East Coast Gear Supply Freakin' Rocks!!!

Thank you! Truck only has about 1500miles so am sure i can reuse seal (as its almost brand new), just wasnt sure if its one of those things that gets damaged when removed, and a new one needs to be used.

 

Well after reading this thread I tackled this task yesterday. Took about 4 hours. Had never done anything like this before so wanted to take my time and had some difficulties. But all in all got it done. Feel accomplished and the best part, Vibration free.

 

Excellent! It's pretty satisfying isn't it!!!
I'm glad this thread is getting some mileage. So often we have questions and get a lot of good answers but it's nice to hear so much positive feedback from people that have actually applied the fix and had the 'hoped for' result!

I was so happy that it fixed my problem that I just had to help ECGS get more product out there.

 

How long (miles) have owners driven with the front driver side diff vibration/bad needle bearing? Any wear issues, or breakage to worry about?

 

I think its mostly an annoyance from what I've read, but am sure that enough mileage on it would definitely mean there are some shavings in fluid/oil...

Anyone with experience that could shed some light on this???

 

Yeah, I have no long term personal experience with it but I've read other threads where folks said it was just an annoyance and didn't cause any damage to speak of. Before I installed the bushing, I did slip the bearing and the bushing onto the end of the axle shaft. There was noticeably more play in the bearing. My axle shaft looked fine but again, I didn't have more than a few thousand miles on it since the lift.

 

I had around 24,000 on my original needle bearing. I couldn't tell how the bearing once once i pulled it as i destroyed it in the process.. But I did have noticeable wear marks on the input shaft of the cv. Granted my truck is lifted so it put more stress on the cvs and that could have been part of the issue. Never the less a few hours and the problem is fixed.

 

It's been almost 15,000 miles on my ECGS bushing and no issues whatsoever. FWIW, when I tapped the bushing in, I checked how far it had gone by feeling to see if the outside face was flush as well as checking the inboard side to see how close it was to the spider gear. I think I ended up just outboard of flush, but there's plenty of room between it and the spider gear in case I need to remove it, I can get a tool on the back of it. I forget what ECGS says the limit is, but you can have it sticking out pretty far IIRC.

 

Does anyone have the removal tool that they want to sell? I am getting ready to do it here in the next month or so.

 

I'll have one for sale in a couple of weeks, if all goes right I'll have it in before first of the year. I'll post into this thread when it is available.

 

@Crom posted in another thread showing his CV shaft after something like 70K miles with the needle bearing - it didn't look too good.

 

I wanted to give cudos to the folks at ecgs. I placed my online order for the bushing and puller at 3:54 pm central time on 12.22. I had a tracking number 3 minutes later at 3:57 and today, 12.24 @ 9:30 am the doorbell (in Oklahoma) rings and it's fedex dropping of my bushing and puller. Talk about excellent customer service and they do rock!

 

Did mine yesterday. Haven't driven it much, but the vibes seem to be gone.

 

ECGS install went very well, no vibes or sounds from the front diff any more. I would strongly recommended replacing the needle bearing if you have a lift and are experiencing rumbled strip noises from the front. Its like a new truck again. Change the front diff fluid at the same time, cv shaft had a little bit of polishing but no marks after 1500mi of driving.

 

This works. Had no droning prob with my 09, then did the same lift with my 10 and boom it was there. After the bushing was installed the problem was resolved. Totally worth it. ECGS fixing Toyota engineering cock ups one at a time.

 

diff drop useless please explain

 

Guess I'm lucky not to have this vibration issue. Or, maybe I have it and don't realize it. I do have some steering shaking but I diagnosed the problem with worn out control arm bushings based on the truck 'floating' and the uneven tire wear. Recently checked the wheel bearings - third assembly on driver-side is good; second one on pass-side has a little play. Truck feels the same to me whether in 2WD or 4WD. Installed 2.5 lift at about 40K and never did the diff drop.

 

So i figured id share my experience. I am not super mechanically inclined but I am very well read on the subject and watched a ton of youtube videos beforehand. I lifted my 2016 sport a few months ago and got the vibe. Toyota did not have an answer so they replaced the whole front diff which solved the problem for about 2k miles. I finally grew the balls to do it myself.


I used these youtube video as my guide


CV axle removal video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfpP4sy8qYw&t=226s

ECGS needle bearing removal and ECGS bushing install video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnA_R3gFf2s&t=200s

I rented most of the necessary tools from autozone loan a tool program (I can not overstate the importance of having the right tools and it doesn't cost anything to rent from autozone (100% refund with return of tools within 90 days))

heres a list of what i rented

35 mm socket
breaker bar
torque wrench
tie rod separator
bearing driver kit
263 dollars total shipped to my house for free and 100% refundable if you return the tools within 90 days which I did today

(The spring compressor was for something else and is not needed FYI)



Some other tools I had that were necessary
Pry bar
10 mm allan wrench on a socket driver
ball pien hammer
small sledge hammer
jack stands
jack
standard set of sockets up to 22mm

I bought the $60 needle bearing puller tool and in my opinion it is a must

I used the ECGS recommended gear oil afterwards which i ordered from Amazon (85W-140)

$13 Lucas Oil 10042 Heavy Duty High Performance SAE 85W-140 Gear Oil - 1 Quart

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000IG20T0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Used this forum for a guide of torque specs for reassembling everything
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-torque-spec-guide.318116/

All in all it took me about 4 hours and keep in mind I've only driven about 20 miles since the install but my taco drives like a dream now. Quieter than the day I bought her. Hope this helps anyone with any doubt about doing it yourself. The two hardest parts were seating the removal tool behind the needle bearing and the other was pounding the new ECGS bushing in.

 

Subd for later since I'll be doing my ECGS bushing in the next month or two.

 

I'm having a hell of a time getting the ECGS bushing in the last 1/16"-1/8"....any tips?