think what she's missing is the instant torque. The 400h just takes off like a rocket and she loves that. Even the new 450h's are a touch slower in their 0-60 times than the 07' 400h. Amazing.

Similar fast vehicles base on 0-60's:
2007 400h - 6.5 sec
2014 X5 5.0i - 4.6 sec
2016 MDX - 5.9 sec
2016 Q5 2.0T - 6.9 sec
2011 Touareg Hybrid - 5.8 sec
2016 XC90 T6 - 6.0 sec
2016 Forester 2.0XT - 6.3 sec

SkiMe

Can anyone confirm the torque needed for the 32MM nut? Napa that I got the wheel bearing from says 217 ft-lbs.

Thanks!

SkiMe

Well, I'm 95% done and all is good! I decided to do a brake job at the same time just for good measure. My only problem at this point is the bearing Hub Nut. I didn't want to re-use the old one because it was bent purposely to lock it into place. I had to bend it back enough so I could take the nut off without destroying the threads. I just thought I could pop down to the Auto Parts store to get two new ones but I guess they are pretty hard to get. O'Reilly's was able to get two shipped down from Billings, MT (600 miles away) and will be here in the morning. Napa out, Autozone out, Advance Auto out.....so luckily I found one within a day.

I went ahead and put on the new rear hubs, 4 disc rotors and new Wagner pads all the way around.

Conclusion: Rear hubs were shot! They both had some play in them....side to side and slightly up and down. Overall, just loose and definitely not like the new ones! So I am pretty hopeful this will fix my problem. Tomorrow will tell.

Also, I somehow only ordered 1 hub from Amazon instead of 2. Brain fart I guess! Anyways, went to Napa and got another one that was labeled "SKF" on the box and warranty card. Amazon was "NSK". When I opened them both up, they were identical and they both were stamped "NSK".....so I guess they are one in the same.

The original one I took off was labeled Koyo, 30ACF0370-2, Made in Japan.

thomas1

217 foot lbs is correct for front hubs nuts. Don't forget to dimple the locking nut in the grove after tightening.....

SkiMe

Got it all back together and just bedded the brakes.....awesome! What a change from my old K5 to this thing. Stops so quickly!

I'll test it out on the freeway tomorrow to see if the vibration is gone but I'm hopeful.

One thing I noticed.....the directions I found (which were written quite well) noted the socket being a 32, 12 point deep socket. What I found was it actually is a 30, 12 point deep socket.

Sevenfold

The other thing you might want to have a close look at is your front lower control arm bushings.

If the look like they are cracking, might be time to replace them. This could cause a vibration issue at high way speeds.

SkiMe

That was the next thing on my list. I do now recall a lot of people commenting that the bushings were on their list for replacement. So I did glance at the front ones and I do see some rubber deterioration. Thanks!

SkiMe

Here are a few pics I took while installing.

I used a prybar to remove the backing plate from the mounting flange:

Sevenfold

I just replaced mine, twice, and it helped tighten up the front end.

If you do replace the bushings, I would recommend NOT getting Whiteline Performance Bushings.

Stick with a standard rubber style bushing. I installed some Whiteline bushings, as per their instructions, and they failed 4 weeks later.

This time around I went with MOOG Bushings PN# K200780

SkiMe

I really did have to beat on the backside of the hub assembly to get it to break free from the backing plate once off the car. But it did eventually come off.

Here are the old hubs with the gap play....