Well I just got my second ring and pinion set installed yesterday in my 2004 SC 2wd 4.6 3.55 and all was quite for about 20 miles. Then on my way to work today it starts up again very faint. As with my previous experiences with this truck and my 02' Explorer it is sure to get louder until I can't stand it. Part of me says to stay the course and get it fixed again and the other says just trade the @$%##$% thing for a Tundra. I am sooooooo sick of going to the dealer to get little things fixed on this truck. Can I just sue Ford for my time lost? Does anybody know what the lemon law is in Tennessee? This truck really is getting to the end of its rope with me. Heck-o it only has 3600 miles on it and it has enough paperwork to fill its bed!

I know it is possible to have a differential without a whine. I just know it is possible!! Hello!....FORD are you listening??

 

I feel your pain....Mine is whining also. It takes an experienced mechanic to line the rear end up properly ...or so I'm told. It has to be perfect or it will whine. Does yours whine throttle on or throttle off This should tell them which direction it is off. I have not had mine replaced yet Im hoping Ford will buy mine backdue to the "vibration"

 

Do you know if you had the most recent "updated" ring/pinion set installed this time? Because my dad has an XLT 4x4 3:55 and has the rear end whine too. He had a new ring and pinion set installed a few months ago, but still has the whine at 55+mph. When he got his installed, there supposedly was a new "updated" ring and pinion set that was coming out (late March I think), right after he already had his done. He is thinking about taking his back in and have them try it again.

 

Mine whines during the tip-in of the throttle and I got the most recent parts. I will also say that this is not a new thing for Ford as my 02 Explorer had the same problem until the entire rear diff was replaced. The guy that set up the new parts on my 04 F150 SC is very experienced and has done well over 1000 rear diff. repaires (this could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it). I really don't think that it is the repair person. I think it is the truck and its parts that are the problem. All I can say is that I am keeping all of my paperwork because I feel a buy back is in the future. Oh yeah, I have had the vibration problem too until the damper kit was installed. I am also noticing that my front tires are wearing improperly too. What a hunk of crap this truck has turned out to be! The only thing good about it is that it tows my camper quite well but that is not worth all of the trouble as any other modern truck can do that too.

 

I had my ring and pinion installed in January and still have the whine. I waited until the "updated" fix was made available in March (23rd I think) and took my truck in. The order got delayed because they had issues with the new "update" and it was delayed twice more and the latest "update" is supposed to be available to me on June 13. I called Ford's toll free number and was told that the "update" was not available to be shipped until the 16th (I forgot to ask if it was May or June).

 

Update on 3.55 is available, 3.73 is not currently available. Mine is a 3.55

 

These guys have no idea how to setup a rear end, with only 20 miles on it, I would bet that they never blued the ring and pinion and preloaded it correctly!

 

Uhhhhh Ohhhhh...mine goes in today for it's 2nd problem with howling in the rear. I was hoping that they had the fix by now.

 

Chances are when the techs installed the ring and pinion, they used an airgun to just run the pinion nut in. This nut is what sets the bearing preload, and if its too tight it will cause whining from the rear axle. This isn't the only adjustment to the rear, there are also bearings on the carrier which must be preloaded and control the gear tooth contact pattern. The correct procedure for setting up a rear end is slightly time consuming, which most techs don't want to take the time to do since they're on a flat-rate schedule. Here is a page I found online which describes the proper procedure:

http://www.drivetrain.com/ringpinioninstal.html

 

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Who knows what the techs did. All I know is that I will and am just waiting for it to get loud enough so that it is undisputed that there is a problem. Maybe the third time will be a charm and the entire rear axle assembly will be replaced and I can go on my merry way. All I have to do is be patient because it is a little louder each day.

I know this is a minor problem with all the problems in the world today. Heck some people are lucky to have are car that will start! I also know that every vehicle made will have some problems at some point, but you know I paid alot of money for this truck and I want it to be right. Those dollars I laid out were hard to come by and I want the thing fixed.

I would also like to know what happened at Ford that this is such a problem. My old 92 has had none of the problems with vibration or axle whine. Did Ford have a brain drain or something?! I bought this truck with the motto of "Built Ford Tough" on my mind and have found out rather quickly that the engineering and marketing departments must not communicate very well.

Mayble the truck will finally get fixed and all will be well again in my little world.

 

The whine on my truck is not that loud yet but it seems to me that it is getting louder the longer it takes for the parts to get in for the latest attempt to fix the the problem. My son-in-law borrowed my truck the other day (who used to work for a MOPAR parts supplier) and I asked him if he heard the whine when he brought it back. He said he clearly heard it and it just sounded like a typical Dodge to him.

 

My truck has had 5 new rearends and it still whines. Have the 3.73LS. They have ordered the "the new fix" and it is in. I will be taking it back but dont have much faith at this point in the game. If this does not work I will try to have them buy back....will I qualify for this after 6 rearends????

 

I have the 3:73 rear end and it had the whine, took it and and they replaced it, it's been about 3,000 miles so far and no noise so i cross my fingers!!!!!! 2004 F-150 4.6

 

I am on my 4th gearset 3.55LS and 5th clutch pack. The latest gear design per the new TSB was installed last week. It still whines. Seems to me that it is the loudest the soonest of any gearset I have had thus far. The sound drives me absolutley crazy on the freeway since it is the worst right at the speed limit. Plus I know from the previous gearsets that it is just going to get louder. So I got myself a lawyer (Ford declined my buyback demand) My truck has been in the shop almost a dozen times and is past 30 days for various problems including the whine. My lawyer is pretty certain Ford will settle outside of court once he files the actual lawsuit.

This is something I really hate to do, but they should put a disclaimer on the truck for people like me. I would take wind noise and tire noise any day over this howl from the rearend. It practically makes my skin crawl because I know it shouldn't be doing it. My 3rd gearset was dead silent for over 3,000 miles until I hauled some wood flooring. It then progressively got louder until I couldn't stand it anymore. That tells me something is wrong, not normal like the service manager tells me. I have always liked Fords. I hope they get this squared away by the '06 model year because I am strongly considering buying another F-150 after my lemon is bought back.