Vibrations after lift kit. (Solved)

Welp, I got a little vibration between 20 and 45 mph. Here's the story so far, and what I'm doing next...

Got the runner a few weeks ago and threw on Toytec's 3" Bilsten lift as well as some Total Chaos UCAs. I noticed the vibes right after the install. These vibrations are similar to the growl that you get from a set of agressive MT tires. I'm still on the factory wheels and tires. The vibrations go away when shifted into 4Hi. I didn't drive it again until it went in for an alignment. The alignment didn't make it better.
After some research on TW, it seems that the Tacoma guys have dealt with the exact same issue. I guess its a diff needle bearing on the driver's side that's experiencing too much radial load due to the increased angle of the CV shaft. The fix (for some) is to swap the needle bearing out for a bushing. So I went on the ECGS website, out came the credit card, and now I'm waiting for the bushing kit to ship to me. It doesn't seem like a huge chore, but I was kinda hoping that someone on here has done this job on a T4R and could offer a little advise. Thanks in advance.

 

its hit and miss for the runner some say they have the issue (myself included) other no problem. the fix goes all over too. 4 some its aftermarket wheels some say diff spacer. others have done road force balancing and wheel has to be balanced with back spacing flange. mine never really went away but the road force helped. for me it's so nominal that I can take it or leave. best of luck with yours

 

Some compelling evidence.

 

Ecgs took care of my problem on my 16 Tacoma after I lifted it. Getting the tool in was hard. I had to shave a tiny bit off one side so I could slip it in between, you’ll see what I mean when you do it. Make sure you get out a complete bearing. Had a couple pieces break off. Stick a grocery bag in the diff, worked for me. When you put the sleeve in make sure it’s straight before you start pounding on it. Rent a bearing install kit if you don’t have one.

 

yes that needle bearing in the front diff with your lift . post back how it worked out ..
vibs are a PITA to find ... on ALL vehicles ...

 

ECGS bushing took care of my vibes on my Tacoma. I had no issue with my 4Runner though. I think I still have the special tool, if you are interested shoot me a PM.

 

Success! The bushing is in and the vibes are gone. The install went smooth and without issue. Well, there was that fireant that crawled up my pants and bit the back of my sack, but other than that, perfect. If you look at the bearing, it's pretty easy to see that the shaft was actually riding on the cage as well as the rollers. Kind of a shit design if you ask me. I'm glad I didn't ignore it.
Another thing was that my front diff was way low on fluid despite it having the factory paint marks on the plugs. Less than a qt. came out and a little more than 1.5qts went in.
Thanks for all the advice, everyone. It really helped!

 

thanks for your posting on this .. great info.. @3K miles I did inspect all the fluids .. all looked perfect except for the rear diff..
many do get the free oil changes , but many dealerships do NOT inspect all the drive train fluids ...so with low diff oil that would damage the bearing ..

 

update in a few weeks bud. gonna have to do this. thanks

 

For sure. I have pretty long road trip coming up this week. Some 2000 miles round trip. I'll check back if anything pops up.

 

good luck on the trip man. hope yall have fun

 

The plastic bag is an excellent tip. I was lucky enough to get the bearing out in one piece, but I would have definitely been frustrated had I lost some shrapnel into the diff.

 

Yeah, I'm def gonna uncork the other drivetrain components tomorrow just to make sure.

 

how'd the trip go bud?

 

I'm about 60% into my road trip and have covered around 1200 miles. From Southeastern New Mexico, visiting some good friends in Phoenix, then a long weekend in LA and game 3 of the NLCS, and now Im visiting my Mom in Porterville, CA.
The 4runner has been running great. No vibrations or oil leaks. So far so good. My only minor complaint is that the suspension is a bit stiff for LA's 100 year old freeways. Maybe if I could drive them faster than 7mph, then the suspension would have soaked up the potholes better.
All together I'm happy.

 

Haha, I was just checking back.

 

sounds like a kick ass trip man. enjoy the rest of it.

 

For future reference, is this the bushing https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-8536125-toyota-8-clamshell-bushing-eliminates-needle-bearing.html?

 

Cali lol,... i choked on my own spit, and blew a snot bubble outta my nose , snorting/laughing at this......

 

I just drove from Vegas to San Louis Obispo and the freeways felt like a roller coaster ride haha.

 

It is a poor design imo. I don't know why they don't just use one like the ecgs. Must be a good reason, though.

 

Update! So here we are 20 months later and the drivetrain is still vibration free. I did have tire issues tho. A month or so after my last post here I put 5 Nitto Ridgegrapplers on it, 285/70/17's. I had a nasty vibe at speed in the steering wheel. I rotated the tires and the vibes moved to the back. So in I went for a balance job with no joy, same problem. Then I had a Tanaka airbag campaign letter and since it had to go to the dealer anyway, I asked Roswell Toyota if they had a roadforce machine. I got her in there and sure enough, thegthe roadforce machine detected a bad tire. I asked them to swap it for my spare and the spare balanced perfectly. I've been vibration free since then and was able to warranty claim the one bad tire bc I had barely put any wear on it.

I guess I should feel lucky that I've been able to pinpoint my vibration problems pretty quickly. Having been a Jeep owner previously, I know how hard it can be to troubleshoot sometimes. But thanks again to all of you for the great advice and positive vibes!

 

I had the same needle bearing issue pretty much right off the showroom floor. I took it in right before I did my lift and got a new front differential under warranty. If I have a problem again, I'll do the EGCS bushing.

 

Glad to find this post. Was looking for all the info I could get in one place on vibration.