cmichael

Well, I finally got around to installing the wide armrests that I ordered last month. To say that they were easy to install would be a gross understatement. The most difficult part was loosening the old bolts on the exisiting armrests. After that, it was a snap.

When I opened the box with the new armrests, I thought they looked a little dry (sat in the box for a month) so I wiped them down with Leather Master Leather Vital followed in one hour by Leather Master Leather Protector. It's much easier to do it before they are installed.


Required tools are a rachet set with extension bar and 1/2, 9/16 and 11/16
sockets.


Here are the old armrests before removal


Just a heads up that I'm selling my RX350 and have put the arm rests on ebay to sell.



Here's the new armrest on the seat..Good color match


After removing the driver's side armrest, I noted that the area around the old bracket was dirty so I cleaned it with Leather Master Soft Cleaner, followed by Leather Vital


The new bracket installed. The brass bolt holds the bracket on and there is a small hole in the top left corner of the bracket that fits over a small bolt to hold the bracket in place. Notice the piece that extends out in the bottom left corner of the bracket. View the next picture to see how that works.


Unzip the new armrest zipper about halfway to expose the hole. Slip the armrest on the extended piece and wiggle it a few times to get it snug up against the seat. Then insert the bolt though the exposed hole and tighten. Make sure it is tight enough so that the armrest will remain in the upright position, but not so tight that you can't move it.


After the first armrest is installed, follow the same procedure for the passenger's side






I can't wait to try them out on an extended drive.

Carver

Nice tutorial. I'll wager it took longer to do the photo shoot than the actual installation.

Mine were a little dry as well so I did three coats of Leatherique over a couple of days prior to installation. Enjoy, they just get better. I find I leave the drivers up and use the passenger rest.

Rainbird

They look very nice. Do these interfere with access to the center console? I am somewhat surprised that the sockets required were SAE and not metric.

mandyfig

Where did you get them and how much? Thanks.

cmichael

http://www.jjproducts.net/jj_product...ota/index.html

$249

cmichael

They do cut off about the rear half of the console; however, I didn't find it problematic. Having the wider armrest was worth it.

The 9/16 was to remove the old bolt. The 11/16 was the brass bolt and the 1/2 was the bolt that went through the armrest into the new bracket.

cmichael

Interesting. I'm 6'3" and that might be more comfortable.
BTW...your o5 330 looks really nice.

Carver

Thanks! I hope I don't wear the paint off with the constant washing. As you've probably observed, you have to lift the drivers to fasten the seat belt so I quickly got lazy and used the passenger, I'm a big boy as well and it fits nicely.

biff44

You should have used some locktite on the thread when re-installing.

infinirx

Def. getting this Thanks for the DIY

tfischer

Also, JJ Products also still sells the original one piece even wider arm rest for the driver's side only. I have had this one since they went on the market, and perhaps it might be a little more convenient for access to the center storage, as there is only one rest to lift up.

willyb0b

so your interior color is obviously tan/khaki/taupe (whichever you want to call it).

i have the same interior color on my 09 rx350.

so what color did you select from JJ products when u ordered? Was it the "Ivory (Beige) Leather" ???

cmichael

Mine has the ivory/cashmere/ecru interior so I selected the ivory beige from the dropdown list.

MMS4MSU

@cmichael
Great TUT. Your armrest appear to be evenly separated, mine have a wide gap between the ends away from the seats. Did you adjust them in some way?

cmichael

Not really. When I first slid them on to the brackets, I had to wiggle them as I pushed them on so that they were snug up against the sides of the seats. Then I just inserted and tightened the bolt.