Tundy, house and beetle build thread...and exploring.

While trying to chase down the front end vibration that was deemed "just the way it should be" by the Toyota service manager when the truck had under 100 miles on it, I decided to give the ECGS front diff bushing a try. I didnt notice any noise or the vibration going away in 4wd, but since its a known problem and not too expensive, I figured I would give it a try.

The truck came apart somewhat easy, got the CV popped out of the diff relatively quickly and then saw this:


The CV axle has never been out of the truck as far as I know. Only time that its had any service was when they had to do the rear main at 25k... but I doubt that. But the roller bushing SHOULD be flush with the face that is closest to the camera... it was a good 3/8" past where it should be sitting.

So what... well, the tool to remove the roller bearing has to sit in the space that is left on the other side of the bearing when its installed properly, there was no space for that on mine. Thankfully @iRideMTB brought along a blind hole bearing puller. The issue then was the fact that there was not enough space to get a pull on the slide hammer. After about 2 hours of working on it, rigging a ratchet strap to the far side of the weight and being able to get a good pull, it started coming out!



Before that was attempted, I tried to ratchet strap the puller to the ATV and tighten that hoping it would pull it, but that didnt work.

In all, it took 8'ish hours to get two trucks done. His truck gave us plenty of grief on the CV that did not want to come out.

If we would not have had issues forcing us to remove the CV from the knuckle, the job is totally doable without removing it and you can just swing the knuckle out of the way.

He said that his truck rides MUCH better, and I am hoping mine feels the same when I drive it tomorrow. Heres to hoping!

When I drained the fluid to change it, the bottom plug had quite a bit of fine magnetic dust. I am guessing from the original bearing being pushed in too far and rubbing on the innards of the diff that are moving.

 

My one weakness... Amazon.


50w flexible solar panel for the hood and a starting point for my camp stove swingout are on the way.

 

The weight of a k02 and duratrac are both near 50 pounds each in the 235/85/16 size.

I don't need tires right now by any stretch so I'll watch for a good sale as the time gets closer even though right now tire rack has the k02s for just over $154/tire.

The stmaxx don't seem to offer any perks over these two for the increased price and much lower tread life.

And i don't see much about the Grabber x3s.

Any input on the discount or tire rack warranties? I have had and used the Goodyear warranty and couldn't be more pleased. Quick, easy, and cost $25 to have a brand new tire mounted and road hazard moved to the new tire.

 

The ECGS bearing did smooth out the front end in all areas other than the problematic 55+ range.

When turning on longer corners it would go away as if the tires/axle rotated to a point where they synchronized.

So i took it in for a rotate and balance and it seems to have (fingers crossed) helped fix that last area of vibration. I'll know tomorrow with longer areas of 55+ mph driving.

 

The truck seemed to behave much better today as well.

I can still feel a muted shimmy, but it's something that I would be very happy to live with... You can feel it in the steering wheel but you don't see the steering wheel shaking which is a massive improvement.

We'll see if it continues to cooperate.

 

Didn't want to jinx it, but i will now!

The bearing seems to have been the vibration issue! I had no extra humming, and the issue did not go away when I put it into 4wd. Of course, one or both of those could've been due to the fact that the bearing was installed incorrectly from the factory.

Drove a good distance today and it was nice. Kept it in the 55-60mph range and it behaved. It's not Cadillac smooth, but it's plenty smooth enough for me, especially what I've dealt with for the last two years.

Parts waiting to be installed...
Hood wrap
Solar panel
Rci front/mid skid
Camp stove swingout

 

Picture or link to said Camp Stove Swingout? Or is this a home design?

 

Self taping screws to mount the lid to the tail gate. The rest is self explanatory.

 

It's a custom job... Posted the link to the donor pieces at some point on here. Rv tv swing mount. Pretty good idea in my head.

Get outta my head!!

Not a bad idea...

 

Upgrading the armor for the road!



Not sure if I'll paint it black or just throw clear over it.

 

Pink! It compliments your eyes

 

Aluminum or steel?

 

Went with aluminum for the front and steel on the mid. The extra cost didn't seem worth it on the mid since I thought the mid was a lot smaller than it actually is. They both weigh about the same (aluminum front vs steel mid). I was thinking about doing the front three in steel but I decided it'd be better to spend that money to get the exhaust relocated.

I dont plan on rock crawling and just figured it would be a good idea to add a bit of armor. The stock ones have worked thus far, and most of that was slow high rated trails that I dont plan on doing again. But, being out in BFE, a larger safety factor is worth it.

 

Productive (aka expensive) day today.

Swapped the 265/75/16 Duratracs for 235/85/16 ko2's.

Haven't tested them other than driving home but they do feel smoother!


And time to install the skids!

 

Not sure if the solar panel is going to go on the hood after all... But i bought the wrap so let's give it a whirl.

 

I was going to say clear. Looks good!

Heat is your friend.

 

Washed, clayed that area, cleaned with alcohol, cut lines are taped.. time to dive in head first!

I have an old hair dryer that usually works well. Let's hope it stays alive for the job.

 

It would be more fun if you recorded yourself doing it. All the f bombs being dropped

 

Overall it was just a minor pain in the ass...

Cut off the section that turns down by the windshield since it would not stop the little veins creeping back up no matter what i did.

Now wondering what to glue the front part by the hood down with. Wrapped it to the underside but it's not wanting to stick at all.

 

Does it stick to the front edge? If yes just cut it there and don't it under.