Needle Bearing Failure With Lift (How Many)

I had 4wheel Auto Parts do a 2.25 inch Pro Comp front level kit only with front diff. drop about 2700 miles ago and no vibes...knock on wood!

 

What are the chances dealership will do the egcs and covered by warranty??

 

Slim to not a fuckin chance

 

Well, dealership said they didn’t see why new struts (5100’s) would good warranty so they are going to have me bring it in. Fingers crossed they will submit it under warranty!!!! Won’t be egcs but new Toyota needle bearing

 

You prob could bring the ecgs and have them put it in instead of the needle bearing, still better than having to replace the ecgs on your own dime.

 

I offered that. They said if submitted under warranty, have to use Toyota parts. Can’t complain if they’ll take care of it. I’ll keep the egcs bushing in the tool box in case I need it later.

 

Well here is some updated info that I have received from a Toyota dealership employee. According to this person, who is reputable, Toyota is well aware of this issue with there 16+ Tacoma. He was told that the issue of cutting the front tires and the vibration/bushing problem has been looked into by Toyota, however they will not be correcting or doing anything for that matter about it and he was also told by his supervisor this issue will not be discussed at all in the future or there will be consequences. He was kind enough to provide contact information for the person that was supposedly investigating the issues. For those of you who are interested or would care to contact the office......1-800-331-4331. I for one will be making a call to them.

 

It’s been an issue for 15 years since the 2nd Gen

 

Wat

 

Needle bearing failure when lifting has been an issue with all generations of Tacomas. If they haven't fixed it yet, I wouldn't hold out hope that they are ever going to deal with it

 

Well, getting a new carrier assembly out of it. ECGS bushing is in the tool box when this needle bearing fails.

 

Yeah I replaced mine with the ECGS bushing after I lifted my 2016 sport. Started hearing the the hum and feeling the vibe just after 5000 miles on the lift. The needling bearing was fine but a piece of the outer metal was missing, but i think it broke off when I was tapping the needle bearing puller in. Toyota said no good and we ain't gonna fix it because you put a lift on it. Now the truck runs and sounds smooth.

 

I have a 2018 TRD off road 4WD and I went with a 3 inch level kit by pro Comp. Had no issues for about 4K miles then I did a tire rotation. Started feeling harmonic vibrations between 20-40 so immediately I said it’s the tires. I had them road forced balanced and tested and it was still there. Threw my stock tires back on and still there. So then I called up 4 wheel parts who did my lift and they showed me the TSB reports on needle bearing issues for the Tacoma’s,4 runners and FJ cruisers since forever. And more specifically the 4wd drive models.Then I called Toyota and they told me that the issue was corrected. Not convinced I called Toyota again later to try a different tech and I just asked him if the differentials are the same as previous years and he told me yes. Now that I knew they were full of crap I took my new truck in to Toyota where the tech confirmed he felt it but it must be the tires. I got 275/70/17 ko2s which is one size bigger then stock so I just laughed at him and left. After this I called another lift shop and they told me to put it in 4WD and see if the vibes go away and magic they were gone. I put my stock tires and rims back on and went back to show the Toyota tech again. This time he said oh it’s the lift. So I threw it into 4WD while he was driving and they went away. I then said so what excuse you got now smart guy. I asked him if 4WD technology makes tires quiet and lift issues go away.. Told him to stop treating customers like idiots and wrote Toyota to tell them they are full of shi*. I then went back to the lift shop and the owner also recommended I change my lift because level kits put more pressure on the front springs and load of the truck so I upgraded to the beefy 6112 bilstein shocks to give it the same height but naturally not with spacers. This also brought my differential back to stock height. I love the feel way better and this made the vibrations less but not go away. It’s definitely the needle bearing. If your doing a lift do the ECGS bushing. The vibes may not come instantly but they will come. And it’s not necessarily because the needle bearing is bad. Toyota just didn’t machine them and and they are poorly designed. The lift owner even showed me how much more play there is on the driver side CV from the diff then the passenger side. Shame on you Toyota. They are full of it and will not touch your truck if you have it modified nor would I want to replace one crappy part with another one.

 

Oh and the vibes are definitely the worst first thing in the morning when it’s cold. As it warms up it goes away.

 

I had the dealership lift my Toyota and it immediately started making noise and vibrating. When I took it back they immediately said that it was the needle bearings and a test drive later confirmed it. They swapped my front diff and installed the bushings on their dime. All is good now.

 

2” front 1.5” rear level with 1.75” spidertrax spacers.. 5500 miles since installed and still no problem with stock bearing

 

Kev16 yes some people keeping their lift at 2” or less have gotten lucky with nothing happening. All 4 guys I know that did lifts on their Tacoma’s all had the issue. But 2 of them like me went 5 to 10k miles before it exposed itself. To be honest the needle bearing is poor design and leaves that left side cv floating like a boat in the perfect storm. Even if it wasn’t vibrating and super annoying I’d do it anyways to tighten up that steering and control over bumps and holes at higher speeds. And paraman yes you had the dealer do the lift so of course they did it. For the 90% of people that did their lifts outside the dealer to not get ripped off on price the dealer won’t touch it. Nor even admit its a problem. They told me normal characteristic of the vehicle lol.

 

I lifted mine 1.5". During the first drive I felt a vibration but it was fairly minor. Now about 500 miles on the lift and it has a very very minor vibration at 40 but I can feel it in the pedals a little. It goes away with 4wd. The only other time I feel a little vibration is during tight turns with a little speed.

Since mine is so minor should I leave it alone for now and see if it gets worse? I know it can cause issues but I don't want to sink another $400 into it at the moment at least not on this.

 

Both my Tacoma’s had 2.5” lifts and front diff drop kits and I have never had the issue.

super curious on what kept mine from going out.

 

I had the same exact issue that you are experiencing. I took it to toyota and they said yes its the needle bearing. Wont cover it since it was lifted. Its not a hard fix to do yourself. Took 2 hours and a friend to help. You can get a used needle bearing puller on this forum for cheap. But you may be fine for 10k miles or it can break in 1000 miles. The risk is up to you....