450h MK3 Driveshaft Replacement

[willothewisp]

Hi
I have a 2010 RX450h with 70k on the clock which appears to have a slight click occasionally when reversing so suspect that the CV joint is worn/damaged on the front left.
Happy to replace myself but obviously a new one is extremely expensive so looking for a used replacement but none available for the MK3 at the moment.

There seems to be plenty available for the newer models and going by the photos they look extremely similar.    It's a long shot but anyone had a similar issue and happen to know if a newer model driveshaft will fit the MK3, they look the same but there may be some differences which don't show on a photo.

First pic is of the MK3 driveshaft and second one off a 2020 year RX

Chris
 

[granadaman]

If it’s clicking on full lock mine does it but not now as it’s warm it’s fine, could be your tyres like mine.

[Barry14UK]

I would have thought that is a rather small mileage for the driveshaft needing to be replaced. especially if boots still in good condition with no indication of grease escaping.  I remember doing this job on my V6 2.5l Camry many years ago, with much higher mileage although I sent away for overhaul but removed and reinstalled myself.  

I would be very careful about fitting driveshaft from a later car and first seek confirmation from Lexus that numbers tie up.

Reverting to the Camry,  I also had a click which a local Toyota outlet failed to find the cause of.  It was more pronounced on pretty heavy lock.  I remembered I had had new rubber bushes fitted to antiroll bar and possibly elsewhere up front. I jacked up the front and found that the garage that had fitted these new bushes had not tightened them properly, so there was movement and that was responsible for the clicks. So recommend a good check for any movement.

[willothewisp]

22 hours ago, granadaman said:

If it’s clicking on full lock mine does it but not now as it’s warm it’s fine, could be your tyres like mine.

I initially thought it could be brake related as I recently fitted new discs and pads but it's only doing it on rare occasions at the moment and definitely a more metallic click when the being reversed.

[willothewisp]

17 hours ago, Barry14UK said:

I would have thought that is a rather small mileage for the driveshaft needing to be replaced. especially if boots still in good condition with no indication of grease escaping.  I remember doing this job on my V6 2.5l Camry many years ago, with much higher mileage although I sent away for overhaul but removed and reinstalled myself.  

I would be very careful about fitting driveshaft from a later car and first seek confirmation from Lexus that numbers tie up.

Reverting to the Camry,  I also had a click which a local Toyota outlet failed to find the cause of.  It was more pronounced on pretty heavy lock.  I remembered I had had new rubber bushes fitted to antiroll bar and possibly elsewhere up front. I jacked up the front and found that the garage that had fitted these new bushes had not tightened them properly, so there was movement and that was responsible for the clicks. So recommend a good check for any movement.

I'd too expect them to last much longer the 70k but then you never can tell.   The boots are in good condition and no obvious loss of the grease on the wheel which is the usual sign of a failure.   I have recently fitted new discs and pads and everything looked ok with nothing obvious to report.    
I'll need to grab some time and get it up in the air and do some more checks but I guess I could see how it goes over time.   Was even wondering if it may be a pad moving when it's going in reverse that's binding slightly but again all was fine when they were replaced a few weeks back.

I was hoping that a more recent model driveshaft with lower miles would fit rather than getting a used one from a car that's maybe done 100k+ 

[johnmac1956]

I had similar noise on my old RX400,at a mileage of approx 125k.

I looked at replacing the full drivers side drive shaft!! Expensive, difficult and reading the RX forums minimal discussion of a similar issue.

In the end it turned out to be the wheel bearing. Replaced the ball joints which were in reasonable condition and wheel bearings which were not in good condition!!

Noises on the front of cars can be difficult to diagnose accurately. My local very experienced independent and myself  maintenance engineer (40 years) decided it was the passenger side at fault. Both wrong. Yes it was good to replace the bearing and ball joint. Replacing same on the drivers side cured the issue.

[willothewisp]

44 minutes ago, johnmac1956 said:

I had similar noise on my old RX400,at a mileage of approx 125k.

I looked at replacing the full drivers side drive shaft!! Expensive, difficult and reading the RX forums minimal discussion of a similar issue.

In the end it turned out to be the wheel bearing. Replaced the ball joints which were in reasonable condition and wheel bearings which were not in good condition!!

Noises on the front of cars can be difficult to diagnose accurately. My local very experienced independent and myself  maintenance engineer (40 years) decided it was the passenger side at fault. Both wrong. Yes it was good to replace the bearing and ball joint. Replacing same on the drivers side cured the issue.

Thanks for the info John
It's possible that it could be the wheel bearing but I'm going to take a more in depth look at it at the weekend see if I can narrow it down a bit more before I take the plunge and buy anything.
Thanks Chris