The Getaway...Crom's build and adventures

Thanks for posting this. My skid control lamp stayed on after a nor cal snow run this past weekend. I hit a big ass boulder hiding in the snow. It knocked my steering wheel off center about 90*. Had it realigned so I'm gonna be doing the recalibration soon.

Why did you have to drop the front before you re calibrated everything? Personal preference? In theory it shouldn't matter what height the truck is sitting because it's getting calibratied at that specific height. This is all new to me so I'm just trying to understand how all this stuff works

 

Two different things...

First I calibrated to confirm the issue and resolution.

Second and independent of that, I adjusted my suspension lower to return factory rake.

I'll get another alignment tomorrow, and finally recalibrate again, as it's good practice per Toyota.

I'll write it up tomorrow when I do it again, super easy job. For kicks I'll ask dealer how much $$$ for this.

 

That still seems like a lot of lean. I just measured and got 22.5 pass side and 22.25 Dr side with a 1/4" dr side spacer. I like the added benefit of the poly bushings less friction. Interesting? With the stock LCA bushings if you dont loosen the cam bolts you can move the LCA some but it springs back? as if they provide some loading on their own?

I was getting the annoying beeping / braking VSC shit from the system when I tried to corner too fast. It seems to have settled down (knock on wood). Standing by for your write up because it does seem a bit convoluted as with other Toyota calibrations.

 

Thanks for your measurements for comparison.

I think my Taco lean is worse because I've mounted accessories (compressor, aux battery, etc.) on that side which amplifies the problem.

Thanks for your comments in the 6112 thread earlier today. They were helpful.

 

Thanks I just edited my previous post regarding the LCA bushings?

 

however, IDK about the 30mph Limit, ive had the VSC off in my truck while well above 30MPH and with the rear end hanging out a good bit and it never gave me an issue.

 

The poly is non binding. It can spin 360° around the axis of the bolt while torqued at 100 ft.lbf all day long. It does need lube though!!!

It is also very dense and less forgiving than stock rubber. My initial impressions are that the polyurethane LCA bushings pick up more Road feedback and this is transmitted to the steering wheel and pedals and cab.

Still testing...

Yes. Exactly.

Just like a rubber band.

The stock upper and lower control arms have rubber elastic bushings. That's why it's essential they are torqued at ride height, so they are neutrality loaded. They can tear if torqued while in droop, and then driven on.

@GHOST SHIP has a great video he did which shows just how much vibrations are absorbed by the LCA rubber bushings. Maybe he can post it.

I mention this because I don't think the polyurethane bushings will allow the LCA to move in the same way because more dense.

 

Front end rebuild is complete.

• New inner tie rods
• New tie rod ends
• New Toyota axle assembly ( old one ruined by Toyota needle bearing)
• ECGS Bushing
• Heavy duty spindle gussets
• New Bilstein 6112 coilovers
• New hubs and wheel bearing assemblies
• New disc rotors
• New pads, shims
• New all steel lug nuts.
• New poly LCA bushings
• New LCA Moog ball joint
• LCA welding reinforced, painted
• Two new LCA cams and bolts
• Cleaned and greased UCAs
• Replaced UBJ dust boot

Ready for the next 10 years, lol

Short slide show with some music of the work.
https://youtu.be/7YN9SAKHMz0

 

Very nice!
How difficult were the hub/bearing assymblies to remove and install?

 

My first time doing it on the truck. Super easy. No corrosion to fight. Penetrating oil was used every where.

Impact lugs off.

3/8 breaker bar for two 17 mm caliper bolts. Easy.

Getting the hub dust cover off, I sheared the tip of a screwdriver and drove it to wedge it off in several places. Worked very well.

Impact axle nut loose. Cake.

M8 x 1.25 bolts thread into rotor to push it off, only needed if original. Gravy.

Four hub flange bolts with box wrench, and cheater wrench or cheater pipe. Easy.

Rubber cord your CV axle to coil bucket to support it

Then pull and tap with deadblow hammer hub will come right off.

 

I actually had several other than the one you had seen, Nick but unfortunately I didn't keep them. Although, they can be recreated easily. We were trying to diagnose a clunk in a friend's truck and had cameras pointed at possible culprits while we drove around town. It ended up being his worn LCA bushings and cam bolts that were under torqued and seized that way. One interesting thing we noticed was that with his worn bushings, the LCA as a whole moved about a half inch when stopping aggressively or accelerating from a stop.
Just like anything OEM, there is a compromise from the factory between ride comfort and the rubber's ability to absorb vibrations versus the better performance but stiffer ride provided by upgrading to poly bushings. The masses want a soft ride and your average Tacoma owner doesn't drive the way we do over the terrain we cover. I'll see if I can get some more footage of the movement. At the very least I know I have one somewhere showing the movement in the OEM core support. I still haven't gotten around to installing my ES bushings there. Been sitting in the tool box for almost a year.

 

Beauteous!! Nice Job! Hit the steering Rack Boots with 303 for preservation!!

 

not that anyone is wondering but I wanted to leave a quick note on here regarding the intermidiate steer shaft that is apparently causing jarring/sloppy steering feeling. Today I shook the intermediate shaft I could replicate the noise and feel of what some say feel like knocking or loose play over square or washboard terrain. Now I can't say that this solves the entire issue however I can say that using the zip tie method by inserting it between the green gasket and intermidiate shaft 100% makes the steering feel more solid than before. So in the interim I'm hoping a tsb will possibly come out for the 2015...

