Snow Wheelin on The MET Take #2

Blue, You should meet me and my Step-Dad in Cool or Auburn, and we'll convoy out to Placerville

 

PM me yo digitz!

 

Be sure to take Cold Springs Rd instead of 49 after Coloma. Much faster. And an even shorter route when you get to P'ville is to hang a right on Coolwater Creek Rd (stop sign), left on Green Valley (stop sign), and right on Placerville Dr (signal). It'll save you a lot of miles.

 

Has anyone checked if they opened the dirt roads?

 

I looked yesterday a.m. & the news release on El Dorado Natl Forrest site says they are opened as of May 13th.

 

Man I wish the run was this weekend all that new powder there getting right now.

 

Yep, we got just over 11 inches Sunday! The ground at our house is all white again (wife's not too happy). Reminds me of May last year when we got 3 storms each a week apart that dropped 5 inches of snow each week.

Hey Steven, you set your fronts to 2.5 correct? What are your front measurements now (from ground up to the bottom of the fender over the hub...ground to fender is what I'm looking for since the height of our tires is essentially the same anyway). I have the measurements for stock, .85, and 1.75, but no idea what they are for the 2.5 setting.

I put my diff drop back in last week and my vibe decreased (barely noticeable now). So I'm guessing when I go to 1.75 and add the toytec spacer I just got for the taco lean (mine's down almost a whole inch on the driver's side and it's quite visible) that my cv axle in the needle bearing is going to scream at me (and I hope it's not the needle bearing again). I'm hesitant on raising it up but I guess I should do that first and then deal with replacing the axle afterwards. I'd like to raise it up before June 4, and I'm wondering what the height is at 2.5 before I commit to 1.75. I want to keep some rake because of my tonneau and the sandbags I carry back there all winter...then there's the firewood I haul throughout the summer. I'm pretty sure I'm sticking with 1.75, but curious on the 2.5 height.

 

I know I said earlier I was no longer going but I still might make it. When it gets closer I will let you know Jerry.

 

Long response...

No, this stems from a problem I had when I first added the 5100s last year (I added a Wheeler's AAL at that time too). It's not the tires nor is it any other vibe. The 2nd gens have problems with the driver's side needle roller bearing inside the front diff. It's similar to the TSB for the Tundras for this same problem, but Toyota hasn't issued a TSB for the Taco (I see nothing...I see nothing!). There are close to 2 or 3 dozen people on the forums that have had their front diff's replaced...sometimes more than once. If the vibe/grinding goes away flipping the 4wd switch, then it's this bearing (driver's side...I can explain how we know it's that side from the test if you want). Even on the Tundra's, they're failing over and over (one moderator on TN finally dumped his Tundra because he had 3 front diffs go bad within 17 months). So when I lifted mine, I discovered that my bearing was bad. Not only was it sending me the cyclical vibe indicative of this needle bearing, but it was a loud audible grinding that could be heard even if I drove by you on the road (and was louder than the radio at a moderate level). Toyota replaced my front diff in June 2010 and I've been going along just fine at .85 with a diff drop. Took the diff drop out in Jan because I figured I shouldn't need it at .85 and felt the vibe a little bit. It was getting worse over the last couple months, so last week I put it back in and the vibe is barely noticeable. The learning process on the various front diff threads is that when the needle bearing goes bad, it frequently screws up the surface of the CV Axle where it rests in the bearing. So everyone with this problem now knows that the vibe may still be there until you replace the CV Axle too. My concern is on raising it back up and putting pressure on the bearing again if it's the CV Axle being rough (or even having pits in it as some have discovered). I don't want it to destroy that needle bearing because that's a PITA to replace. A few have been able to replace the needle bearing without removing the front diff from the truck and using a puller with a fitting that they fabricated. That's way beyond me at this point (unless I learn to remove the CV Axle then maybe I'll be in a position to tackle it in the future if it becomes a problem again).

Anyway, I need to replace the CV Axle as a precaution to avoid destroying the bearing (unless it's really the bearing going bad again but I won't know until I at least replace the CV Axle). So it's not an issue with the angles so much as causing internal damage to the bearing. This shit stresses me out!

I think I may be raising it up this week (if I have time before company arrives next week), so I'll know then how bad it is.

 

Lol Moose, I used to live in Cool and traveled to Placerville a lot

 

I figured as much, but it never hurts to point out shortcuts.

We once went up to my father-in-law's house at SLT years ago on a holiday weekend. He had friends coming up from Sac. They went up 50. We went up MET, stopped at Silver Lake for lunch and spent some time on the water, then continued on to his house. We still got there before them. We always go MET to 88 when traffic is heavy in the summer anytime we head to Tahoe.

 

Okay I'll put you down as a maybe.

 

Looking forward to this

 

yeah give me a time and location

 

I havent measured it yet but I will...my truck just started the vibrating yesterday so im going to install diff drop this weekend hopefully that will solve it. my truck sits just about level with the fronts at 2.5 and a 1.5 aal slight rake in the back.........................I say lift it jim

 

Sucks for you guys that have vibes/ cv problems. I have no problem with mine and more lift.

 

How bad is the vibe? Mild and only slightly noticeable when on smooth pavement? Or can you feel it even on rough pavement? If it requires smooth pavement to feel it, the diff drop should "almost" eliminate it. Good luck on the warranty aspect. Some dealerships are not caring if there's a lift because they realize it was bad before the lift occurred.

Want to trade trucks? I like yours better anyway.

 

We need to have a "fix Steven's truck" day. That way the rest of us can learn the process and what to do to replace that needle bearing (it's going to happen to everyone eventually anyway). And through that, I'd learn how to replace the cv axle. The bearing is less than $50, the cost is all the labor (dealerships only replace the whole front diff at a cost of $2,200). Any takers? (I know, it's asking a lot...)

I had to take the day off today for other things, so I'm going to take the time and raise mine up to 1.75 and see how bad the grind is...