OFFICIAL 2nd gen 4x4 front differential bearing vibration thread

I had around 4k on mine before the change (currently at 42k miles), you should be fine.

i did the CB drop a few weeks after my lift, seems to move the vibration around. Also tried stacking washers ect, on top of it to see if that would get it to go away and it didnt. I'll report back my findings when i get some.

 

I see, how much rear lift and is it a 4x4 or 2WD?

 

4wd, Procomp 3 inch AAL setup. (rides like garbage, will be getting rid of.)

 

looks like I may be victim to this issue too. there is quite a bit of vertical play of the CV axle into the front differential and I am periodically getting a loud grinding noise when driving. mostly, the noise is when turning and when slowing down to a stop.

here is a quick video of the noise. does that sound like the bearing?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJuJqm30R6s

I have read many of the pages here and it looks like the bushing replacement is the fix, but I still have a year left on my extended warranty so I am going to try the dealer first. for those of you who have had the dealer fix this, are they able to replace the bearing with the diff in place or do they want to take the diff off to do the work? or do they just want to replace the whole diff because they don't want to deal with the labor? if they wont accept this under warranty, how much would the dealer charge for this work?

thanks,

 

Installed mine today. NO MORE VIBRATION!!! Thanks to ECGS for this fix!

 

How much time did it take? Any tough spots/ reccomendations? I'll probably do this next week

 

It's really not that bad! I spent more time removing the old seal than anything. If you watch the video posted about it by ecgs it explains the install very well. Less than 2 hours start to finish.

 

I just installed the ECGS bearing and a new front hub wheel bearing assembly.
No more low speed vibes.

Notes: I had 35kmiles when I installed 885+5100 but did not use the top spacer due to the excessive vibe. Currently I am at 105kmiles and the CV shaft was fine; no scoring, but normal wear and you can see where the shaft made contact with the needle bearings. The needle bearings themselves looked good as well until I dinged up the bearing casing upon removal.

Removing the CV axle was not difficult as some have experienced. I had a 32" pry bar which I wedged between the CV and the differential and pushed/nudged with the heel of my foot. The trick is to rotate the axle and pry, rotate and pry, I also lifted the CV axle so that it was centered and clunk it just popped out without much effort. It came out on the third try.
Yes fluid will spill out so have a catch can ready.

Removing the needle bearing was also pretty smooth once you get the puller insert into place. I did not grind the corners of the puller, but I did give it some hammer persuasion which is how I dinged up the needle bearing case (no biggie it needs to come out anyways). The trick is to make sure the insert in centered and you will feel a smooth pull as you tighten the nut of the tool.

Installing the ECGS bearing. This is when I used some non PG13 words and needed to take a time out and recompose myself. I did put the ECGS in the freezer the night before, but this was useless as I spent a lot of time tryin to get the ECGS bearing aligned. I used a bearing driver set to only have the ECGS bearing keep going in at an angle. The trick is to get everything out of the way so you have a good access to hammer/tap in a straight line. I disconnected the swaybar and got it out of the way; also swing the spindle completely out of the way. The best way is to really have the lower control arm out of the way as well. I ended up using the ECGS puller tool in combination with the bearing driver; plus a 5LB BFH to get the bearing to sit where I want it. Once the bearing starts to go in evenly you can use more hammer force.

Replacing the CV axle seal I got from ECGS was pretty straight forward. I pryed out the old seal with a flat screw driver. Pushed the new one into place and just tapped around it with a driver and plastic mallet until fully seated. The old one was still in decent shape for 105k I had, but I replaced it anyways.

All in all this took me 4hrs to do; I did not rush this and took my time. 1.5hrs of removal and 2.5hrs of installation. Time included having to remove the front wheel hub bearing assembly again because I forgot to reinstall the brake splash guard. Duh!

 

Good work, as I'm about to do mine I have the new bushing, new seal, puller tool for the old bearing, installation tool for the new bushing, and I will be getting some front differential oil this week. Is that all I need? Besides tools..

 

I'll hopefully be installing my ECGS replacement bushing soon. Did you guys use their BRG/Race Driver installation tool when putting the new bearing in? If not, what did you use to instead?

 

Small 3 claw bearing puller worked nice.

*edit. Used for pulling old bearing. Bearing/race driver for install with an hour of freezing the bushing.

 

I don't think I'd recommend that ad it could maybe damage the bushing? I'd use the brg/race driver set from harbor freight or rent one

 

Somehow totally read that wrong. Used it to pull the old bearing out. Used a standard race driver kit for install after freezing the bushing an hour. (Thanks for the catch on my lack of reading)

 

Ohh ok, that makes sense. I gotta do mine soon. Probably next week if I can

 

That's all you will need for parts aside from the tool.

 

Well I got lucky. My frame is being replaced so I brought by some parts for them to put on and whattayaknow the front differential is there on the ground. I wasn't aloud to work in their shop so I brought it home, pulled the old spider bearing and tapped the new ecgs bushing in.

Easy when it's not on the truck



the cv axle had a little scoring on it, but nothing terrible.

 

So how many 2015's out there are having this problem? I believe I've got it, not bad but enough to really bug me. I've only got about 2700 miles. Fortunately, I had the dealer do my level. How has people's experience been with warranty claims for this issue? Any advice? I hate design problems... and my dealer (nearest dealer) is a 50 minute drive.

 

Your dealer might do the ECGS bushing for you.

 

Anyone got a puller tool for loan? Hope to get this done next weekend.

Edit: I just ordered one. It's a go for Sunday.

 

I have seen the video about how to remove and replace the bushing. But where can I find a step by step guide to getting to the bearing itself? With only the necessary steps. Not including taking the wheel bearing apart and spindle..