 

I made that mistake and wondered why if felt less compliant and actually was sitting a little higher. When I loosened them and backed out and back into the garage and re torqued it dropped 1/8" and rode much better. Here's a video I took when I was troubleshooting a clack noise which turned out to be the shocks and led me to get the 6112's.
The best movement is towards the end from 4:10 to 4:30 when I did a 3 point turn I think and the noise I was fighting was best noticed at 3:29
I did pull the LCA for inspection and lube the bolts and sleeves (per your advice) had no obvious damage and so it seems that much movement is normal?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4md3eFhkRJs&t=124s

 

I love these diagnostic videos.

It definitely shows bushing movement. In the one @GHOST SHIP had, which was off road, the LCA looked like it was in a severe nonstop earthquake.

 

East Coast Gear Supply (ECGS) TOYOTA 8" DIFF CV AXLE BUSHING
(ELIMINATES TOYOTA NEEDLE BEARING)

I first learned of the growling diff issue back in 2010 here at TW. Back then there was no solution to the problem and precise diagnosis of probem was elusive. Fortunately for every Toyota customer, Chase and company at East Coast Gear Supply engineered a solution.

The solution is to pull out the Toyota needle bearing, and replace with ECGS bushing.

I was able to perform the remove and replace procedure myself without too much trouble even though I've never pulled a CV axle before.

I was aided by the following support material:

• @KenpachiZaraki 's how-to guide entitled "How To Remove CV Axle+Replace Front Wheel Bearing 2nd Gen",
• @Agent Smith's thread 2nd Gen CV Axle Removal Tips/Tricks/Advice
• @JLink 's How to: Swap Your Spindles guide.
• ECGS Bushing Install Video

My install was pretty routine, except I could not pry the CV out using the prybar method. And the slide hammer technique didn't help either. The Prybar helped some, but could not get it 100% out. I placed a call to @samiam who shared with me his experience on getting the CV out, and later back in. Thanks Sam!

In order to get the CV out, I ended up buying about 6' worth of 3/16" stainless wire rope with ferrule stops for $5. I constructed my wire choke rope with some loops on each end. It worked well while I swung my 4 lb. sledge. About 4-5 times and CV came right out. I had my CV suspended and supported by a rubber tarp strap hooked to coil bucket. So it didn't fall or anything when it came out. Just kind of floated there. lol

Here are some pictures of my work.



I worked at night to make it more fun.




When I got the CV out, I inspected for damage and found some. 71,116 miles. Only lifted since 55,000.


Brinelling /ˈbrɪnəlɪŋ/ is the permanent indentation of a hard surface. It is named after the Brinell scale of hardness, in which a small ball is pushed against a hard surface at a preset level of force, and the depth and diameter of the mark indicates the Brinell hardness of the surface.


I didn't know what to do with this CV, run it or replace. I made this thread
Scoring on CV axle shaft?

I asked Chase at ECGS to take a look and tell me what I should do.

Thank you Chase.

I took his advice. I considered all my options for replacement. I opted for the most expensive solution and went with a factory CV axle assembly from dealer. It included all the seals and was pre-greased, and is in pristine condition. My main concern was reliability and I didn't want any maintenance surprises in the future. I have a good relationship with the parts counter at my dealer of choice, and they beat online pricing for me.





Toyota needle bearing on left, ECGS bushing on right.


I used the ECGS puller tool and it worked flawlessly. The needle bearing was removed intact. I used a Harbor Freight Bearing race and seal driver kit. The 39.5mm race tool drove the bushing into it's new home perfectly.


I had no problems putting the new CV into the diff. I used a long pry bar to push on the tulip and once I had proper alignment I hammered it in.

I cleaned up the diff from leaking oil and refilled the diff. I monitored for a few days and no leaks.

I do wish I had done this a lot sooner than I did. The needle bearing made a lot more noise than I realized and in my case it damaged the CV. I am also a little envious of folks who came into the 2nd gen family later and did this mod right off the bat, like @DVexile <---Smart guy!

Lastly, ECGS has stated that the bushing should last for the life of the truck. I believe that to be true based on long milage report by @qnyla

To my knowledge only one person that I know has managed to smoke the ECGS bushing and that was @blackhawke88 (long travel, 35's hard core wheelin' ) in his case, as I recall, ECGS sent him a new one at no cost.

 

You're killing me with all the awesome maintenance on this page. Ugh.. About to pull apart my dakars and bring them over to local spring shop to get drilled. Install next week. Stoked

 

This is great Nick! Awesome work, as always.

 

I remeasured front today on a flat surface.

• Center Hub to fender lip on driver side 21.75 inches (circlip 3rd notch)
• passenger side 22.375" (circlip 2nd notch)
• Taco lean: 0.625"

One inch rake, slightly more than stock, I like it a lot!



Alignment was good, but not optimal.

I also recalibrated VSC computer. Will write that up tonight.

 

Oh the awesomeness!

Wonderful write-ups as usual, Nick. Impressive work on the front end. Great way to ring out 2016!