ECGS Bushing - Is it a must?

Roger. Not too speedy honestly if need be. Thanks dude!

 

No unfortunately I seem to be far away from all the innovative shops. I live in the PNW area.

 

I replaced mine when I did lift. Preventive maintenance call it

 

Yep, just have to disconnect spindle and shock to access the CV, then it pulls right out with a slide hammer or some cord. PM me if you'd like some more info on the procedure!

 

Might have to take you up on that! For now it’s fine so I don’t see a point in investing money into it when it isn’t needed. Maybe in another 10k which shouldn’t be long lol

 

For anyone that wants to attempt this, there's a much easier way to get the CV axle out. So what's holding it in, is a C clip on the back of the shaft.




You want the opening facing down, and the CV will come out pretty easily. If you try prying it out and are met with a lot of resistance, rotate it a little bit, and whack the base of the CV with a hammer. That'll free the tension on the C clip so it can rotate. Keep trying this until it comes out easily.

 

Dang, that really sucks. I'm pulling both mine on Sunday to do this bushing and reboot the CVs, so I hope it's not a huge pain.

 

Why both? From what I heard u only have to do the driver side. And a good tip is put the bushing in the freezer till right before u put it in. Will shrink it and easier to put in. Just like prom night just the tip baby.

 

My truck had 64,000 miles when I lifted it, sometimes I “think” I feel a vibe but honestly the roads here are so shitty i don’t notice a predominant vibe at any speed.

 

Yepp mine was 150 at ECGS only because it was done at 4K miles. They didn't have to replace the seal/gasket. Trucks with some mileage on theybusually replace it and it'll be 150

 

I’m putting new boots on both axles, and doing the ECGS bushing since it’ll all be apart anyways. My boots are 13 years old with 175k miles on them, so they’re due for a change.

 

I only did the driver side when I did the lift. Took about 20mins. But I had a lift and a friend's garage.

 

Roger that brother. Good luck. Oh and stay clean.

 

If you’re splitting anything apart in there you might as well replace it. You don’t want any small unoticed damage causing a headache later. That’s always been my rule of thumb when taking anything apart.

 

Anyone know if this is the correct axle seal part #?

 

I'm not sure on that, but if you're gonna buy any OEM parts, I recommend sending @gunny1005 a PM. He's a parts manager or something for a dealer and hooks it up on prices.

 

I most likely will, just confirming that was the correct part #. I got my bed mat and several other items from him. I don’t even consider calling my local parts douche bags anymore for anything OEM.

Thank you sir

 

I did mine with roughly 4k on the odometer while I was swapping in the Kings.

A few tips:

- Using a small cold chisel there's about 1/8 to 3/16 area around the "tulip" (end of CV) and the diff housing where you can get a good "bite" between the two parts without damaging any seals or seats. A few taps with the chisel between the face of the diff and the "tulip" on the end of the CV joint, and it pops out fairly easy. You are basically "wedging" the cold chisel parallel between these two points to separate the joint. I've used this method on probably 6 or so CV axle swaps over the years, and it's the easiest, least frustrating method I've found. Just be careful not to go in too far and damage the silver outer dust seal seat on the end of the CV.

- Unless you are replacing the seal, be very careful not to drag the shaft across the seal on the way out. Same goes for when you put the axle back in....do not scrape the seal with the shaft. Almost a sure way to find diff fluid in your driveway and have to do it all over again. I didn't replace the seal last time as I only had 4k on the truck. Next time I will.

- I found that a length of 3' pipe over the stem of the bearing seat tool made life A LOT easier than trying to contort my body at near impossible angles into the wheel well area to try tap the bushing in with the little 8" stem on the tool.

- When putting the CV back in, there are notches on the end of the tulip (see pic below) which allow you to get a cold chisel on them, and tap the shaft back in. Tap, turn, tap, turn....and within a few whacks, it will pop back in and seat without breaking a sweat (or part of the truck).



- If you buy the tool from ECGS, put the end on a grinder to bevel the edges a little. I was having a hell of a time and just could not get the end piece (pulling piece) of the tool in between the needle bearing and carrier. Tried gently tapping it in, but didn't want to use too much force for fear of breaking off a piece of lip from bearing race or something. Screwed with it for far too long, and finally beveled the edges. It snicked right into place the first attempt after that, and I had a the undamaged needle bearing out in a minute or two after that.



I've got an additional 4k miles on it since, without a hint of vibration. If you're relatively handy with tools, I'd not hesitate to get ahead of this one and do as a preventative measure if you're going to lift the truck. Too many guys having vibe problems after lifting for me to risk finding out I would need to do it and having to pull everything apart again just to put the bushing in. With any luck, I shouldn't have to mess with it again for hopefully the life of the truck. But will likely replace the bushing anyway the first time I need to change out a CV axle / boot.

 

Wonder what the dimensions of that puller tool are. Is that an off the shelf T-nut? I'm curious what the measurements are on the bushing as well. Might be off the shelf.

 

That is a left front axle seal.