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Just completed the job. The entire job with two hub bearing assembly took me little over 4 hours for both rear wheels. My RX is running quietly again. The only challenging step that I encountered was the last step in the pictures - seperating the old hub bearing assembly from backing plate (black dust plate where e-brake attached). Both of my old hub bearing assembly were stuck and seized onto the backing plate due to rust or corrosion. Since there was a e-brake and the brake cable were attached to the backing plate, I had little room to support or work on it. Because the entire e-brake is at the bottom of the pate, I couldn't place any weight support from bottom. I could only imagine using a hammer for few good whacks would damaged the backing plate. I tried couple big whacks without any luck, the old hub assembly just wouldn't seperate but the backing plate started to bent slightly. My friend came over to help me and suggested I should disassemble the e-brake assembly to gain some solid support from the bottom of the plate. After taking off the e-brake, I gained more room for supporting the weight from the bottom. Then I used 3 car stands to support 3 points closest to the edge of the hub and gave the center of the bearing couple heavy whacks (using 5 lbs hammer), the hub bearing assembly finally seperated and dropped to the floor.

Hello, thanks for the detail info and photos, it was really helpful. I'm going to replace both left and right rear hub bearing assembly on my 04' RX330. I'm still preparing and odering parts and tools to get this job started but I also want to share some additional info. First of all, here is a list of parts that I just got: A pair of NSK (OEM) rear hub bearing assembly $95 ea. shipped from partgeeks.com (my buddy told me Timken was better in quality and the bearings may last longer. I just wanted to save some dollars here so I didn't care too much) A 30mm 12 points deep socket $10 from advanceauto Axle shaft nut $7 ea. picked up from local lexus dealer (Lexus stock# 9008017238) A torque wrench up to 300ft.lbs (borrowed from my buddy) I know some of DIYers just reuse the axle nut again but the Lexus repair manual stated that this axle shaft nut is non-reusable. However, it didn't mentioned if it's a torque nut, but it stated the axle nut should be torqued at 217 ft.lbs. With that high torque requirement, it's likely the old nut will not hold the proper torque a second time. Anyway, I went and bought two new axle shaft nuts with a peace of mind. I was also researching on the 04' RX330 AWD torque spec for some bolts/nuts that I will be working with. BTW, these specs may apply to previous RX300 models and 04'-06' RX330. As I found these info from Internet, so use at your own risk and discretion. Axle shaft nuts (x1) = 217 ft.lbs Axle hub bolts (x4) = 55 ft.lbs Disc brake caliper assy bolts (x2) = 58 ft lbs Disc brake slide pin (x2) = 32 ft. lbs Wheel lug nuts (x5) = 76 ft. lbs

Today I just upgraded my 04' RX330 Gen 2/3 from v2.1 all the way to v7.1 (86271-33036 464210-0930) with zero issue. It took me less than 5 mins from accessing the DVD drive in the back, replaced the old DVD and completed the install. :D

I just bought a set of Yokohama tires ($130ea.) for my 04' RX330 from Tirerack over this past Winter season. The AVID series has been around for long time and I believe that they recently came out with a new size just to fit SUV like my RX330. Therefore I made a quick decision to get a set of four tires for my RX right before it hit 45k miles. Few things I can say about these tires they are doing pretty well in the light snow condition. On the dry road handling is better than the original Michellin tires, especially when making shape turns and braking. In the wet condition, IMO because it has deeper threads for better hydroplaning, so driving thru water on highway no longer an issue for me. BTW, I won't be able to tell if they will last long because I just got them as new, but I can tell you tires really looks wider and sporty!! 235/55VR-18 Yokohama AVID V4S