How many miles since your ECGS bushing install (fix for diff bearing vibe)

I have a 2012 w/the diff bearing vibe and am debating on getting the east coast gear supply diff bushing fix http://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-8536125-toyota-8-clamshell-bushing-and-tool.html
I just worry about the longevity of a bronze bushing, even if it is PTFE coated. I also worry that PTFE (what makes your cookwear not stick) coating won't last long, then it's bronze (not sure if it's oil impregnated) directly on the CV shaft.
Anyways, how many miles do you have trouble free since install:

 

BUmp this thread up. I'd really like to see if anyone has lots of miles on a bushing.

 

bump

 

2012 under warr. Don't touch it. Have it resolved through Toyota. You play with it with non factory items and something happens to the front diff your S.O.L. Just some advise.

 

Yeah but i induced the issue by adding a lift

 

What kind of lift are you running? If it's 5100s or adjustable coilovers, just set the lift to 0 height, then take it to a dealer.

 

If Toyota were to do something for you you would just get the same crummy parts. Read the Official 2nd Gen. Front Diff. Bearing Vibration Thread. A number of people have received new front differentials that rapidly fail again. Also read how Toyota has tried to weasel-out on many others by calling the problem "normal" or other nonsense.

After seeing this first hand on mine, a stock truck, and replacing the bushing on both sides of the differential, if I had to do it over again, it would be one of the first mods I would do.

What would be nice is if some others could pick up the inexpensive Harbor Freight dial gauge and its stand and monitor wear rates of the bushing by simply measuring deflection every 5k miles or so. I have a baseline for my left side recorded. Time and mileage will tell......

 

No shit i've read that thread. Why do you think I started this....to see the longevity of the bushing.

 

just keep the tool and get an extra bushing just in case. i have close to 5000 miles on mine so far with a lot of high speed on and off road. the proper way to measure if the bushing is wearing is use a dial bore gauge to take initial measurements after install and record variations such of out of round and taper. then take the cv out in 5k intervials to preform the same measurements .

the sintered bronze is a lot stronger and wear resistant than billet bronze. it also lowers the coefficient of friction. that and coupled with the fact that it has .005" clearance with the cv surface vs, .025" with the stock needle bearing, means that it would take awhile to get as bad as the stock bearing. even if it wears out of spec in 20k miles its a worthwhile investment and cheap to replace.

the guys at ecgs basically said it would last the life of the truck. i did a lot of research , ordered the parts and did more research. I am extremely happy with the upgrade at this point and dont foresee any future issues.

 

I've put over 15,000 miles on the ECGS bushing and it is still perfect!

 

^^^^ Excellent post. However, depending on how deep you drove the bushing in, I'm not 100% sure you could get behind it again with the ECGS puller and pull it out. I would like to hear Chase's comments about this and it is something that those who are contemplating putting the bushing in may want to consider while doing this -- leaving enough room between the spider gears the end of the ECGS bushing to allow the tool's end piece enough room to get behind there again if needed. Let's hope none of us have to ever figure out a way to remove the ECGS bushing. What say you Chase?

 

Nice! Chris told me it should last 400k miles, but I just want to ensure the product is holding up in the real world.

 

I for one am glad the OP started this thread as the same question has been on my mind from the start. I have two new needle bearings and just could not bring myself to putting the crummy things back in the diff.

 

bump ttt

 

I've only got a few hndred on mine. I'll check back in every 20k or so to update the thread but I assume you'll make a decision by then if you haven't already.

 

Free bump for the OP. I hope more come here with reports. I was the 2nd guy to do this but have only run 6700mi. now. Pretty impressed with TwoTacos 15kmi. report above. I need to drive mine more....

 

Any more updates on how many miles folks have on the bushing? Just trying to decide if it's worth dealing with the dealership and warranty or if the ecgs fix is a perminate fix?

Your input is apprecated!

 

I only have about 7k on mine, but they are somewhat hard miles. No issues so far.

 

It fixed everones issues?

 

^^^That's the big question. Its only been available slightly over a year now so there may not be too many trucks with high mileages yet. Other than me I wish more would monitor it for wear but it appears as though most are just putting the bushing in and forgetting about it.

I have 10k now and the deflection rate on the CV tulip entering the bushing has substantially increased to the point where I am now toying with the idea of tearing it down later this fall and doing an analysis. Mine is complicated by the fact that Toyota put a CV shaft with a very rough-milled bearing surface in my truck during production so it may be eating the bushing. The bearing surface on the CV shaft ought to look more like a nice, smooth, shiney crankshaft journal. I should not have reused the old CV shaft so the matter may be largely my fault.

At this point I still very much endorse the ECGS bushing (what's your alternative?) but am moving toward a very strong recommendation that it be installed in conjunction with a new CV shaft with a flawless bearing running surface on the new CV shaft.