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Lenore- you pegged that right. I prefer to rebuild my own stuff unless there's a bad field coil or armature or stator winding. Only a high dollar rebuilder is going to rewind anything anyway. Not only are the $8.-$10. an hour help not worried about quality, you should see what one of those rebuild shops looks like. It's hard to imagine anything that came out of them would work. Not only that but I have an idea most all of the parts that go into the competitive rebuilds come from China or whatever faraway country is willing to produce them for next to nothing.

Dave, My wife's '02 Camry has DBW (drive by wire), meaning no throttle cable but from earlier discussion on this or another Lexus site, I don't think your '02 Lexus was DBW until maybe '04. Which all means you have throttle cable and linkage. You should be able to spray some lube into the actual cable from the end under the hood. (You may have to pull a rubber boot back) Then I would check the linkage under the hood. The is a fairly good chance it is the throttle body and I would personally take it off and take the opportunity to clean the IACV (idle air control valve) at the same time. You can spry cleaner into the throat of the throttle body and free the throttle plates but I've found it's best to do it right if you want lasting results. Good Luck!

I can only say, magic, that if you fixed (long term) the 2 front door locks in 40 minutes, I would make sure not to lose that "magic wand". I would be very interested in how you did that? Whether you replaced with new locks, replaced the motors in the 2 locks with like type motors or used the aftermarket actuators that many have used, I don't see how that is even possible. Would you share with us how you did it. We're always willing to learn. :)

RX- I freely admit that I was under a lot of stress when I did that rear main seal I was doing a lot of other major maintenance and repair work and was under a time constraint and the clock was ticking. I can only say that I am a very detail oriented person and I didn't notice any major change in the seal, new to old. I doubt very seriously that the source that I purchased the seal from would have any possibility of having the seal on the shelf for as long as 5 years. (was done in May of '06 and was original equip., not aftermarket). The package looked brand new stock (no dust, yellowing, etc.) LOL I do have pictures of the mounting plate/with seal, but I doubt I could tell enough to tell the difference. The way the mount for the seal is made, there isn't room enough for major changes. I believe what you say you saw, I wish now I had them back to compare.

Too late. And it wasn't early either!

Yes, probably the later build date means Lexus had already re-specc'd their seal material or noticed original seal material was defective. Have you heard of 2001 and later RXs with the rear engine seal problems? Paul- the later ones haven't SEEMED to be showing up here with rear main seal leaks. Time will tell, but the '99 and '00 have been for a # of years so that would seem that the change may have been done along in that time period ('01-up).

I'm absolutely with you in the sense that $50 is better than $X,XXX! [To misquote Bauhaus: More $ is less pleasure]. -- As an aside, I would have thought that the rear engine seal would fail based on mileage, not time. My RX had 65K miles when it failed, but was a 1999. Paul- As you know this has been a problem for quite a few years. Having done the rear seal myself and seeing firsthand that the seal did not seem to be designed differently, I have to assume if there was a change it was in the material. It has been said that the original supplier used inferior material but I am betting that they were built to specs and that T/L didn't discover in testing, that because of the added weight of the RX and added strain of AWD that it would cause the crankcase to run as hot as it does. It literally cooks them hard as a rock. That is the reason it wears a groove in the crankshaft. As hard as they become, they have no chance at that point of stopping the oil. It's not wear that does it, it's being baked with extreme heat. I don't personally thing there was ever anything wrong with the design and yes, I have read of them failing as low as 70k mi., yours at 65k is quite low, but then I think when a lot of people have them replaced, they have been leaking for some time. I finally got time to change my DIL's at 97k and she had first mentioned it at about 85k. That same basic engine has been used in Toyota sedans for some time before the RX even came out. Do you hear of the same problem in the Toyota SEDANS, say Camry? My brother had a 95 Toyota PU with the 3.0L and never had any problem with rear main seal leakage. I don't think they're under the same strain, therefore don't generate the heat in the crankcase.

