My father has a 1998 Explorer, the rear axle howls and he says it's getting worse and
he's afraid to drive it long distances anymore (which I can understand).

He says this axle is fairly rare - 4.10 gears, 16" wheels, disc brakes with ABS, etc. but
no limited slip.

The tag seems to say:

S616B
4.10 88 8C27

He's pretty convinced it's something in the ring & pinion area - a bearing and/or the pinion
is in the ring *****-nilly.

So, with that, can anybody here point me to a known-good rebuilder along the front
range (Denver metro area referred but FC to COS would work)?

-chris

 

Give Josh a call or text @xxx-xxx-xxxx
He's the guy on craigslist offering 8.8 coversions and regears for Jeeps, but he is a Ford guy to the bone.

He is located in Parker, tell him I sent you.

 

I have been hearing some stories of less than stellar workmanship and customer service. I withdraw my endorsement of Josh and his services: buyer beware!

 

Did you get it fixed yet? I used to replace the pinion and side gears in those all of the time for noise and excessive play. If they got worse, then it would be more bearings, shims and gears. I would recomend western driveline.

 

Yeah, he took it to All American 4WD Repair at C470 & Santa Fe Dr.

Some of the pinion & carrier bearings were shot; apparently they didn't turn any colors but had rough surfaces.

He got them all replaced, maybe even has the old ones in his garage, not sure.

He's pretty happy with their work, and I tend to want to believe him since he's a retired mechanical design engineer and is generally good with this kind of stuff.