No Needle bearing on 23' Tacomas?

Hello all,

In acquiring quotes to do a re-gear on my 23', the gentleman from Colorado Axle and Gear mentioned to me that the 23's do not have the drivers side needle bearing from the factory. Curious if anyone can confirm this change?

Edit: Info from Colorado Axle and Gear-
"The issue was that the side gears had play in them 2022 down causing needle bearing to have tension. Now that the side gear has no play and side gear fits snug in the carrier journal,the needle bearing doesn't have the load on it like before. We do so many Toyotas and have found out that the carrier was designed differently than previous years".

 

That is false.

If you're installing a front ARB locker with the front regear, you don't need a replacement bushing with the regear, as the ARB locker replaces the need for a needle bearing/bushing.

Other than that, the diffs and needle bearings have not changed from 2005 to 2023.

 

Yeah he just sent me more info, which I added to my original post. Looks like they do have the needle bearing, but something about the carrier is different, so there isn't any sideloading on the gears, or loading on the needle bearing

 

following for further assessments