blk_on_blk- Since I was a kid, a long time ago, they have used pressure bleeders as the standard in all automotive shops that I ever worked in. There are obvious reasons for that. I still believe pressure bleeding is the gold standard, but out of the reach of the DIY mechanic. I have felt for some time that a device that used a flat plate with a rubber seal (probably neoprene, whatever is impervious to brake fluid) and rubber straps similar to what is used on most commercial bleeders for universal fit, a see through container of about 1 qt. with hose to plate, and something like is used in a cartridge grease gun for pressure would be easy to make and effective. The type of thing that uses a one way valve for the air, you retract the piston and lock it and once ready to bleed, release the piston and let the spring loaded piston do it's job. Simple and effective, because the piston should provide enough pressure to do a one man bleed and by spring pressure instead of compressed air, especially for those that don't have a compressor. The container and the pressure device could hang from the underside of the hood on an available lip and the see through container would let you check reserve fluid level at a glance. Who wants to be the 1st to try my poor mans bleeder? :D To this point I have gotten along fine with the vacuum bleeder because I have some ADD (maybe a touch of ADHD) and in the shop and on commission When I needed a helping hand with something, time was money and you couldn't wait 10 or 15 min. for someone to get free to help you. I learned ways to do 2 man jobs alone. I have never been willing to compromise quality, so I figured ways to do the job right with 2 hands instead of 4. The 1 man bleeding is a result of that.

Hi blk on blk, What I'm talking about here is a pressure bleeder made by Motive. It pushes the pressurized break fluid from the master cylinder reservoir out to the bleeder valve. It is different from a vacuum bleeder which sucks the fluid from the bleeder valve. Although a vast majority of users approve of it, I could not help not ignoring entirely the following article from StopTech because it is very plausible: Pressure bleeding do's and don'ts Pressure bleeding on its own is not necessarily a bad thing, but there are several steps one must take to ensure that the bleed event will result in an air-free brake system. When we talk about pressure bleeding, we are referring to the process in which we pour our brake fluid into a pressure vessel, hook up a pressure source, and run the now pressurized fluid directly into the master cylinder reservoir. One by one the caliper bleeder screws are opened to allow the pressurized fluid to flow through the system until all of the old fluid has been purged. Simple, right? Well yes, but beware of imitations – not all pressure bleeders are created equal. The professional units (the type you can consider using) separate the pressurized brake fluid from the pressure source (air) using a flexible rubber diaphragm. In this fashion, the pressurized air is kept from forcing its way into the fluid. As we all know, air and fluid should be kept as far apart as possible. This brings us to the imitations. There seem to be a rash of products available lately that claim to be pressure brake bleeders at a fraction of the cost of the professional units. Like most things that sound too good to be true, well, it’s exactly that. Like the professional units, these imitations contain a pressure vessel into which new brake fluid is poured. However, in order to pressurize the fluid, an integral pump handle is cycled to build the pressure inside the vessel without any measures taken to separate the pressurized air from the fluid. For those of you who have ever bought a $19.95 do-it-yourself potted plant and bug sprayer from Home Depot you get the idea. Of course, having pressurized air in contact with the brake fluid will certainly force the fluid through the system just as effectively as the high-zoot professional unit, but as an added bonus we are stuffing air into the brake fluid at the same time. Talk about an unwanted surprise! While it may not be visible to the naked eye (air can actually entrain itself in the fluid as to be visually undetectable) it’s there right along with all of the nasty moisture trapped inside of it. This of course begs the question: if you are stuffing air and water contaminated fluid into your brake system, why even bother bleeding it in the first place? Naturally there will be those who argue that the amount of air in question is not important enough to worry about, but think about this for a moment: nearly every automotive manufacturer stores their bulk brake fluid in large containers which are subjected to a constant VACUUM. Talk about an expensive process! If just storing your fluid under regular atmospheric conditions isn’t good enough to keep air and water out, just imagine what shoving 30psi worth of compressed air on top of it is doing. The professional units can cost hundreds of dollars, and for good reason; unfortunately the cost keeps them beyond the reach of most of us normal folks. Your best bet is probably to get back in the driver’s seat and begin stroking the pedal with your foot again, but ultimately the choice is yours. Micklex- I am not going to put down the person who wrote that article for ShopTech. That would be absurd on my part. What he says is true, the problem is that's a perfect world and we don't live in a perfect world most of the time, if ever. The sky will not fall if you introduce low air pressure into the container with the fluid. Most tech's don't live in a perfect world, in spite of what you think. I spent most of my life in automotive work and most of that in dealers, a variety of brands. I have seen things done by PROFESSIONAL mechanics that would make your hair stand on end. No offense to those that are true professionals. How about a Mercedes tech that NEVER vacuumed a system that had been open, simply dumped the freon in. I won't go into the things I could write a book about, and I worked in good dealers, not flakes, but I literally laugh when I read "professionally maintained". You have no idea some of the things that are done even in high line dealerships. I have little doubt that there are people like Lenore and others on this forum that do a better job than SOME of what you paid $100. or more an hr. for. In my teens I worked in a dealership doing a variety of things, including light mechanical. It was what I saw even that early, that convinced me I wasn't much interested in having someone else work on my car.

