ECGS bushing install failure

Today was install day for my newly assembled 6112’s, and I’d decided to preemptively replace the needle bearing with the ECGS bushing while I was in there. Bought the bearing removal tool with the bushing.

Well, the piece that sits behind the bearing and pulls it out absolutely did not fit. It would not sit perpendicular to the bearing. I had all the right tools including a magnet.

Frustration got the better of me after a while and I somehow pushed the puller part of the tool past the baggie I had stuffed in, at which point I lost it and then heard a nauseating “clink”. Yes, it fell to the bottom of the diff.

I managed to tie a line around a spare nut, lowered it into the diff, fished it out the drain hole, untied it, fished the puller part to the drain hole, and pushed the line through enough to tie a knot. It wasn’t easy, but I pulled that piece back out through the bearing with a lot of finagling.

After that I said FUCK YOU to the ECGS and just went ahead and installed the 6112’s. Which, by the way, was a giant pain in the ass and I would never do it again. I was supposed to install Icon RXTs and 5160’s today too but the ECGS nightmare ate up much of the morning.

So there you have it. Tragedy, narrowly averted, and one day when I get over it, comedy.

I’ll have to find a shop to install the bushing. What a goat rope.

Oh and BTW you don’t have to detach the CV axle from the wheel hub to get it out of the diff. I couldn’t get the attaching bolt to back out of the hub and I tried EVERYTHING.

 

Yeah, I remember doing mine and being afraid that might happen.
I jammed a whole grocery store bag in mine. I’m glad I did too, because some of my bearing broke off.
I made a post about it to hopefully warn others.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ecgs-tip.720437/



BTW, you aren’t the first person to loose the tool inside the Diff.
Don’t feel too bad. It happens.
Good you got it out

 

I was not looking forward to finding out what it costs to get a diff opened up.

 

Doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. You only tried once. Give it another go!

 

Ha! Never again.

 

hahaha. hammer that thing in

 

Had the same issues with mine with getting the tool behind the old needle bearing. I kept on grinding the tool little by little to get it to fit behind there and it work

 

I’ve had the ecgs bushing purchased for month and I’m dreading the install . Definitely finding a shop to do this

 

It's not so bad. Hardest part I think was trying to get the tool behind the needling bearing

 

The tool may need a bit of grinding. I got my tool used and it worked great. ECGS bushing job was quick for me.

 

Being that you’re in NC, ECGS in in NC as well. Might be worth getting a quote and let the true experts do it. I think they do installs at their shop. Either way would be a cool place to visit.

 

If one wanted, a blind bearing puller might work. I actually contemplated using one as my brother had a kit.

But I ultimately choose to just buy the tool from ECGS.

The blind bearing puller would probably work, but you’d have to be sure not to over expand the tool and come out straight. Or you risk marring the carrier wall.

https://www.motionpro.com/product/08-0292

 

I had our local off-road shop install the ecgs bearing, a little over an hour labour, pretty relaxing install haha! Good skills fishing parts out, good job!

 

That’s why I figured, that I needed to grind it. Don’t have the tools for that and at that point I stopped.

Yep, grinding seemed necessary. Why doesn’t ECGS just manufacture it to fit?

This is a great idea, they’re not that far from me. Gonna call.

Yeah I thought about this too, didn’t feel confident about the tool, quickly moved on.

 

If you had trouble installing 6112's.... makes sense you'd have trouble doing the ECGS bushing.

 

I'll take pictures of mine and show you how much and where I grind mine off later when I get home

 

I consider having to heat about eight different nuts multiple times to get them loose “trouble”, but yeah go on with your bad self.

 

I had a local shop do it here, they charged three hours

He also said he had to grind the puller down, so I am not sure why they can't make the tool right?

 

I had to file down parts of the tool for the perfect fitment. After an hour of fiddling the tool worked perfectly and i got the seal on.

 

Lol. I guess we know why my stock bearing broke. I didn’t file or grind anything.
I took a big magnet pick up tool, a long punch, and smacked it with a hammer. It actually didn’t take that much to break the outer race. I didn’t even know I broke it until I got mine out. That is
when I seen the missing chunk. I actually thought for a sec that might have been why my bearing went out.

Then it dawned on me. “Did I do that seating the puller?”

Sure enough, the pieces were sitting right there against the plastic bag I stuffed in there. The magnetic pick up tool sucked them up.
Thank god I actually looked at the bearing BEFORE doing anything else.