Hey Dudes,

If you developed a gnarly vibration in the front end of your lifted 3rd Gen or have been experiencing a loud roaring sound, it could be the excessive play on the driver side of your front differential.

ECGS found a flaw with how the Toyota carriers are made. The spider gear does not have a machined surface inside the carrier to rest against and that causes excessive movement of the spider gear. When you lift your rig and put the CV axle at a more extreme angle, the play within the carrier allows excessive pressure to be put on the needle bearing the CV shaft rides on and that needle bearing was not made to handle that type of load. The result is people can experience a bad vibration and a roaring sound.

ECGS got an idea from ARB that uses a bushing instead of a needle bearing inside the lockers they sell. They decided a fix for the Toyota carriers would be to replace the needle bearing with an oil impregnated bronze bushing to greatly reduce the play the CV shaft has within the carrier. Their idea worked and this is a great fix.

This video shows you how to replace your front differential driver side needle bearing and replace it with the bushing from ECGS.

Here's the video and Enjoy the Show!

did it fix the vibration?

good vid, I watched earlier today.

Yes, it did. It's crazy how tight the CV shaft fits in the front diff with that bushing. There is no detectable play whatsoever.

Do you think that this could be beneficial to a stock height rig?

Possibly, but if you're not having any vibrations or noises coming from your front end, I wouldn't bother.

Definitely made a huge difference, I had actually noticed it a lot the day before on the way to work. The clear indicator to me was when I checked my driver cv axle, felt like 1/4-1/2” of play.

I bought this but didn't install it yet. Their website says it doesn't work with manual hubs. I'm guessing because the cv is different?

I'm not sure that's right. The manual hub carrier should still have a needle bearing on the end. When I did the conversion I used my original diff and the CVs popped right in without issue.

Is it just the drivers side that is known to have the excessive play?

Well, that's the side that usually develops an issue. When I was under Chris' rig, I wiggled both CV shafts as they sat in the differential. The driver side had notably more play. But, the passenger side has a fair amount of play as well. I think because the differential tube on the passenger side uses a ball bearing, which is more durable than the needle bearing, that additional play in the carrier isn't as much of an issue because the ball bearing can handle the load better. At least that's what my best guess is.

Perfect timing Tim! This has been on my mind to do soon. Try to get rid of my mild, niggling vibration.

Thanks again.

Good video Tim!
I have to wonder if using a bushing in place of bearing is a good alternative though for longevity.
Why didn't Yota design it with a bushing?
380k miles on RedRunner when totaled original needle bearing, don't see bushing lasting that long.

Worked on mine. If in doubt give them a call.

I'm not a mechanical engineer. Call ECGS and ask them. They are very friendly and will take the time to discuss this with you. I'm pretty sure you will leave the conversation in agreement that the bushing is an improvement over the needle bearing.

I am, I have and am still doubtful, I see the benefit for the hard core wheelers like you guys are out west like rkntoy and crew. Still see needle bearing covering 90% of the other folks though. Not trying to disprove anyone or slam any new product
just conversing about it.