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I have a gen 3 RX and a gen 1 Highlander - which shares the platform and most parts with a gen 2 RX.
I am contemplating doing the gen 3 upgrade on my Highlander, have you been able to fit bigger rear brakes as well? Going to do it for sure when I toss my 16s as they won’t clear the brakes.
I looked into the gen3 rear brakes......Yea it can be done, but its more work......What I found is besides the 11.3'' vs 12.1'' diameter as well as a little bigger pads, but the hat for the parking brake is a little bigger diameter, meaning you'll need to swap out the parking shoes as the gen3 shoes are longer for the bigger diameter hat, which you'll need to swap out the backing plate as well....I'd also think you'd need to lengthen the parking cable thru adjustment as well.....Possibly you can use the original gen2 backing plate, whether you need to fab or modify it....I don't get why Toyota changed out the parking brake size as they could deleted additional parts differences. It'd be one thing if it wasn't for the parking brake differences as I would of possibly done it...What I found is the gen3 brakes make a bigger difference in pedal feel as well better braking performance, yea it does add more unsprung weight thou....I really would have thought the calipers would have been punched out of aluminum, but not, then add addition wheel & tire mass as well as weight, at least the front bearings will take the additional weight & corning loads, like a gen3. Possibly you can bust down a corner of both your vehicles to see what it'll take as far as the backing plate goes.
Just found out the 2008-2013 Highlander rear rotor is the same size as the 3rd gen but has the smaller hat and shares the exact parking brake that the 2nd gen RX uses.
2010+ RX and 2014+ HL have the larger hat for the newer, larger parking brake.
Just found out the 2008-2013 Highlander rear rotor is the same size as the 3rd gen but has the smaller hat and shares the exact parking brake that the 2nd gen RX uses.
2010+ RX and 2014+ HL have the larger hat for the newer, larger parking brake.
Thats great, I'll have to check that out....Wow, Wonder what Toyota was thinking? With that said, I really wouldn't think it has another to do weight wise...
Well the oreilly's site does say that the parking brake shoes are the same 7.48'' x 1.03'' #851 for a gen2 rx as a '10 Highlander.......Now I'll need to measure the caliper mounting distance, which I'm sure the later caliper will bolt up. Then its just a matter of another pr of reman calipers, pads & rotors as like the front.....I was really working on a set of 255 tires thou......
I made a mistake! You live and you learn I suppose. I ordered a FWD 3rd gen RX sway bar instead of an AWD one and that is why the bar was contacting the transfer case. 1999-2009 RX all have the same dimensions for the front transfer case so I was incorrect there as well. What messed me up was the fact that the 2nd gen RX and 1st gen Highlander sway bars are all in the "AWD configuration" where they have a big hump to clear the transfer case. Toyota changed that with the 2nd & 3rd gen Highlander / 3rd gen RX when they split the two bars up into separate versions. The FWD version having an orange stripe on the driver's side, and being flatter due to no transfer case, and then the AWD version which has a white stripe and a shape that resembles the 2nd gen bar almost perfectly. You'll still need those 2013-2018 ES350 end links however. Long story short, I have been running without a rear sway bar and the stock rear sway bar (unintentional testing - my bracket broke) and it's safe to say that this is an upgrade worth doing even if you plan on keeping the stock rear sway bar! I wouldn't recommend it on FWD models though because they have enough understeer to deal with.
After installing a 22.2mm Addco rear sway bar on my '02 Highlander, it handled a lot better, but it felt loose up front and I figured the front could be beefed up a little. Looking at both of the front sway bars on my 2014 RX and my 2002 HL, they appear to be almost the exact same shape. I could have tried the 25mm Cusco one (#: 924 311 A25) for the 2RX, but I didn't want to make an expensive mistake if it didn't fit. I measured both of them with a caliper to see if there was a difference. The RX sway bar is 26mm, and the Highlander one is 23mm. Knowing that the 1st gen Highlander has practically identical suspension (and much more) to the 2RX, I decided to confirm it and did a bit of searching. As I thought, the 2RX indeed shares the exact same front sway bar as the 2004-2007 Highlander. After some eBay searching, my '02 Highlander shares everything else with the 04-07 and 2RX, except that the sway bar has a slightly larger hump to accommodate the older, seemingly taller transfer case. There's no way it would fit the 400h as that has a drastically different-shaped front bar, but also uses the same brackets, bushings and end links.
After my power steering rack failed, I went to the junkyard and got a used one then I decided to just chance it and order a front sway bar from a 3RX. I figured I'd chance it because I was going to be in there anyway. This bar is also shared with the 2008-2019 Highlander, but I chose this particular bar for its great price and condition. The 4RX actually has a slightly larger 28.5mm sway bar, but they were outrageously priced, and I didn't want to make the car understeery like before, so this was a happy medium. When the bar arrived, the brackets were slightly too short - so you'll have to reuse your old ones. The bushings on the other hand were practically identical in size to my original 23mm Highlander ones, except they had a little rubber nipple on the bottom that had to be ground off. After this, they fit the original brackets almost too perfectly.
Original 23mm bushings
26mm 3RX bushings
I yanked my original sway bar out and lined it up with the 3RX one, I noticed that the bushing clamps were in the exact same place. However, I also noticed that the 3RX bar was actually physically wider, I'm guessing due to the 3RX being wider and having more spaced out front struts compared to what is used on the 2RX and the 1st gen HL. You'll see this cause me a minor problem down the road.
The sway bar actually bolted right into the car seemingly perfectly, wow! But... unfortunately it was too good to be true - for now. The bar was contacting the t-case and I since I was so deep in the creek, I decided to grind down the top cooling fin of the case to get it to fit. After all of that, I was presented with a SECOND problem. The front sway bar end links would rub against the strut if I turned the wheel too sharply! Looks like it was time to make another guess and after some Rockauto scrounging, I ordered some 2013-2018 ES350 (MOOG K750123) end links to hopefully push the end link away from the strut!
Well, that ended up working and it has been over two months now without any clunking, rubbing or contact of any kind! The 26/22.2 setup is in my opinion, what should have came from the car from the factory! The SUV feels noticeably more stiff up front, without any noticeable increase in understeer, and far more stable as well as planted - a great addition to my lowering springs and KYB Excel-G replacement struts! It handles a LOT better than the 2014 F-Sport (sorry RX!) and most sedans I have driven! Body roll is very minimal now all around, and it is still a comfortable (although not Lexus smooth!) daily driver, except with some added spice to it!
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This is definitely an affordable upgrade for 2RX owners who already have an upgraded rear sway bar! 3RX front sway bars are plentiful, cheap and are now the largest ones that'll fit as far as we know! Mine was only 60 dollars shipped to my door, with bushings, end links and everything. This is definitely not the easiest task to complete, but the improvement was well worth the effort and cost!
how hard was the install? Can I doit with jack stands and A wrench
VERY hard unfortunately. You’ll want some big breaker bars, impact gun, vise grips, allen keys, ratcheting wrenches etc. Was around a 6 hr job, but a lot of that was me replacing the steering rack.
I am about to replace all of the parts of my suspension except knuckles and rear wheel bearings on my 2007 FWD RX350. I also found your post on Toyota Nation.
There is a lot to unpack between the two threads, but I think the main takeaway would be a recommendation for me to only upgrade my rear sway bar to reduce the understeer and reduce body roll. I can go with the AWD rear and get a slight bump from 15mm - 16mm which would give me 22% more stiffness in the rear (http://www.gtsparkplugs.com/Sway-Bar-Calculator.html) and moving up to 2014+ would be a 190% increase in stiffness. I don't know that I'd want to have "matching" front and rear diameters (23 v 21) as that seems like I would definitely be in oversteer territory. Do you have any insight into what other parts I would need to upgrade from my FWD 15mm rear to a 2013 AWD rear from a Highlander? I am only thinking brushings and the bar. Is there anything else that would be needed?
21 rear and 23 front would probably be nice for the FWD models due to the understeer, 22 rear and 23 front on my AWD Highlander was pretty unpredictable though, and it’s perfect sitting at 22 rear and 26 front.
Unfortunately, I found that the 21mm rear bar from the 3rd gen RX can’t be made to fit our older cars, it mounts to the crossmember instead of the unibody, and the dimensions are way out of whack compared to ours, so you’d have to swap out the entire rear suspension and subframe.
I know that the 2004-2013 Highlander FWD got a 15mm rear sway bar, but you may already have the 16mm rear as that is what the 2001-2003 FWD Highlander and 2004-2009 RX FWD models got if I remember correctly. It should say on the bushings on the bar. I’d get the Mevotech black bushings for the sways as they’re hardened rubber and US-made (really nice bushings).
Unfortunately, Toyota really screwed us with rear sway bars on these cars, so 15 and 16mm are the only sizes for this setup with OE parts. Even the “sporty” Venza still has a 16mm rear sway bar. You could get a reduction in body roll and less understeer if you could find some RX400h coil springs. They beefed up the rears to accommodate for the heavier hybrid system in the back, so that would definitely help. Lowering springs would help too, as I found that they significantly upped the rear spring rate compared to stock, which is definitely factoring into why my car can oversteer.
2008-2010 2nd gen Highlander and 2009-2015 Venza springs also have a stiffer spring rate with a little more bias to the rear, but you may gain ~1/2” of ground clearance with these, which is probably not something you want. The Venza springs can be had on Rockauto though if you want that slight bit of ground clearance. They’re slightly shorter than the 2nd gen ones.
I appreciate the fast reply. According to my brushing, I've got a 14mm.
I might just pick up the Eibach lowering springs (1.2 inch all around) for 295 as the 16mm bar's I could source were $200...and I might end up doing the sway bar too :P.
14mm!!? That’s garbage! Lol. I noticed that the 2001-2003 HL FWD and 2004-2009 RX350 FWD share the same number, but maybe there is another part no. for a 14mm. I would double check with a caliper.
I would avoid the FWD 2nd gen HL and Venza sway bars as they are 15mm thick and they also are spaced a bit wider due to the increased rear track. That was what I was able to conclude from when I pulled one off a Venza in the junkyard.
I have the H&R and they are firm, but comfortable. They are supposed to be harsher than the Eibachs, but I can’t confirm as I’ve only tried the H&Rs. I have a set of Eibachs for my car lying around that I picked up cheap, and they are slightly less thick so that may be one of the reasons.
200 for an OE bar seems really steep, any junkyards near you where you could pull one possibly? They didn't charge me more than 20 for one. At that point, it would be more worth it to go with a larger 18mm aftermarket one from Cusco.
200 for an OE bar seems really steep, any junkyards near you where you could pull one possibly? They didn't charge me more than 20 for one. At that point, it would be more worth it to go with a larger 18mm aftermarket one from Cusco.
Screenshot from video i took below (too lazy to jack and pull wheel and i kept taking photos of everything but bushing)
Do you by chance have an old sway you're willing to sel and ship?
I will do some google searches for junkyard parts and see what comes up.
I would be willing to send you my old 16mm original Highlander one, except there’s two issues. #1 is that it’s an AWD bar so it won’t fit, and #2 there aren’t any FWDs at all in Canada, as it wasn’t even an option here 😭
Looks like you will either have to find a cheap 2001-2003 Highlander FWD bar, or go with the Cusco. The 2004-2007 models got the skinnier 15mm bar instead of a 16mm.
I would like to update this post, as the previous information was wrong and I have since figured out why I had so much trouble putting this RX sway bar on my car - long story short: MAKE SURE you get an AWD FSB if your car is an AWD! FWD owners don't need to worry about which bar they're putting on. The 3rd gen RX was the first RX to have a separate sway bar shape for AWD & FWD models (Thanks Toyota), this is what tricked me. T-case also uses the same body for all non-hybrid 2001-2007 Highlanders 2004-2009 RX models.
- Taken from Toyota Nation -
1. You can use the 2004-2019 26mm Toyota Sienna front sway bar bushings if you want to reuse your stock sway bar brackets. You will have to modify the bushing if you use the 3RX ones, there is no way around it if you want to reuse your stock brackets
2. You can use the heavier-duty 3RX sway bar mounting brackets & save yourself the hassle of modifying the bushing to fit if you picked the right sway bar for your car - you live and you learn I suppose!
A word of caution everyone! If you're going to put on a 3RX front sway bar onto your 2RX, you MUST confirm you're buying one from an AWD model if you drive an AWD. You can buy an AWD front bar for your FWD, but if you try to put a FWD front bar onto your AWD, you're going to have a very bad day. No part numbers on the listing? Here are some pictures to help tell the difference:
48811-0E040 - AWD Front sway bar (2008-2019 Highlander / HiHy, 2010-2015 RX350 / RX450h)
48811-0E030 - FWD Front sway bar (2008-2019 Highlander / HiHy, 2010-2015 RX350 / RX450h)
Make sure you get the right one! I got the FWD one and as a result, had to grind down the top cooling fin on my transfer case. The AWD one will resemble the original 2nd gen RX bar for FWD & AWD cars. Toyota didn't have separate sway bar assemblies on the older 2nd gen RX - so this is what screwed me up. Can't tell the difference in the photo? No worries! There is another way to confirm which bar it is by inspecting the imprint on the driver's side edge of the bar. Never hurts to ask the seller questions if you have to as well.
White stripe - AWD
Orange stripe - FWD
So that's my little warning to everyone! Hopefully you can learn from my mistake which created a lot of blood sweat and tears, hahahaha! As for an update on the bars - this remains my favourite modification I have done to the car 6 months later - the Highlander will happily take a corner now! Body roll is extremely low, car has neutral handling & most importantly - no issues at all with rubbing/clunks. YMMV because I have custom heavy duty rear sway bar brackets, new KYB struts, and lowering springs. The car definitely feels a lot more alive with the setup of 26mm front & 22.2mm rear. You won't likely need to put a bigger bar up front unless you go with a huge rear sway bar like I did. However, the 2nd gen Highlander uses our same original 16mm rear sway bar with the 26mm up front, so that it may not be unreasonable to assume that a potential can still be gained with just the front being done.
Addco 2109 22.2mm rear sway bar with my custom brackets & Mevotech MK90397 bushings
RX350 26mm front sway bar with Moog K750123 sway bar end links to clear the strut
