Louisville, KY ECGS Bushing install

I have a 2020 Crewmax Limited Tundra and have been experiencing the typical woo woo noise at 25 mph which goes away when the truck is in 4x4… indicating the needle bearing on the drivers side. The truck has 36k on it now… Toyota put a new front differential in it about 10k ago. The new differential did help some, but the noise has returned though not as bad as it was before. I just ordered the ECGS bushing and I am looking for a place that can do the install on it near Louisville, KY. Has anyone in the Louisville area had the bushing installed, if so where?


Also, I am wondering if I should replace the drivers side CV axle during the bushing install as I am worried about usual wear the bad needle bearing might have caused on the CV shaft. Am I just overthinking it, or should I replace the CV axle as well?

 

Has anyone actually seen one of these totally fail or is it just a bad design that makes noise? I have seen many replaced due to noise, but haven't seen a single total failure. Seems like it would take a lot of abuse or lack of lubrication before failure would occur. What am I missing?

 

I think you’re probably overthinking it.

I replaced mine a couple months ago. Not the funnest thing I’ve ever done, but not too bad. I’m pretty sure it made the noise from day one, but it was never more than that. The needle bearing looked great when I got it out. No wear or damage to the axle or anything. In my case, I think it could’ve gone forever just making the noise.

Here’s a pic of the needle bearing. It looks new; no wear on the needles or anything. Just the tiniest bit of room for the axle to wobble in it.

 

Good to know…. Just the noise and a slight steering wheel vibration. I think the bearing could last a very long time making the noise. It is annoying, but I may just keep the bushing as a backup in case it gets worse. I think I could do the install myself, just worried about getting the CV axle out of the differential and getting it back in. Any pointers for that?

 

The key to simple axle install is to engage 4x4 so the internal female spline doesn't rotate while you align the male spline.

 

I did an entire write-up in my build thread (post #115 here) with references to a few YouTube videos that show you how to do it.

There is one thing that made putting the CV axle back a total piece of cake. It's in that write-up.

 

always my thought too. Mine makes noise, keep thinking of going the bushing route. Probably will one day, but as you note I don’t see anyone complain of them actually going bad and everyone says how good the rollers look when they come out