timmui

I finally got the caliper replaced today along with getting soaked to the skin from a fast passing thunderstorm while putting it back together. Had to stay out there to bleed the brakes.

First thing I noticed while comparing the ease in moving the piston back and forth is that the remanufactured caliper piston moved very easily with two finger pressure. The one I removed required the piston clamp to push it back a mere 1/8"

Second, the intense heat caused the old pads to crack even with roughly 1/4" material left. The gaps in the pad were the cause of the high pitched squeal that I thought was the wear sensor.

Third, I saw that my RX has the 330 style washer, which looks like two washers joined by a post on one side. It may mean that these are interchangeable. I have yet to check the other side to see if it is the same because it really started to pour after I finished bleeding the left side. I went for a quick test drive and everything is much better with hardly any heat! This also means my front caliper on the same side will need to be replaced soon also.

Finally, I discovered two oval shaped openings near the rear lift points that look just like the jack pads I thought wouldn't have been added by Toyota.

I'll post some pictures later after I get showered.

timmui

Ok, attached, there should be three pictures. I haven't figured out how to put them in the message, so they only show at the bottom.

First picture is of the banjo bolt with newer style washer from the RX330, this was on the vehicle when I removed the bolt.

Second picture shows the new replacement pad clips provided by Bendix (left) and the original clips. These clips kept falling off even after I bent them a bit. Putting the pad in, knocked them off again! I ended up taking a wire brush to the old ones to remove most of the rust and put them back in. Fit snugly and didn't pop out when I put the pad in. And we won't go into their rust protective coating. I had to chase all three threads with the original screws to remove the coating inside the screw holes.

Last picture shows the cracks and the fact that the wear sensor still had rust on it, meaning it wasn't touching the rotor at all! I guess the previous owner used crappy pads. The caliper came with a cheap set of pads, so they went in for inspection purposes. I need to get me a set of Akebono ceramic pads stat!

I didn't think to get a good picture of the jack pad hole (hey, it was raining!) while the car was up on the jacks because they covered the holes. :

timmui

So a quick follow up on the removed caliper. I took the bleeder valve all the way out and found the entire lower portion had rust on it, including the area where the brake fluid would exit through the bleeder. I don't have any plans to pull the piston out, but peering inside the brake line opening made me think that some water worked its way inside that caliper and caused the piston to rust.

Seeing that the replacement caliper now has the same amount of heat coming off the rotor as the passenger side, I'm going to preemptively replace the front left caliper when it gets back from the body shop for the replacement windshield.

Also, checked the rotor thickness with a micrometer, and it showed 8.98 mm (should be 10mm), so I think that I'm going to save up some money and replace all of the rotors, pads and tires at once around the end of the summer.

fastnoypi

are you planning to get remanufactured calipers? or just rebuild them? If you have rust on the bottom of the bleeder, then the moisture is from not bleeding your brakes often. Brake fluid absorbs moisture right out of the air over time.

Since you see rust, id get a remanufactured caliper. They are around 85 plus your old caliper as core, then install and bleed. Saves you the time in the event that the pistons are really rusted as well.

timmui

Yup, ordered a Cardone remanufactured caliper from amazon today. I don't have access to the right facilities to remove all the rust and rebuild the caliper. Heck, I wished I even had a tent when that thunderstorm came rushing through during the last one! I picked it up for $101 (including sales tax), but no core charge. I figure the difference would be how much it would have cost me in shipping it back. Local parts store wanted $95 plus core and taxes.

As for moisture in the brake fluid, I've only owned this RX for barely six months when I noticed the issues with the rear caliper. I can't speak to what the previous owner did for maintenance. From what records he gave me, it was intermittent at best.

FWIW, when I changed out the dino oil this past week at the 3k interval according to the sticker on the windshield, it was black and short by full quart. I added some engine treatment along with the synthetic oil (all I had on hand from when I still had my ES) and plan to change it out again around 2k miles.

Had some issues with the way the highly recommended auto body shop did the windshield repair, and need to discuss it with them today. Idiots scratched up the hood and left sealant all over the place!

fastnoypi

It not an usual thing for brake fluid to go unattended to, even if you get serviced regularly at your dealership. With these cars, usually they just do an oil change, new air filter and fill your tires.

Usually they will only attend to your brakes if you go out of the way to complain about pedal pressure or any brake related noises.

