front differential side bearing replacement.. done!

anyone have any tips on installing the driveside axle seal? have troubles like it doesnt want to fit. do you have to seat the seal inside the diff or does the axle seal sit on the outside of the front diff?

 

I am not exactly sure you are talking about the seal just outside the needle beaing location. If so I recommend using the old seal if its not totally trashed and a piece of 2x4 to drive the new on in. The seal is the same diameter so creats eaqual force.

You can use just a piece of wood but make sure the wood touches all the way around the seal. It is a rather tight fit, if this is the first time you have worked with oil seals.

 

I have heard of guys just putting the seal on the axle and jaming it in there so to say... not jamming it just using that as a word

 

I just finished replacing my left front diff bearing in my 2010 Tacoma to fix a growling noise that appeared when I installed my 3" Toytec lift. It took about an hour to do the entire job. I got the bearing from East Coast Gear Supply.
Problem fixed​

 

The bushing from east coast gear supply is available now. It will replace the needle bearing, which will just go out again. I will be ordering soon bc i think my new bearing is starting go bad after about 7k miles. that was on my 07 taco..

 

sweet! did you buy the tool to remove bearing/install the bushing? or make your own? I'm a cheap bastard, want to borrow yours

 

Im wondering the people that got there bearing replaced, like me. How long does it usually take before the bearing starts to fail again and make noise?

 

I took a chisel and put it between the CV and differential(on the side) and hammered it between the two
until it released the axle,that was all I had

 

Hello everyone. I'm a new member to your forums.

I have also completed the drivers side front differential needle bearing replacement. I replaced the needle bearing with the PTFE bushing from East Coast Gear Supply. It removed the growl so far. I had 82,000 km on my completely dealer serviced 2007 Tacoma.

The job was relatively easy. I have never attempted anything like this before and I would like to thank everyone who made a post with photos. They helped me with the confidence required to take on this job.

I didn't see anything obvious with the removed bearings. I did notice wear marks on the CV axle that indicated something was wrong.

I found the easy way to check for this problem was that the Tulip portion of the drivers axle was on a slight downward angle. I raised the front of the truck and spinned the wheel and could hear a light clicking noise. I would then wedge a pry bar under the metal portion of the CV axle to raise the Tulip portion of the axle and spin the wheel again.....The clicking would subside. This will scratch your CV a little, but takes the gravity load off of the needle bearing.

I can post pictures showing the difference between the needle bearing and PTFE bushing if you like. The bushing is slightly longer and would seem to offer more support.

Thanks everyone!
Mike.

 

Just a question from a rank amatuer. It may be that I did not notice any vibrations until shortly after I failed to take the truck out of 4Wd when I got back on to pavement. I accelerated to 55 MPH and drove for about 10 miles before I saw the icon , slowed to 40 and switched to 2Wd.
I get most vib at 45 - 50 Mph but some at 65-70 and 35-40 Mph.

Great site, great info !

alpinebob

 

Sick of it all,

welcome to the board. Pls post those pics of your repair. It will be a great addition to the board.

Again, welcome.

Cheers!

 

8 month old post dude.

 

I know that dude! Still, the goddamn issue persists. I've been away for at least 8 months.

 

Did you replace the CV axle ?
I have the same issue and can feel some slight indentations on part of the axle,I have not decided to change the cv axle or just the bushing.

 

Toyota should eat a big one on this. My Highlander Hybrid is also ready for trade in as I've OD'd on Toyotas at this point.

The issue is one of tolerances. There is too much slop in this underspec'd needle bearing. Lifting it just exacerbates this weakness that is all.

My CV rumble used to go away when I put it in 4w-HI as well but that lasted maybe a year after lifting the truck 2.5". The axle was very loose and had similar wear patterns as seen above (minus the needle marks). If you notice this is two bands on the outside of where the wimpy needle bearings would wear given the slop in the stock setup.

Slipping the bronze bushing on the CV axle (East Coast Gear Supply part page) there is certainly a little play (normal) but nowhere close to the slop that was there before.

Does anyone know what the CV axle bearing surface diameter (mm) should be?

The bushing, OEM seal, removal and install toolset are $180.

Looking forward to getting her back together this week.

 

I am wondering what size 3 jaw puller will fit into the differential housing/extension ? I have several but none that small??

Thanks for the info,

bob

 

Some were able to use a pilot bearing removal tool.

