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Tmastres, excuse me if I asked you this question already, but did you replace all coils as prevention or did you have coil failures? Thanks. The first three failed over the course of about 18 mos. At the time of the third failure, seeing the pattern I just decided to replace all the remaining coils. It was expensive (about $80 each) but its a big hassle when one fails and there was absolutely no warning or predictability in their failures. As I understand it the ones in the 99-00 (part #90919-02234) had some sort of defect and that defect was rectified with a newer model (part #90080-19016) but thats just what I remember and I can't cite any proof of this. Either way, if you end up with a coil failure you're likely to have more and its easier to replace them all in one afternoon in your garage than to get stuck somewhere with a car running on 5 cylinders. Thanks. I agree with replacing them all at your convenience on your terms. Question for me and OP is should we wait for the first one to fail or just go ahead and do it now. I asked this question some time ago and got different opinions. When it comes to preventive maintenance, everyone has a different philosophy - sort of like buying extended warranties or life insurance. No right or wrong answer.

Tmastres, excuse me if I asked you this question already, but did you replace all coils as prevention or did you have coil failures? Thanks.

I really like my KYB struts but I would not use KYB strut mounts. I returned mine and bought factory mounts. I've read good things about Moog mounts but they cost about the same as factory.

Good job, Kimo. I too replaced the pads on my wife's '04 RX330 (fronts only) At 85K miles, her right side had just worn through the outside pad. The rotor needed turned so both sides done, new pads from Lexus of Austin $69. I opened the bleed valve on the calipers when I squeezed the pistons back into the calipers. This forced the old, nasty fluid out of the calipers. I used the mityvac to remove all the fluid in the master res, filled with new fluid and bled a couple times. All new fluid, new pads, like new rotors. Car stops like the day it was made. Chris Did you clean and lube the slide pins? I have found that slide pins on my Toyota Avalon and RX300 need to be serviced more often than at pad replacement time. I change brake fluid and lube slide pins every 2 years. There is little clearance between the pin OD and caliper ID for grease. Do an Internet search and you will see that sticking/frozen slide pins are a common Toyota problem.

Don't think you can find anything better than the Alenza's!

No problems is a good thing! On the flip side, what are the benefits?

Many of the remanufactured starters are junk and you are lucky if they last a year. Do you know what starter your BIL installed?

The Autozone lug nuts will work fine but they may have a different finish. I know the AdvanceAuto ones have a slightly different finish - less shiny and more gray vs chrome. I got mine from a local Toyota dealer who gave me the wholesale price (which he almost always does). They were $7.20 per. You can also get factory nuts on-line delivered for about the same.

HUH? WHAT DID YOU SAY?? CAN'T HEAR YA'!! Sorry, the devil made me do that

Most, including me, have used KYB GR2 aka Excel. They are made in Japan and are very high quality with EXACT fit and finish. Pretty sure KYB was the OEM supplier for our RX's. RockAuto has the best price I could find. Look for a 5% off coupon - they are readily available. Do a search here and you will find some great installation tips, especially by LexMex. Many may not agree with me but I say spring the extra bucks and buy Toyota factory mounts. Your front bearings are probably fine - just clean them well with mineral spirits and repack them. The bearing easily pulls apart for servicing. Make sure you don't have ball bearings all over your garage floor. How would I know that could happen?

Did you replace them personally or just pay to have them replaced? I can't imagine it making any noise if it actually had new strut mounts installed. If you payed to have them replaced I would check to make sure they were actually replaced or that they replaced the right thing. wouldn't be the first time someone payed for something that they didn't actually get. If you replaced them yourself then something is wrong somewhere. I removed them on my daughter-in-laws 99RX and actually repaired them and got rid of the noise. And it sounded nasty before I repaired them. Won't go into the reasons for repair vs replace but it had to do with critical time constraints. The noise is nasty because it is metal against metal! Y/t- Roger Roger, I just discovered this thread! How the heck did you repair the rubber bushing in the strut mounts????? Is there anything you can't fix?? :D

Jeff- the 10 was the original A/F ratio sensor the cars were built with and the 11 is the replacement. Don't know that there's any difference between 'em, they just changed the # 1 digit. The 234-9009 is the same sensor with the Denso # because the other #'s belong to Toyota. Even the OX sensor (the 1 back by the Cat. Conv.) has the same threads, it just screws into the plate that bolts onto the pipe. What Blueridge meant is the downstream one is different in that it is an Oxygen sensor and the front ones are A/F ratio sensors. Originally, the wiring harness length was different.

How did they determine the INNER tie rods were bad? That is an easy one for you to check, though I must say, inner tie rods don't go bad very often, most of the time the outer (tie rod ends). Do you have really bad roads in the Bahamas? It requires some special tools to do the INNERS. You have to take the outer ends off and then it takes a long tube type socket (at least 12-15 in. long) that is made to take crow-foot wrenches of different sizes. I don't think you'd want to buy one, they're not cheap so if you do it, I'd see if I could rent one from a parts store. To check them, jack the car up and lock the steering wheel and preferably have someone hold the steering wheel to one side to eliminate play in the steering wheel lock. Then take ahold of the wheel and try to move back and forth like you are weaving R&L. That will pick up any play in the whole steering system (rack & pinion, inner tie rods, & outer tie rod ends) if you have play, you need to determine which of those things is the problem or if more than one is. Thanks Roger. My eyes read "inner" but my brain heard "outer". Yes, replacing inner tre's is a different animal all together.

I don't know your mechanical skill level and/or what tools you have so I can't say if you can do this safely. I can say it is a very simple job for almost any mechanically oriented DIY'er because the lower ball joint is bolted (vs pressed) in which makes removal and installation easy. You should have a nice flat concrete surface, good floor jack & jack stands, impact wrench and a special tool (real cheap to buy) which will pop-out the tie-rod end and ball joint. You should also have a torque wrench for reassembly. PS How do you know you need these parts?

Do you know where your sight glass is? I believe it's right down in front. Do you know how a sight glass works? Have someone turn the A/C on and turn it down, maybe 60 degrees so that it should be on at all times and run it up to about 1500 RPM on the tach and you watch the sight glass and see if it has bubbles in it. If it does, how many, just a few or is it solid foam? I'm personally betting it is the blend door actuators on the R side behind the glove box. Report back. Thanks a lot. Looks like there is no gas now. Clutch does not engage, when the AC is on. No cooling at all. But AC indicater lite is on. It does not blink. If it is properly charged, you won't see bubbles (unless it is an extremely hot day) while it is running. Make sure you are looking at the sight glass while someone else turns off the car. You should then see bubbles/foam form right after it is turned off and then the bubbles/foam will immediately disperse. You will also see this effect while the car is running and the A/C compressor turns off. The compressor will cycle on/off depending on the cooling load. But, if you aren't sure what you are looking for, it is easier to have someone turn off the car while you are looking at the sight glass.