Drive Train vibration After lift

Hello,
I recently install an Eibach stage 2r lift, and JBA UCA's on my 2021 TRD Off-Road. After installing the lift lift i took it for a test drive and everything seemed great until i reach about 35mph and start noticing a harmonic vibration. My initial thought was the misaligned suspension causing some vibrations. The next day i took the vehicle in to get aligned and installed brand new tires and the same issue persist. What i am currently noticing is the sound becomes noticeable at around 40mph and increases in frequency as my speed increases. once you drive the vehicle on the highway for a little while the sound becomes less apparent and even less at high highway speeds around 65mph. My diff fluid and, transfer case fluid where recently service prior to the lift and all my drive shafts have been properly greased as well.

 

That sounds like a text book wheel-balancing & alignment issue. First, get your tires road forced balanced. You may have thrown a weight or need more weights added. If that doesn't resolve it, get an alignment.

Actually, get one regardless. Anytime you lift/lower the suspension you've changed the alignment.

 

The vehicle was aligned and the issue did not change at all.

 

Put transfer case in 4 hi and report back.

 

Will do. thank you for your help !

 

Are those BFG tires? I know on the Tundra side the BFG's are known to have balancing issues.

 

Did you do the lift?

 

So i went ahead and switch the vehicle in to 4wd high and drove straight down the road at about 45mph and absolutely no vibration was detected. I am thinking it is the needle bearing on the front diff driver side. I have read some information that when the cv axle angle changes it can cause bearing failure on the side since their is excessive play. I saw their is a bronze bushing replacement that will tighten up the tolerance to the shaft. I am curious if i slightly lower the front end to allow more of a rake rather than the level look if it will correct this without having to rip the front end apart all over again

 

ECGS is having a 15% off sale until Dec. 5th. Sounds like you better act now! Glad you figured it out. I had to do my needle bearing replacement about 6 months after my lift. If you can install a lift kit you can do this bushing install. Watch @MyWyfsRnnr You Tube video.

 

Lowering it might make it go away, or it might not. Needle bearings sometimes are noisy on brand new 4runners right off the dealer lot. Mine was intermittently noisy brand new, bone stock. Mostly during fall/springtime temperatures.

Mine has been lifted for about 60,000miles. It has been at a few different ride heights over the years, depending on weight or how I’ve had them adjusted. The needle bearing did not make any more noise after the lift. However, I think the needle bearing was the most quiet (effectively silent) when my lift was set where the CV axles were 0 degrees…dead flat (which corresponds to probably about 2inches of lift). If you are going to readjust the shocks, that may be the best height to target. No guarantees though.

But since the work involved to remove, adjust, and reinstall shocks is about the same as replacing the needle bearing…you might was well replace the needle bearing with the bushing.

 

Go back and double check your torque specs, while your at it. Doesn't hurt anything and only costs time. The ECGS isn't difficult, hardest part is getting the hub torqued back down. How high did you go on the front coil overs?

 

I installed the the Eibach Stage 2 coil over at the height that it came, then i did some slight adjustments since the driver side seemed to sag a little bit lower due to the gas tank and battery. I ended up with 23" from the center of the hub to the top of the fender all around the truck. I might try to lower the front a half inch to see if it will temporarily lessen the issues until i can get the new bushing since this is my daily driver. Ultimately I will need to get the truck realigned since i will be tearing apart the front end again to replace the needle bearing.

 

I'm pretty sure you can replace the needle bearing with the ECGS bushing without touching the hubs.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nllcwqI1YVI&ab_channel=WanderlostOverland

 

Been awhile, i recall some darn thing needed a bunch of torque... It Was the axle nut.

 

Yeah, lots of torque IF you pull axles. If you watch the video I did, you can do the whole job with their removal and install tools plus a 17mm and 19mm sockets. Only have to pull Lower ball joints bolts (2) and sway bar link (1) to swing everything out of the way.

 

https://youtu.be/Wl2FmRGjiV4?si=9XkLk-Z9k2YurC-j

If I figure out an easier way I will video and post it

 

How much better is this bushing than the OEM bearing?
I gotta brand new 4R that i lifted the day it came home from the dealership. Only did 2.5+ up front but it howls and vibrates at 40-45mph like everyone else talks about. Literally a brand new rig. I've just tried to avoid the 40-45mph part throttle cruise because of this. How long are you guys getting out of the isostatic bushing from ECGS? Is it a permanent fix or something that needs to be replaced over time?