Depends on whether you have the time and inclination to do the searching online. If you do, you'll find a lot of the original equip. parts T/L uses online at a lot better prices than you'll ever find at the dealer. And even a lot of difference prices online on the same parts. Some times you can buy the parts from aftermarket sources in the Toyota packaging, sometimes in either plain box or packaging or the original equipment manuf. name. All orig. equip. parts just like you get from the dealer. You can buy the same timing belt from one online source for the 1MZFE engine with MBL on it, Mitsuboshi (the original manuf.) on it, or Toyota on it for 3 different prices. All the same belt by the same manuf., just with different name in paint print on them. I have learned that there is a big difference in quality between what we in America have been used to in aftermarket parts and what the Japanese use as orig. equip. I don't think there was Near as big a difference between what the American cars were built with and the aftermarket parts. We didn't use the same quality parts to build the cars with as they do, even on the cheaper cars.

Lenore, T/L does source some incredible parts don't they? You know my feeling already about their OEM parts. Just don't like some of the prices. Not all bad, just some. I think education in any area is the important part. Being a detail person, I want to be as educated about any issue as I possibly can, the only way to make the best decision. When I get around to PM or e-mailing you, Ill share some of what that means. With what T/L builds their cars with, I am surprised at the few times they have screwed up, at least it's not often in the parts arena (except for that planetary gear carrier). :(

That is very interesting b_on_b. Probably happens more often than we realize. Not certain it's true but I have read some years ago that the glue on stick-it pads was a complete failure for what it was originally intended for- but look what became of it- how would we get along without stick-it. At least it was purported to be true and from a reputable source.

I had the same problem. To check whether it is the rear engine seal, you wipe around the seal, let it 'sit' for a short while and see whether a 'drop' forms or whether the seal is again humid and a wipe yields a very oily rag. If you wipe well at atrt, it is quite evident where the oil comes from when it re-appears. Of course, you can try anything to 'revitalize' the seal, but my experience (based on stories heard) is that, even if seems to succeed, it is only delaying tactic and the problem re-appears within a short whole. [i would try it anyway: low cost, no downside]. The cost to change the rear engine seal, which I bore on my own after Lexus 'respectfully declined to assist', at the Toyota dealer in Traverse City (no Lexus dealer in TC) was $1,600. My RX300 was AWD. I was told that a FWD is less expensive, i.e. around $1,200. -- If you have proof of all services done at Lexus in a timely fashion, you should speak to Lexus Customer Service: they are more likely to 'make a deal' with a Lexus dealer and you could face lower costs. They cannot 'make deals' with Toyota dealers, and they opted - in my case - to not reimburse anything. I agree Paul that it is a long shot and not a long term solution, even if it worked. Just thought that a couple of treatments for $50. or so as compared to $2000. for replacement was an easy decision, especially since it would be good for the engine. I would certainly hope that Dhannu would be able to get it done for less than $2000. in an independent shop. We have some excellent independent shops in our area, both Lexus and other foreign brands. They are almost always started and staffed with ex-dealer mechanics and at a lot less than Lexus dealer prices.

blk_on_blk- I agree with you, the seal is quite worn by the time it is leaking that much, but my experience from doing the change is that the hope is, it would SOFTEN the seal and maybe take away the crud that is BAKED on it. That thing gets hard as a rock and actually wears into the CS because of the hardness and what gets cooked onto it. (like sandpaper) If it could actually soften and revitalize the rubber, it might do some good. If I was staring at a $2000. job for replacement, I think I would use anything that promised some help, as long as it wasn't snake oil, and I don't think A-RX is snake oil. At least it couldn't do his engine any harm and probably some good. If those seals were as hard when new as they are when they need replacing, they wouldn't seal even when new.

