RXISGS

I bought a 2007 RX 350 a month or so ago and have noticed fairly loud tire noise from the front. The old front tires were worn, so I picked up a new set of two front Kumho tires, but it was basically the same. I assumed the Kumhos may just be noisy, so I swapped the nicer rear Yokohama tires to the front and didn't notice a difference, either.

Today, I started thinking that the wheel bearings may be bad. I jacked up the car and tried to move the wheels at 9&3 and 12&6, but noticed no free play. I spun the wheel while in the air as fast as possible, but they spun smoothly with no rough noises. So, I'm a hesitant to spend the money and time throwing parts at the car that may be unnecessary.

Anyone else notice road noise from the front? It's not excessively loud, but it just seems a bit loud for a Lexus.

Lexuswiz

iTrader: (1)

Bearings will roar as you pickup speed, if you notice it comes and goes with speed, most likely bearings. I doubt this is what you have but I blew the transfer case on my RX330 and that made a weird road noise only in a certain speed range, I borrowed a lift and used a long screwdriver to isolate this noise while spinning all 4 wheels.

I'd suggest to get it on a lift and test it to really pinpoint before throwing parts at it.

RXISGS

Thanks. Yeah, I forgot to mention that mine is just FWD. I expected to notice some kind of deterioration while the car was jacked up, but the bearings may just be in the early stages of wear. I'll monitor for now and see if I can swap all tires temporarily to rule that out.

Margate330

I hear almost none on mine unless I am on a bad road.

Running Toyos on the front.

RXISGS

Yeah, I'm thinking that something abnormal is going on. The noise doesn't change much regardless of pavement, so probably unrelated to tires.

On wheel bearings, is it easy enough to swap just the bearing with rental tools from the auto parts store? I see complete assemblies, bearing/hub/lock ring kits, and bearings sold alone. Does the hub need to be replaced along with the new bearing?

Lexuswiz

iTrader: (1)

Front bearings have to be pressed out. I changed my rears and those can come as a preassembled hub.

Margate330

For front bearings

That's one job I would hire out because I have a hydraulic press but being my only car I'd probably buy some
quality Timken bearings and let someone press them in for me because of the awkward shape of the
knuckle and wondering if I'm set up to properly hold it for pressing.

Hate to be half way thru and ruin the bearing trying to get it out and now I'm stranded. lol

RXISGS

Yes, good advice. I was able to get the hub off, but the rental tools I had couldn't get the bearing to budge. Like you said, the awkward shape of the knuckle makes it a challenge to work with. After hours of frustration, I dropped the money on a complete front hub assembly for the passenger side. This side had a bad CV axle that was vibrating really bad when I bought the car, so I figured that may have contributed to a failed wheel bearing.

I was in a similar situation. If I didn't need the car for a 500 mile road trip tomorrow, I may have tried taking the spindle/knuckle to a shop to do the pressing, but I was running out of time.

Still not 100% sure that it resolved the issue, but it seems less noticeable so far. The driver's side may also need replacement since I have 170k and the passenger's side looked original.

Margate330

Can you plz follow up and let us know how you like the complete assembly after some miles, ease of installation, how much it cost and do a review for us?
I'm guessing they maybe have a cheaper bearing than the Timken but the convenience of not pressing in new bearings might be worth it.

Lexuswiz mentioned an assembly was available for the back if I understand correctly and that's sounding quite attractive to me should my bearings go out.

RXISGS

Cost just depends on which brand you get. I was in a bind time-wise and had to buy a Dorman locally for $350. Rock Auto has many options starting at $125. The Dorman and Moog are around $250 on there.

Installation is straightforward. I just had my front suspension apart to replace the CV axles, so it was fresh in my memory. Jack up one side, block vehicle from rolling, remove wheel, loosen axle nut, remove 2 brake caliper bolts from knuckle and tie out of way, remove brake rotor, remove tie rod nut, remove speed sensor bolt and unlatch plastic clip, remove 2 large bolts from strut mount, remove 2 nuts/1 bolt from lower ball joint bracket, and remove knuckle. You will need to either replace the ball joint or transfer over the old one. Make sure you torque the bolt on the joint down before installing or the CV axle will be in the way. If you have both front wheels up, you won't be able to loosen or tighten the axle nut unless you have someone to hold the brake (and caliper is still on disc). I just jacked up one side, but make sure you have a stable jack since the other wheel will try to move and shift the vehicle. Otherwise, you can just loosen with tire on ground through wheel center cap, I believe.

I need to install the driver's side, but I ordered it online so it will be a few days. I'll try to take some pics when I do.

I put 600 miles on it yesterday which was the reason why I had to get it back together quickly. Fine so far but I'll post updates if anything happens.