 

I seriously doubt a 2-3” lift would cause a drive line issue on a 4R. Many here have done it.
But I know from experience that Tacoma’s are fickle with non stock height.

 

They are similar to an engine bearing, I've never heard of one wearing out but replacing it would be the same as replacing some of the bushings in the early Chevy differentials. A blind puller should be able to get one out if you ever needed to actually replace it. Videoing install and then removal of the bushing is on my to do list. I do know of people with 100,000 miles on their bushing that still looks just fine.

The Tacoma and the 4Runner have almost the exact same geometry. Same issues with any sort of lift changing the angle on the already what I would consider "out of spec play" in the axle that causes the vibration. The amount of end play in the axle on a stock height 4Runner or Tacoma on the dealership lot with less than 10 mi on it is atrocious. A videoed the amount of play on a stock 4Runner with less than 10,000 mi. I am surprised that more don't have leaking axle seals to be honest.

 

My 1st gen Tacoma had a two piece rear drive shaft with a carrier bearing. I had a couple of times when it was out of wack and caused vibrations. The 5th gen 4R has a one piece rear drive shaft which seems to me to be more forgiving with various heights.

 

When we did our ECGS bushing a guy at ECGS said "the bushing should last approx. 400K miles." Well that's alot of miles, if he was correct. The 'harmonics' that come from the needle bearing are horrible, they can be different I suppose, lots of 'air gap' between the axle and the bearing. I remember a quite a while back 1 person saying they did the bushing fix and it went bad, but 99.99% of the installs go without a 'catch'. MyWyfsRnnr has made vids. on how to do the entire process, he's installed many bushings. Watch his vid. if you decide to go this route. Good luck.

 

I'm at 100,000km+ on mine

 

I thought you may have mixed up axle and drive shaft earlier. You are 100% correct on the drive line and carrier bearing sensitivity. Single piece drive line is more forgiving in the 4Runners than the 2 piece in the Tacomas for sure.

 

I order the bushing and i will be installing it this Sunday. Once i have the new bushing installed I will follow up with everyone to see if this solves the issue. Thank you everyone for the input, it was very helpful with honing in on the issue. I also tried the 4wd high again today and brought the truck up to 50mph and absolutely no vibration again, so I'm pretty confident that this will fix the issue.

 

Good luck! You got this! Remember to put a rag or bag into the diff hole when removing the needle bearing. It will keep anything like an individual needle from getting into the diff. I also put my ECGS bushing in the freezer to shrink it just a little to help it get started better. Some do this, some don't.

 

I’m very interested in how that goes. I know when i called ECGS, they said that removal of the bushing would require splitting the clamshell, since there isn’t much metal thickness on the backside of the bushing to allow a puller good grip. Seems like a puller just grabs the bushing material itself. But maybe there’s a trick to it.

 

UPDATE !!! Over the weekend I replace the needle bearing in the front differential with the ECGS bushing. After installing the new bushing the vibration has completely stopped. I hope this is helpful for anyone that is having this issue in the future.

 

nice update
I have a 2023 TRD Sport 4wd that i lifted +2.5" when i got home from the dealer. This is the wifes ride so i only drive it once in a blue moon. I noticed the 40-45mph humming and vibration pretty much the first or second time i drove it after the alignment. It just got its 15,000 mile oil change and the noise hasnt gotten any worse its basically been the same since it was 2000'ish miles old. I got under it last week after reading up on all this and shook the drivers side inner axle cup and there is very minimal to no play, at least nothing like the videos depict from others. I assume this bearing is still the culprit of the humming/vibration from 40-45mph and will likely swap it out for the bushing eventually.

 

This was the exact thing i had going on after i lifted my truck. around 45mph is when the harmonic vibration was the most noticeable. When i pulled my cv axle out i did notice some wear from the excessive pressure on the needle bearing, keep in mind i only drove my truck about 100 miles before addressing the issue. if you do end up going forward with this repair i would suggest having a new cv axle on hand in case i is worn in the area where it mates with the needle bearing. Also ECGS accidently sent me two bushings so I be willing to part ways with the extra bushing and extraction tool if anyone would want it. I think it is worth doing this job yourself because it will save a lot of money. you will need to modify the bearing puller just slightly to get it behind the needle bearing when you remove it. Make sure the pull is even on the bearing or it will crack the outer race.