2015 - Needle Bearing Replacement - Still getting vibes

Hey guys,

New to me 2015 tacoma TRD, 1" leveling kit with 112k miles.

I have a vibration and a WHOM WHOM WHOM sound around 35 - 40mph that quits when you engage 4HI. You can literally feel a rotational feedback under the drivers side floor board.

I bought the truck in North Carolina. It didnt have the vibration. By the time I drove it home 100 miles, WHOM WHOM WHOM at 35mph, no matter the gear etc.

My mechanic replaced the needle bearing. The CV had tons of slop in it. I didnt feel the wobble when I left the shop. Not sure if it was still present or if it was fixed. 100 miles over the weekend and the wobble is back, same symptoms. WHOM WHOM WHOM with changing to 4H fixes it. Driving in 4th gear gives the same WHOM WHOM.

Can a needle bearing fail that fast or should we be looking at the transmission or carrier bearing? Any ideas?

 

Did he replace it with another needle bearing, or the ECGS bushing?

 

Hey morning, he replaced with a OEM toyota needle bearing.

 

Do you think it could still be the needle bearing issue even with a new bearing? What else could cause a WHOMP WHOMP at 35-40 that goes away when you toggle 4H?

I trust my mechanic but he wasn't familiar with the issue until I showed him the TSB. Should the ECGS bushing be my next step?

 

I had the same issue. Installed the ECGS bushing, and everything cleared up. Had it in there for about 3K miles.

 

Did you replace the Needle bearing first, and still had the vibration, or went straight to the ECGS bushing?

 

the angle of the driveline coupled with the needle bearing is what gives you the whom whom whom...install the ECGS Bushing, and it will be GTG!!!

 

Yes, the ECGS bushing would be my next step.

 

My truck had that vibration and I replaced it with the bushing. The bearing I took out was still perfect to my surprise,sounds like you need to replace the bearing with a bushing or live with the sound.

 

So you researched the issue. Knew the needle bearing was the problem. Had to of seen ECGS bushing was the best course of action. Chose to replace with the same loose oem needle bearing. Doesn't make much sense.

The needle bearings don't usually go bad. It's just a bad design. Changes in cv angles cause them to create a harmonic, rhythmic noise. This also happens in completely stock trucks. There is/was a TSB that covers tacomas, 4runner and fj cruiser.

 

The tsb recommends replacing the bearing or the entire diff. We replaced the bearing. Seemed like the logical choice.

Just bought the truck. The first thing I did when I noticed the vibration was call a couple dealers. The toyota dealers I talked to didnt mention the ECGS bushing.

I've shown my mechanic the bushing link, and this thread. If hes confident its not the trans, carrier bearing or something else crazy. Looks like the ECGS bushing will be attempt #2.

 

I don't have the exact percentages, but if you look at the OEM needle bearing it has very little contact with the CV shaft, minimal. I'll guess may be 10% or 15% over the entire diameter of the shaft, if that. Like I said I don't have the exact percentage. If you look at the ECGS bushing, the surface of the ECGS far exceeds contacting the shaft surface than the OEM, the ECGS is a bushing. The OEM has needle bearings that are separated by a type of plastic retaining cage. You take the cage out and you probably fit an add a needle bearing between each OEM needle bearings. The OEM needle bearing here was a poor choice. When I replaced my left wheel bearing I elected to replace the needle bearing and after about 50,000 miles all it still well, knock-on-wood.