You guys that live in the Bay area and the Pacific Northwest have some high labor rates.( I already knew that) When I did my DIL's RX rear main seal, I was given an unsolicited (I had intended to do it) quote from someone I worked with from an independent mechanic he knew that had done them. He said the guy would do it for $750. This was shop, not back alley. I still feel the prices for R&Ring the transmission are exorbitant. I think I bought the seal online for about $15. or less, original equipment. Edit: I definitely agree with Lenore on all points. I would invest the price of a can or two (couple oil changes) of Auto-Rx and see if that does the job. The cost of that compared to the dealers $2000. price is a no-brainer. It MIGHT work!

Amazak- We give good advice here... that's why it's a good idea to follow it. LOL In all seriousness, the rear one is the one you should have let him change. It can be a bear, especially in rust country. The front one is the 5-10 minute job. The rear one is harder to get to, you have to jack the car up and it is more likely to be rusted in, because it gets the heat and wet a lot more back there. It'd also quite difficult to get the plug apart because of where it's located. There are pictures posted on this site of where the rear one . Did he use a genuine Denso sensor? As stated before, there are quite a # of people who have replaced the sensor or had it replaced with aftermarket sensors on Toyota/Lexus and had the light come back on, only to find out after much time wasted on diagnosis, that T/L like the Denso's and often don't like aftermarket. Some independents don't realize that. If Your going to use an independent mechanic, I would strongly suggest one that SPECIALIZES in T/L. Good Luck!

Lenore, For the life of me, I may be as blind as a bat but I have looked and looked and can't see where the shim is in that picture. Clue me in. Thanks! the is a cup on top of the valve lifter that accepts the disk. There is a special tool that pushes that valve lifter down so that different size shims can be inserted. what you are seeing is the cam lobe with the lifter below it which retains the shims with a very small lip on top. Now I understand Lenore. I understand why I couldn't see it.

All of the glasses that I have ever replaced snapped in, but I have never replaced an RX mirror glass. I you tilt the glass all the way down, you should be able to look in past the edge and see what the attachment is like. popping the old glass is the easy paty. Put a rag on the edge of the mirror to keep from chipping the paint and pry with a large flat screw driver or pry bar. It should pop out, but go easy. If it is held in like most are, the next part is a little harder. Lube the parts that snap together with a small amount of white grease. With the mirror still tipped out, make sure the parts are lined up to snap into place. With a small amount of pressure on the center of the glass, tilt the mirror so that it is parallel with the mirror flange (neutral) Use a folded up rag on the center of the mirror for cushioning. Push straight in with the butt of you hand. If it is designed like most are, it will snap right in. Be careful though, it's easy to break. Good Luck! I believe the mirror is heated. There should be more to it than just snapping it out... disconnecting heater wires? True pauljcl- But if it is heated, you would still remove the glass 1st and then disconnect the wires. Obviously you would replace the wires (probably plug) before you installed the new glass. :)

All of the glasses that I have ever replaced snapped in, but I have never replaced an RX mirror glass. If you tilt the glass all the way down, you should be able to look in past the edge and see what the attachment is like. popping the old glass out is the easy part. Put a rag on the edge of the mirror to keep from chipping the paint and pry with a large flat screw driver or pry bar. It should pop out, but go easy. If it is held in like most are, the next part is a little harder. Lube the parts that snap together with a small amount of white grease. With the mirror still tipped out, make sure the parts are lined up to snap into place. With a small amount of pressure on the center of the glass, tilt the mirror so that it is parallel with the mirror flange (neutral) Use a folded up rag on the center of the mirror for cushioning. Push straight in with the butt of you hand. If it is designed like most are, it will snap right in. Be careful though, it's easy to break. Good Luck!

Lenore, For the life of me, I may be as blind as a bat but I have looked and looked and can't see where the shim is in that picture. Clue me in. Thanks!

