OFFICIAL 2nd gen 4x4 front differential bearing vibration thread

Ben, my exhaust will make a vibe just after shifting into gear while stopped and just as accelerating from a stop. My exhaust is modified, which probably caused mine. But I've heard it other cars too, and more often when cold. The exhaust hangers stiffen up in the cold.

But I can't figure out why you would just be hearing it now, unless is suddenly got colder.

 

^^ Yep, the CV shaft enters directly into a ball bearing on the passenger side. It is not until you travel down the length of the ADD tube that you find a stub shaft riding in the same needle bearing up against the spyder gears.

Chase and I have had a personal discussion about whether the right side should be routinely done too. Unless he has changed his position he said he does not believe the passenger side needle bearing to be a common problem. Having said this, in early 2012 when the ECGS bushing appeared I decided to take a peek at the passenger side with 20k miles on the truck. I was shocked about the condition of the stub shaft. It had been seriously scored from the needle bearings.

I'm not sure that I want to encourage everyone to start tearing down the right side though. IDK I think it would be more appropriate to wait until high miles start to occur on the ECGS bushing and see if a bunch of problems start occurring on the right side.

 

It did get A LOT colder we had -26 deg a week ago. When I brought it in to my shop it was warmer over freezing, so that maybe possible. One other note I only replaced the right wheel bearing the left did not show wear but it could still be bad. The differential bearing is not the problem the vibration is different.

 

So I have a 1999 4x4 5spd manual SR5 Tacoma with 229,000 miles that's stock (no lift or any other serious modifications) with a very similar problem to what I'm reading about here. I do have a couple concerns with ripping into the side of my truck without a more definitive diagnosis of the issue though--Those concerns mostly being the number of dollars I have and my mechanical inclination (or lack thereof). I'm a teacher in a public elementary school so cash and time is hard to come by....And I've never really worked on vehicles before.

On a long drive (1000+ mi) my truck started to make a growling/rubbing sound when going about 80 on the highway--I took it into a Firestone (never doing that again) and they told me it was likely my rear brakes (they did need replacing. When they took the drums off, the axles were leaking, so they rebuilt the axle seals, bearings, new brakes, new drums, etc. It was about 1200 bucks of work (the good news was I didnt end up paying a cent--they quoted me 6 hrs of work and then took 4 days to get it all done.) And now, 200mi later, my growling noise is back.

Here's my concern--It isn't a constant/every time I drive the truck type noise. It probably happens every 2-5 times I drive. In fact, every time I've taken it to a mechanic, the growling goes right away!

If it's making the growl, as soon as I put it into 4x4 the growl goes away.

When I put it back into 4x2 sometimes it does make the growl, sometimes not.

It's most noticable at around 20-40 MPH, when above that it mostly goes away and when below it becomes less concerning.

It really sounds like the wheel is about to fall off though--It's not a quiet noise I'm super comfortable just letting go.

So here are my questions--
Does this sound more like a wheel bearing or the needle bearing?
What are some tests I can do to see if it's the wheel bearing or something else?
What are the risks if I do just "ignore" it for the time being?
Is there any way to confirm what it is without tearing the whole front apart?

Thanks, I know this is somewhat like beating a dead horse by asking these, but I can't really diagnose this myself....

 

I contacted Toyota Corp. about my needle bearing/axle shaft problem and being out of the 5yr power train warranty( two months) and having the shaft already out. I sent them a photo of the axle shaft bearing surface. They told me to take it to a dealer and get an opinion. I did. I asked that a mechanic look at it. And said nothing else. The first thing he asked was, " is the truck lifted?" Now tell me they don't know what is going on....

 

Does anybody know someone that can install my ECGS bushing in UTAH?? Any help would be appreciated.

 

Does anyone know of a shop in San Diego that installs the ECGS bushing ?

Thank you,alpinebob

 

Holy shit, was going to lift mostly for looks, but you guys are really scaring me

 

69 more pages to read but would this be a good preventative thing to do on a '13? As long as no crazy expensive tools are needed to pull the CV shaft it looks pretty easy on the removal/install.

Looks like the answer is YES... otherwise if it happens to me I will need a new CV as well.

 

It was only scary before the bushing was created. Now, not a big deal.

 

If you want to lift your Tacoma be ready for the extra installation. I was walking out of Autozone after picking up a 35mm socket for the axle nut and passed a young guy that had just gotten out of a '10 Tacoma. I asked if it was lifted and he said yes. He said that he really liked it. I said "ow's it drive with the lift and he said fine except for a little vibration. I told him about our problem and his jaw dropped.....
As for the installation of the bushing, I'm not a mechanic but I had no problem. If you follow Chase's instructions in removing the components to get to the axle it's actually pretty straight forward.
I only needed one hand to tap on the axle while I held it straight when re installing it

 

Why ? because everyone in here solved their issue ?

 

I would have bought my truck a year earlier if it hadn't been for this thread. It scared me away from Tacoma too. I finally decided that $200. wasn't that big a deal. Also FWIW I know of two second gen Tacomas (lifted) locally that haven't had any vibes.

 

Anybody got a EGCS puller they want to sell?

 

I'll sell you mine. Check your PMs

 

Photos of a CV axle after use with the ECGS bushing.

Background: I installed the ECGS bushing due to the onset of front end vibrations when my 2006 had 293,810 miles, which was about 75k miles after installing lift. Photos taken today at 346,113 miles which is 52.3 miles after install (oops, I recently reported I had 54k miles on bushing, but it was actually 52k miles due to bad memory).

CV axle was replaced due to a cracked boot, and since reman OEM axles are only $99 at CVJ Axles, I elected to replace the axle rather than just the boot due to high mileage on axle.

Photos: It looks good to me, no signs of unusual wear, just light marks as you might expect. Keep in mind this axle had 293,810 miles of needle bearing wear as well, with the last 1500 miles or so of it on a bad needle bearing before the bushing install.

The bushing look fine as well.

 

^Good to hear

 

Kudos qnyla, +1 rep for update

 

Sub'd

 

I am not thrilled that the reman CV axles from CVJ have a black coating or paint on the machined surfaces. I hope that paint is compatible with the ECGS bushing. I put it in anyway.