2020 Taco w/ 500 miles, installing ECGS bushing - top off or drain and refill diff?

I am going to be lifting my 2020 TRD OR AC soon (parts already here), and I am planning on swapping the needle bearing for the ECGS bushing at the same time. I know some people say not to worry about it unless it becomes an issue, but I'd rather just prevent it from ever becoming an issue in the first place.

Anywho, I know I will likely lose some diff fluid during the procedure, so I'm wondering if it makes more sense to just top it off afterwards or if I should drain and replace. If I do top it off, is there any risk in mixing non-OEM gear oil with the stuff from the factory so long as it's 75W-85 GL-5? It seems a waste to drain the factory stuff since it only has 500 miles on it, but if that's the safest option then so be it. Any thoughts?

 

I don’t think there’s been any issues with the needle bearings since the 2018 or 2019 models.

 

If it's the same design and parts, wouldn't this issue in the 2020 be imminent? Not trying to be a smartass, just curious. I have a 2020 with 1200 miles that I will be lifting soon.

 

I don’t know, but if the problem is not present, then something has probably changed. Do some research

 

Everything I've read appears to indicate that they're still using the same needle bearing as the 2nd gens. Most 2018/19's probably just don't have enough miles on them for the issue to manifest yet.

 

Yup, everything I've read indicates same parts. I'm just going to change it out when I do my lift soon. Maybe also worth it to do the UCA while everything is apart too.

 

Yeah that was my thought wave as well - set her up how I want out of the gates, and do it right. I'm doing Bilstein 6112/5160's, medium Dakars, and TC UCA's. Hopefully this weekend, if the weather cooperates.

 

I just found some info about a TSB back from 2016 that replaced the needle bearing which are now a different manufacturer and needle size that fixed the problem. Maybe starting with 2018 or 2019 they switched all models to the new part? I think the problems started happening immediately upon lifting the vehicle, didn’t take any extra miles to cause the issue. But if you feel better about it, it’s not going to hurt anything to replace it with a better part.

you guys need to learn how to do better research. I found this in about 2 minutes using Google.

Old Bearing - 90364-35010
Manufacturer: Koyo
Length: approx. 25.8 mm overall
Number of Needles: 34
Length of Needles: approx. 19.8 mm

New TSB Bearing - 90364-35008
Manufacturer: Nachi
Length: approx. 25.8 mm overall
Number of Needles: 34
Length of Needles: approx. 18.5 mm

 

Regardless, the question was about gear oil, not the needle bearing. I'm just wondering if different brands of gear oil use different additives that might end up causing issues down the road, or is all 75W-85 GL5 more or less created equal so mixing is totally fine?

 

I think that’s in here somewhere. I just read something about that question the other day.
Sorry, I meant to help. If your spending time and money on something unnecessary, why do it? But again, I can’t argue with replacing it for a stronger part.