 

Great thread, and thanks to everyone that have provided instructions. I am finally going to pull the trigger on the ECGS bushing.

Quick background ... 2005 4WD that gets the shudder on acceleration with the growling. I've gone back and forth between carrier bearing and the ECGS bushing as possible fixes. I did have a lot of noise and some vibration before the lift with 155k miiles on the truck. Post lift (now 158k miles) I replaced the wheel bearings via 05taco4x4's great product. That eliminated a TON of noise for me. Now I'm left with the shudder on acceleration and the growling, typically when letting off the gas around 30mph and a few other speed ranges. Both of these problems go away when I put the truck in 4WD ... which is pulling me towards ECGS as the solution. My wrenching skills are moderate at best including general maintenance, the suspension on this truck, and a few random repairs and additions ... and this TW resource has been invaluable.

Once I get this knocked out (hopefully the next 6 weeks) I'll send a recap.

 

You got this! I completed these steps in the reverse order from you - ECGS bushing first, then front wheel bearings. I did the bushing about a year ago, then the bearings a few months ago. I did both jobs by myself, but have access to a lift at work to make it easier. Having the right tools is key; these include ECGS’ special front diff bearing puller (or a homemade version) and a seal driver (or something similar that’s the correct size to install the new bushing). Truck is smooth & quiet now!

 

I finally got it done, but had a few hiccups (of course) along the way. 2005 double cab trd 4WD 150k miles.

The good:

• TW is simply an awesome place to get invaluable information to have a bit of confidence that some of this stuff is actually doable. Thanks everyone that contributes and adds thoughts about what works for you.
• If I get the opportunity to do this again I think it's going to be fairly straightforward.

The bad:

• My outer boot was torn on the CV ... so I picked up the highest end napa had and will be ordering a re-boot kit for the OEM ... and either run this if it continues to work well or swap it if I'm back in there and keep the napa just in case. My passenger side is OK from what I could tell
• My tie rod boot is also torn -- and looking at the passenger side that one is torn also ... so I'm simply continuing to add to the list of fixed ... ha!

Confused:

• I didn't feel like the cv was pushed in far enough to the diff, but damn it wasn't going in any further. The gap was slightly bigger than the passenger side. I wasn't sure if it was NAPA vs OEM or if I needed another 1/4". Once I put the 35mm axle nut and tightened that everything felt really good. There's still a slightly larger gap than the passenger and I wish I would have taken a before picture. I'll probably take a pic now and post it to get thoughts, but the play in the inner housing next to the diff is very very slight, not any more than before the swap, so I think I'm in good shape.
• It was tough getting the removal tool behind the needle bearing. I guess not tougher than others. I basically pushed one end back as far as I could and used a smaller socket to whack the upper portion until it eventually got behind the bearing. I didn't think this would be that hard and thought I was having to hammer it harder than I should. Once it got behind the bearing it was a piece of cake.

My basic steps (I think -- from memory) were ...

1. chock the wheels and securely lift with jack stands -- I kept the passenger wheel on the ground to minimze diff oil since I had recently changed it.
2. remove skid plate, sway bar, wheel, dust cap, axle nut, upper tie rod (loaner tie rod puller made it simple), remove 2 bolts for the lower ball joint attachment
3. swing the brake out of the way and secure it -- it was easier for me secured up to the front
4. pry the damn thing out -- this sucked. Ultimately, the vise grip around a long flathead (pic attached) allowed me to get the tip in and twist. Pry bars, tapping, pushing wasn't working. The damn thing wouldn't budge. I worked this around the diff at various points and it finally gave. This is the method I'd do next time and am interested to hear if anyone else does this and has success.
5. pull the needle bearing and replace. I had it in the freezer and still felt like I had to whack the crap out of it to get it in. I put a socket over the driver handle with an extender so I could hit it from outside the LCA.
6. Now the axle -- this wasn't too bad. It did take a bit to get started but I was able to use a pry bar and hammer against the ridges on the inside axle. I think the best was to strap the axle horizontal. Once I got it straight it went in.
7. Reassemble and torque
   1. lower ball joint 2 bolts (118 ft lbs)
   2. tie rod (67 ft lbs) and cotter pin
   3. axle nut (173 ft lbs) and cotter pin
8. refilled the oil I lost (I think 29 ft lbs for the fill plug)
9. test drive --- feels good. Will drive a bit more locally in the AM and check for any leaks before adding the sway bar and skid plate