Needle bearing...

I personally hate the negative offset, filling up the wheel well stance.. a bit too trashy in my book.

unfortunately I can’t go taller on the tires, due to garage fit challenges. Vehicle is just under 7’ tall.
I do love the look of these stock 255 / 70. r18s though. Very UN / NGO / Safari look. Pure class.

 

Just miss the individualization of the grenadiers a bit. But as I said, they are still young cars.
I wonder what is possible with the chassis or for example space for larger wheels.
My 4R is also stock so far, i think many conversions tend to cause problems and less durability.

It will be interesting to hear more about your experiences with the grenadier (at first hand).

 

I absolutely love these. Just a cool design of suv. But the price tag is crazy for what you get.

You went from a 4runner to this all because of a needle bearing?

 

Ronny Dahl has posted a bunch of Grenadier user experience videos. (Presumably the Australian version doesn't differ much except for right hand drive).

 

I am not huge on modifications.. the lift kit for the grenadier right now is not proving to be reliable.. grenadine the cv in the driveshaft.

needle bearing and the realization that the stock ORP need tires, lift, more armor.. ~6k upgrade with potentially shtty results and diminishes its resale value.

for $32k more I can get into a unique vehicle that I have been fomo-ing about

 

Any chance there could be a Grenadier thread? This has taken this thread way off the trail.

Nice vehicle, though.

It's just that when I see a new post in this thread, I'm thinking I will hear updates on the needle bearing, not photos or discussion of an $80k+ vehicle.

 

I totally get it... kinda. It's a very cool truck. I hope you enjoy it. It's definitely more unique then a standard 4runner.

 

Interesting bit of information found on TW, this is something I hadn't seen:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DEVmao4yg6m/

 

I watched this on YouTube yesterday. That vibration analyzer is pretty neat!

 

Just confirms what a POS Toyota is.. just let this issue continue for decades

 

Doing another ECGS while I had it up for my brother. Less than 50k and the clutch is out so I am modding the accumulator and doing the Bushing because it is already here/up

 

Just got five more bushing/seal sets and put them on the shelf! Last weekend I had one in that was really bad and the the guy brought it in thinking it needed CV's or a full differential. The weird part is the needle bearing didn't look that bad but it was one of the most vibration ones I've felt. I even questioned it. I thought it might be cupped tires or something else.

 

im having the exact same issue on my 22. Was just at the dealership where they replaced the diff parts/damper. Still makes the "groan" and is heading back to the dealership next Wednesday.

 

Do the bushing swap... The damper only hides the issue. The dealerships only change parts with the same issue never fixing this problem.

 

And the TSB last step for the damper install is the noise improved, not eliminated.

 

Exactly, they are just trying to cover it up rather than fix it

 

this thread seems a bit more recent than this one:
https://www.4runners.com/threads/needle-bearing-issue.8124/page-14#post-561296

curious if the Trail Gear needle bearing replacement is the ECGS (East Coast Gear Supply) but rebadged?
https://trail-gear.com/needle-bearing-eliminator-clamshell.html

 

There are a few different ones out there now. I'm pretty sure ECGS is purchasing them from somebody else also. I haven't used any other brands other than the ECGS one, but I'll bet the trail gear one is okay too

 

Hey everyone. First time posting. Pretty sure I have the needle bearing issue. Had dealer try to replicate and they couldn’t. My question is, am I at any risk not fixing it? Is this just a noise thing at the end of the day? I’m under warranty but don’t want to push for a whole new diff. Appreciate all you posters do for the community.

 

I'm pretty sure someone will, or already has, answered one of your three of the same question in three separate threads.

 

What is you opinion with regards to my question on this thread friend?

 

One, you haven't mentioned the miles on your 4R, that may be something to consider whether to pursue the fix. Two, you've stated it's under warranty, so you could pursue that if you wanted. Three, it's already been said there's no risk of damage driving it as is, but also got a recommendation to just have the needle bearing put in and get on with life. It's all up to you at this point. Putting in a new diff, if you could convince any dealer at this point that it's necessary and to do it, could put you right back where you are not too long down the road. Or not.

 

Thought I'd pass on my experience over the needle bearing isuue. I'm out of bumper to bumper warranty just powertrain. Stock truck no lift 15,000 miles on it. Even though I handed them the TSB they wanted to charge me $150 to diagnose and verify when only a road test is needed. If they don't hear it you pay. Offered to demostrate it. Dealer said not neccessary leave it for the day. They admitted that the techs never repair a diff for anything. They just replace it completely. New diff may or may not do the same thing down the road. It's essentially unchanged and just punts it down the road until your out of warranty. The TSB gives some 4Rs a vibration damper which does nothing for the bearing rumble noise. I have zero tolerance/trust/patience for games with the dealer. Cancelled my appointment regardless of it being warranty. The ECGS bushing is going in hopefully this upcoming weekend. Change out all the lube and forget about it. Far less B.S.

 

The simple answer is yes, eventually the race will fail and needles can enter your differential. I've only seen it happen once in the 200+ ive changed with ECGS bushings but I have seen it happen. The dealer will just put a new differential in with the same problem. There is a rubber dampener they put on the axle. Sometimes that only masks the feel of the problem. That does not actually fix the issue. The needle bearing will eventually wear the axle as well. It may take a very long time But full failure is possible. I would not waste time with the dealer, just get the ECGS installed and essentially never worry about it again.

 

And this assumes that the stealership techs even do the job properly without screwing it or something else up while performing the differential replacement.

 

That is another thing to consider for sure. I've dealt with/worked with excellent techs and then the others. I'm only 43 but I feel like an old man screaming that nobody cares and nobody does their jobs anymore! Haha. The best advice I can give to anybody is to find a shop that they trust that really takes ownership and pride in their work and build that relationship. I've been doing so much side work lately that I finally am taking the plunge and getting legit with license/insurance etc and I have a part time tech that works for me haha. To many word of mouth referrals for me to be comfortable helping friends of friends. Off my soap box.

 

Now you know why I recommend you to others.