AndyH123

Hi nelks, I just wanted to say thankyou for posting your post (which I followed to the letter!) on how to replace the rear wheel bearing on the Lexus RX330 (2004). Your information worked perfectly for me! I'm an accountant, so if I can do it, anyone can! For you guys still wishing to do this, be prepared to use a heavy hammer, and make sure you have all the tools nelks listed! I found the hardest part was removing the wheel bearing assembly from the wheel backing plate (bonded by corrosion, PB Blaster didn't loosen it). Eventually a neighbor came across and brought me two large bricks, which I used as a bench to lean the backing plate / bearing assembly onto. You have to hit the bearing out with a LOT of force. Be prepared to wake up the whole neighborhood with your sledgehammer. Eventually the bearing fell out, onto the floor, and there were cheers all around! My car is a Lexus RX330, 2004 model, and was originally manufactured in Japan. With this I can confirm that the wheel axle nut is a 30mm 12-point nut. The wheel hub nut needs to be replaced each time you take the bearing off, because in the process you have to bend out the crimp in the old nut. This means you effectively weaken the nut, so pop down to Lexus and grab a replacement (costs about $15). The socket to remove this nut is also a 30mm 12-point socket, which isn't easy to get hold of. I got mine from Lordco in Vancouver, BC. I got the last one in the shop, so you'll probably have to order one specifically. Canadian Tire didn't stock these at all. A big mistake I made was stripping one of the rusty bolts on my brake disk assembly. Stupidly I initially tried to twist the bolt the wrong way round to undo it, and ended up rounding the bolt head. Nothing worked to get the bolt off (vise-grips, spanners, socket wrench, pipe wrench) after that! Frustrated I put the whole car back together again, and went and got these (below) to remove the bolt. Trust me, these are lifesavers, and you'll never want to part with them, once you've used them: http://new.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/mastercraft-maximum-ratcheting-bolt-remover-2-pc-0582500p.html#.U8jXkFarvFI For my replacement wheel bearing. I just went with the cheapie option, costing me $100 on eBay. Yes, it's cheap, but I'll probably only use the car for another 100,000km, so I'm not too bothered about getting something that will last the next 10 years, and it won't be difficult to change the bearing once again. The link is below for this bearing: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/REAR-WHEEL-HUB-BEARING-ASSEMBLY-LEXUS-RX330-2004-2005-2006-RX350-512284-AWD-/200925612980?_trksid=p3284.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSI%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D21%26pmod%3D201031821246%26ps%3D54 Initially the job took me 6 hours. But as a test I've taken everything apart and reassembled again, and found the entire job, takes less than 2 hours. Another thing I noticed is that the wheel makes a slight scraping noise when turned by hand (after everything's back together again). This is the parking brake rubbing just a little bit inside the drum. I subsequently found this sound is in all wheels, so it's not something to worry too much about. As long as, once you are finished, the wheel spins easily when turned by hand, you'll be fine. My car is now really quiet once again! No more noisy growling bearing! Thanks again guys, for all your great advice along the way! Also thanks Netvigators for the torque ratings! - I owe you one!