I bought both the Haynes and the Chilton's manual for the RX-330 and was very surprised to find that they are virtually identical, including wording in the text and the photographs. Not all, but enough that it looks like they were produced together. I had asked 2 different deales about purchasing the factory manuals, and both told me that they were not for sale to the general public. However, in other posts on here, I've seen people refer to the factory manuals, so believe that there is a way to get them. If you find out, please let me know. Thanks... Haynes bought out Chilton a # of years ago- hence the reason they seem to be nearly identical. There are people here that get along fine with either. I have no argument with any of them. I have bought Haynes years ago for my kids cars because that's what I could readily find. I became so disgusted with them both that I threw them both away (the manuals, not the kids) LOL They had so many mistakes and generalities that for someone who has worked in automotive my whole life, I was far better off figuring it out on my own. Chilton was a good source and was used almost exclusively by independent shops and back when I was a kid and cars weren't very complex (most of them did have starters, not a crank, on them then ) , the dealers actually used them because they were a good manual. Haynes bought 'em and destroyed 'em! I don't know that you have any choice anymore. I only use the factory manuals and if you keep your eye peeled, you can find 'em on e-bay. Sometimes not cheap, but there are at least a couple of dealers that have a ton of stuff that's in their store but not e-bay, and if they don't have it, they'll locate it for you.

One suggestion I might make 'dandg' is to forget sucking fluid out of your reservoir. I don't like pushing fluid back upstream and the easy fix for that is to open the bleed valve at the same time that you stick a large screw driver down the opening in the caliper, between the rotor and the caliper body on the outside of the rotor. Keep your hand on the wrench for the bleed screw and as soon as the caliper piston bottoms out, close the screw. You don't need a retractor tool and it is the simplest way in the world to do it. No fluid pushed back up stream and your caliper is ready for the new pads when you take it off. That is the only way I have ever done it. You don't have to worry about any air entering the system, gravity and the immediate closure of the bleed screw see to that. Don't make it more complicated than it needs to be. This is obviously done before you even loosen the mounting slide pins. Good Luck- I think you'll be surprised how easy it is. Roger, I'd like to try that next time but I am afraid I will tear the rubber boot. Good Morning Artbuc- If I understand correctly what your concern is, you are putting the large screwdriver (I actually prefer the ones that are bent on the end and are actually made for prying) on the OUTSIDE of the rotor, between the rotor and the opening in the caliper and prying outward on the caliper against the rotor. That is forcing the piston back into the caliper. Your rubber seal is on the INSIDE of the rotor on the piston. No possibility of damaging the seal. I hope that makes it clearer. :)

One suggestion I might make 'dandg' is to forget sucking fluid out of your reservoir. I don't like pushing fluid back upstream and the easy fix for that is to open the bleed valve at the same time that you stick a large screw driver down the opening in the caliper, between the rotor and the caliper body on the outside of the rotor. Keep your hand on the wrench for the bleed screw and as soon as the caliper piston bottoms out, close the screw. You don't need a retractor tool and it is the simplest way in the world to do it. No fluid pushed back up stream and your caliper is ready for the new pads when you take it off. That is the only way I have ever done it. You don't have to worry about any air entering the system, gravity and the immediate closure of the bleed screw see to that. Don't make it more complicated than it needs to be. This is obviously done before you even loosen the mounting slide pins. Good Luck- I think you'll be surprised how easy it is.

That is a lot of money for a simple brake job. (Replace pads front and rear and turn rotors Is a simple job! For $950.?) I would NOT turn the rotors unless they are fairly heavily grooved. It will only take metal off and lead to sooner replacement of said rotors, not improved braking! The pads will conform quickly to MINOR wear lines. Toyota/ Lexus puts some very fine rotors on their cars (like a lot of the rest of the parts) and will possibly last the life of the car if not turned. (I am not opposed to turning what needs turning, just that minor wear lines and such DO NOT require turning. I'm sure whoever you have do it will disagree with me because it affects their bottom line. THAT IS THE ONLY THING IT AFFECTS. This from someone who has always believed and practiced conservative repair. (changing things BEFORE they need it, not when it breaks) My son has always changed the pads on his wife's RX and it generally runs him a little under $100. for pads front and rear. T/L will run a little more. Good Luck with whatever the decision is!

10ga- All excellent suggestions and one of the reasons this board is what it is. Takes a lot of spokes to make a wheel and even in my answer I was using tunnel vision. At least you have enough avenues to explore and a good chance one of them will give you your answer. Good luck!