Needle Bearing - Yes, Replace It (ECGS)

Newbie question, to replace this we just order the needle bearing itself?

or the whole (master kit) listed on the EGCS website.

Thanks fellas!

 

The install kit makes life a lot easier. Plus you can sell it after you use it.

 

Fluid will come out so yeah. It's not hard to do just two bolts. Get some 75w90 and a gear oil pump from walmart if doing it yourself. The pumps are like 8$ and the gear oil is cheap, can be 80w90 regular dino stuff too.

When I had mine done the guy took the whole diff off the truck and went through everything. Some metal inside but not bad imho.

 

If you have tall enough jack and stands you can lift the vehicle up high enough on the driver's side corner that you will only lose a couple of table spoons of fluid.

 

I have done it on a 2023, it is the same as all the other ones. Toyota does not change much very often haha! You will need to top off a little oil. You are ordering a Bushing from ECGS not a needle bearing and yes, you should order the install kit with the tools otherwise you have to get creative without it. You have to use some race pullers etc. ECGS does a really good job with their kit. I have changed a ton of these locally for people.

 

Do I need to top it off immediately after doing the ecgs bushing install or can I still drive it to walmart/autozone for a bit to get the stuff I need to top it off? I also watched Chloe Kuo's video on changing the diff fluids and she mentions the gear oil in the pouches instead of the bottle makes things a bit easier since you can bend and reshape the pouch to pour the oil in instead of slowly hand pumping the oil in from the bottle into the diff. And how will I know I've added enough oil for the front?

Edit: Would this be what I'd need to top off the fluid?

$16 Valvoline FlexFill Advanced Full Synthetic 75W-90 Gear Oil 1 QT Pouch

https://www.amazon.com/Valvoline-Sy...5w90+synthetic+gear+oil&qid=1674279191&sr=8-6

 

I would top it off immediately... To be honest, I don't even pull the axle until I can get the fill plug out. You don't want to end up draining fluid then not be able to put any back. There's only been one time that the fill plug was rusted up on me. That ended up being a 5 hr job. I have found, Toyota notoriously underfills their diffs from the factory. Basically, you fill the diff fluid until it starts coming out of the fill hole. Doing the bushing swap you lose an eighth to a quarter of a quart. They always take 1/2 to 3/4 to fill them back up. I have very limited internet so that Valvoline didn't load but you want a 75 90 or 80 90 gear oil. If you want to get technical, Toyota currently in our area at least, uses all Pennzoil products.

 

Sorry, I missed the other part of your question. The bags of gear oil are fine. I don't use them because I have a bulk pump set up or I use a hose attachment set up. The bags just help you get up inside the axle and inner fender without any extra tools etc to gravity feed back into the diff. It really just comes down to preference. I used to just use a 2-ft section of vinyl tubing over the nozzle of the gear oil container but then I got fancy with the $6 nozzle attachment and even fancier with my pressurized system when I worked on an Ultra 4 truck haha. It is all just preference

 

Sweet, thanks for the info. I actually just called a local shop to put on my lift and hopefully install the ecgs bushing. He didn't know what I was talking about and I didn't know how to explain it to him but he says bring the stuff in next week with the truck and he'll see if he can put it on. I figure I might as well bring in some gear oil as well and ask him to top it off.

 

Where can I get this done in NJ/NYC area? I can't do it in my apartment complex.

 

I didn't require it for my 2" Lift, but I'd assume any bigger and it probably would be needed.

 

It is 50/50 if you have issues. I've seen stock height have issues. It just depends on the needle bearing and luck of the draw. I am surprised that Toyota let their trucks/runners out of the factory with as much play as the driver axle has. Next time you are under there, grab the inboard side of the driver axle by the differential and jiggle it, then do the same to the pass side and you can see the difference.

 

Some people have asked me to write up how I do this job. I have a ton of them under my belt so here is the simple "skeletonized" version.

The way I do these:
Pull fill plug first to make sure you can get gear oil back in before starting
Pull ABS sensor wire
Pull the brake hose mount bolt
Pull caliper and wire everything to the side out of the way
Pull lower ball joint bolts
Pull tie rod end
Pull bump stop
Tap or pull the axle out and swing hub and disk assembly out and forward and slide the axle through the frame-lower control arm gap that you gained by removing the bump stop
Then pull axle seal and needle bearing
Install everything back opposite order.

About 2 hours if you move efficiently and don't get into the beers to soon haha

 

@MyWyfsRnnr just swapped mine out.

There was quite a bit of play, and the bearing was certainly shot.

New ECGS bushing is in, and its smoooooth now.

No more sounds

 

Did like others said and jacked up driver front. Leaked a really small amount of fluid. Didn't bother to replace the lost. Made my own bearing puller tool. Used a bearing/ seal driver set I had to put the new bushing and seal into the diff.

 

2011 access cab on 6112's set at the lowest setting , maybe an inch of lift its barely level with the stock leafs

Didn't have vibes at first but I do now (about 5k later). Can actually hear and feel it, the CV axle is significantly looser on drivers side compared to the passenger side

EDIT: my vibrations and noise turns out to be a wheel bearing, was sort of like a roaring sound similar to knobby tires but much louder

 

question just had 3 in lift installed the needle bearing is vibrating and a slight hum can I drive on it till part is in . 38,000 miles 2019 Tacoma

 

How long did you drive on it

 

yes. youll be fine for a few days/week or so. the problem is that when there is more torsional load on the needles they become loaded unevenly. there is a possibility that the needles could eject themselves from the bearing cartridge and into your diff, ruining that. the sound/vibration is the uneven loading of the needles.