I just spoke to a Stoptech/Centric rep regarding rebuilding calipers. He mentioned to me for optimal brake maintenance, seals and dust boots should be inspected/replaced every 6 years under hard driving to prevent sticking pistons. Good thing seals/dustboots are cheap if you're a do it yourselfer.
Of course he's in the business of selling brake parts so take it with a grain of salt.

timmui

Yeah, I will admit I never thought about them until I had a caliper freeze on me in my ES. I was quite put out with the local Lexus dealership when they "flushed" my brake lines along with the caliper replacement and the brake light was still on. The service manager and lead mechanic told me there was debris in the sensor and it would cost another $150 plus labor to replace the entire reservoir. The fluid was black as used oil after supposed flush. A turkey baster and fresh fluid fixed that light and cost me $8. It's the last time I'll ever got to that dealership for service.

I tend to agree with inspecting them, more often than 6 years. Peace of mind on such a critical safety system instead of the "Oh sh--!" on impact because you didn't.

timmui

Inspection passed! Front caliper arrives tomorrow. This time, I'll take pictures of the replacement process, weather permitting.

gazi001

I got the Goodridge Stainless steel brake hoses yesterday with banjo bolts, washers. I will upgrade front and rear stock brake lines. I think I could post the DIY here instead of open a new thread. Here some pictures of steel hoses. I will post details with picture when I done.

fastnoypi

Nice lines! How much were the set?

I have these on my Subaru.
Just an install tip, spray a little pb blaster where your hardlines and old brake line meet. Spraying the joint may help give the flare nut a chance.They might be tough to crack loose.

gazi001

I paid about $129.00 from FRsports.com

timmui

Very cool. I've been contemplating doing a brake line replacement with the caliper replacement but nixed it when the local Lexus dealer quoted me $68 for the one I was working on. I'm happy to see that they even have the strut mounts for the rear lines. I might do this swap in the future. I'm looking forward to more pictures of what you did to swap them.

So, I did a quick total of my expenditures for both driver side calipers, brake fluid, oil change and a few tools I didn't own for this repair: $350.00 The last time the dealer replaced one caliper and "flushed" the brake lines for my ES300: $788.00 Multiply this dealer price by two calipers and we're over $1500. Free coffee, bagels, and a loaner vehicle don't justify the cost to me anymore. I spent more time jabbering with my neighbor during the first caliper than it took me to swap it out and I hadn't ever done it before!

The front caliper arrived too late today to put in, but I was pleased to see that Cardone included the correct OEM brake pad clips along with copper crush washers for the brake line fitting. Ironically, the forecast for tomorrow is thunderstorms. Looks like I'm getting soaked during both caliper replacements.

timmui

Good news! Front caliper is done and I did not get caught out in another thunderstorm. Approximately 3 hours to do, taking my time and taking pictures while I was doing the swap. This includes 30 minutes talking with the neighbor after he saw me under my RX again!

Pictures of the actual swap to follow. Here are the pictures of the jack pad openings I was talking about earlier, first being the front, second being the rear. You can see the damage done to my pinch welds at the rear point. Sadly, this is how I got it from the original owner.

timmui

Here is a picture of the Cardone Front caliper. This is an "unloaded" caliper meaning it is only supposed to only be the caliper. When I opened the box, I realized that I actually received a "semi-loaded" caliper because it has hardware (little plastic bag) and the mounting bracket that the caliper attaches to. A pleasant surprise.

timmui

These are the tools I used:

1/4" drive ratchet
3/8" drive ratchet
1/2" drive ratchet
1/2" drive breaker bar
6" adjustable crescent wrench
fuel line hose clamp
brake bleeding kit
persuasion tool (I mean 3lb dead blow hammer )

Sockets:
8mm 1/4" drive for bleeder valve
14mm 3/8" drive for banjo bolt and caliper bolts
17mm 1/2" drive for mounting bracket bolts

Persuasion tool, 1/4" ratchet and 8mm socket are optional. But if you have a frozen caliper like I did, the persuasion tool will help knock the caliper off the rotor. My bleeder valve was very rusty and the ratchet was helpful.

For the rear caliper, you will also need these additional tools:
6" extension for 3/8" drive (to get at bracket bolts)
1/2" to 3/8" step down adapter

Sockets:
12mm 3/8" drive for caliper bolt (bracket bolts are 14mm)

Supplies:
DOT 3 brake fluid (1 quart is plenty)
shop towels
newspaper
brake cleaner in spray can
penetrating oil in spray can

I did my repair on the curb, so I forwent the newspaper since it was slightly windy. If you're indoors and don't want to do a lot of clean up, use the newspaper under the rotor because once the brake line is disconnected, brake fluid is going to get everywhere.

Now for the picture, note that the bottle with the hose sticking out is my home made bleeding bottle: