Replacing Brakes On My 2000 Rx300

[gregav2]

I'm sure there has been a lot of discussion about RX300 brakes on this forum, but I'm new and can't find the answer to my question. I'm replacing front and rear brakes and I don't have a service manual. Can anyone tell me the torque for the four caliper bolts? Two are larger and torqued more than the other two. Are front and rear torques the same?

I have 90,000 miles and these are original brakes. The front rotors were able to be turned. I've had no warping problem to date. I'm very anal about wheel torque.

Thanks

Greg

[gregav2]

Well, I called a few dealers to try and get this information. I finally was able to talk to a service technician at Latham Lexus in New York. After waiting on hold for a long time, he came back and told me the larger caliper bolt should be torqued to 16 lb-ft! These are the bolts that hold the fixed part of the caliper that the pads slide on. I had to use my breaker bar to get these off, so 16 just didn't sound right. He also said the caliper bolt on the piston part of the assembly is 20 lb-ft. When I told him how much it took to remove the large bolts, he said they must have been rusted on and they should be removed and serviced every 5,000 miles.

Since I didn't trust this info, I called the Lexus dealer in Portland, ME. The service tech looked up the spec's and the torque for the large bolt is 79 lb-ft and the smaller bolt 25 lb-ft. Quite a difference!

Be wary of Lexus of Latham

[TunedRX300]

Yes, service manual says 79 lb-ft for bolts that hold the bracket, 25 lb-ft for bolts that hold the caliper. Six point sockets only and soak bolts with PB blaster.

[alsalih]

I'm pretty sure the rear caliper bolt is only 20 ft-lbs. Be carefull with this one as it's tapped into the caliper bracket and if you strip the threads then your looking at a new caliper bracket for $80. Also, make sure you remove and lubricate the slide pins with the right brake grease.

[gregav2]

I'm pretty sure the rear caliper bolt is only 20 ft-lbs. Be carefull with this one as it's tapped into the caliper bracket and if you strip the threads then your looking at a new caliper bracket for $80. Also, make sure you remove and lubricate the slide pins with the right brake grease.

Thanks for the tip. I'm waiting for my rear rotors to be turned, so I haven't installed the new pads yet. I plan to lube the sliding pin with the grease supplied with the pads.

I appreciate the feedback.

[Reggie3]

Thanks for the info on the torque - 25ft-lbs - the data I had (from a online repair shop repair manual that I downloaded before I quit the shop I was working at) said it was 79 ft-lbs and I sheared two bolts. Right now they are just tightened by feel. Now that I know the spec I can go put them on correctly.

Also wanted to add - I originally put EBC green pads on and EBC slotted/xdrilled rotors. The rotors are great and look unique but the pads squealed like crazy - backing up or going slow. I just finished putting on OEM pads (and of course I had to repurchase the shims kit for the pads as the EBC pads could not use them).