Do any of you ex owners notice any whining from the rear end when sitting in the back seat? Mines done it for ever, but wife thought it was odd so we went for a test drive. It's not super loud, it's just there. I had a panick attack when I crawled under neath and put my hand around the spot where the pinion enters the rear end and it was much warmer then the rest untill another forum user that I speak with took hers for a ride and then climbed under and said the same thing... Much hotter then the rest of the diff right where the pinion goes in and hers never made any noise. Anyway I'm just curious, mine sounds like tire noise but it's not the noise is def in the diff but my fluid is extremely clean

 

Remove the fill plug with a 3/8 ratchet and look at the magnet on the bottom of the plug. You should see black clutch material but any silver or grey flakes means there is usually a bearing job coming up. I am going through the same thing, mine was neglected by the previous owner and I now have a full re-build situation on my hands. Well thats also expected after 275,000 miles.

 

There shouldn't be any whining but it could have been there from the factory if it is faint. The pinion area will run hotter because the bearings are under a preload and spin 4+- times as fast as the carrier bearings. Just make sure it is full of clean heavy synth oil. If it is just a mismatched ring and pinion it could stay the same for the life of the truck.

 

hmmmm about 2000 miles ago I had the pinion seal replaced because it was leaking while driving. It never hummed this bad before that. Is there a chance the trusty ford stealership I had do the pinion seal mucked something up? I do not know enough about this to guess. Im sure they must have had to take the large nut off, i just dont know if its possible to over tighten it. I crawled under the truck this morning and tried to see if there was any play - up and down movement or side to side movement in the pinion. its sold as a rock. Twisting the shaft back and forth there is a little bit, but it has always had a little bit, nothing out of the ordinary. I pulled the plug, crap forgot to check the magnet, BUT the oil was just about crystal clean.

 

Ahh, I bet the pinion gear is just ever so slightly off its original setting causing the whine. Gears wear into their spot over time obviously, if you change their position ever so slightly they can make noise.

 

there is a crush sleeve right? Is it common for the nut to be over tightened and get noise? Does anyone know? I called the parts guy I am friendly with told me to bring it back since they did the work and it wasnt like this before the did it. so tomorrow it goes back. Im hoping someone has some experience.....

 

I've done lots of posts or rear ends, maybe you can find them with a search. There is a crush sleeve which gets crushed the first time it is used and it's purpose is to keep the nut tight while maintaining the preload on the bearings (snugness). The bearings loosen up and the crush sleeve has some spring to it so you should still be able to tighten the nut enough to get a slight drag (no inch pound wrench needed) on the pinion bearings and and get enough resistance from the sleeve to keep the nut tight, otherwise you will have to resort to seizing compounds (what's it called?) for the nut and staking it with a punch if you can get in there. The gears rarely wear out if maintained and they are extremely hard so if they get out of line they can whine forever. They can easily go 400K miles if maintained. Over-tightening is not good because it can overly preload the bearing and the sleeve will be compromised again but I have seen diffs with very tight pinions that were working perfectly. You just need to tighten until there is a little drag on the yoke with one wheel off the ground. Stop and wiggle back and forth as you slowly tighten. Those pinions need to start out with a slight drag (bearing preload) because that way you know when it is snug, they get loose eventually, and the pinion gear needs to maintain it's position to match with the ring gear. The sole purpose of the crush sleeve is to keep the nut tight which will maintain the preload. If those guys didn't get it right it could cause a whine. It's very important to start out with the slight preload a a tight nut.

 

Seriously honey, your rear end looks fine. Not big, not small, just great. Don't worry about it, now lets go, we're already late.

However, as long as you don't have a strange vibration, you should be fine with normal maintenance.

 

exv10 thanks for the info. Just got out of the stealership, Sure not having it fixed at that particular ship! said the hole rear end needs to be done no matter what just because of the milage...190000 and he won't touch it otherwise. I can't see that I need all new gears. Christ I have used mobile 1 with every change and its been pretty well maintained. Id assume its just bearings. Problem is I have called 3 local dealers and have gotten quotes with all different part numbers. no real way to compare the quotes. Its ridic. TOmorrow I guess ill pay this local one the 79 bucks to open it up, get the estimate and see. I can get the parts at wholesale cost because I run an outside shop but I won't let my guys work on my differential. Change a starter, alternator, or head gasket? yup. Transmission, differential?? NOPE. Thinking of getting the expedition EL....

 

A ring and pinion should last the life of the vehicle if the bearings don't go bad and get them out of line,( they are extremely hard.) The pinion bearings usually go bad if the nut isn't where it is supposed to be or it gets low on oil. The carrier bearings can go out also but the whole thing should last 300k miles with proper oil maintenance. If you set a little drag on the pinion like I said and put new 75w(+-)140 synth in it it will probably go as long as you have the truck.

 

See that's the issue, your talking Greek to me lol. I have no idea how to do what you said. It's a definate whine. Guy at the ford shop I spoke with said that usually the carrier and pinion bearings fail, very rarely do the gears need to be replaced. But the place I had do the pinion seal- another ford dealership said that he won't just replace the bearings, he wanted to do an entirely new rear end. Bull crap I said, why would u replace parts that are not bad? He said because of mileage. The guy at the ford dealer where I plan to bring it just need to speak with the svc manager to see if he will allow me to get my shop discount on parts fingers crossed before I bring it, or I'll call every dealer on the list to see. I'm driving 3000 miles next week towing the boat on vacation so I need it to be right. Something is whizzin and just letting it to will get me stuck in no mans land for sure with my luck. Tech today said it was pinion bearings and gear.. But he didn't take the cover off. It's about 6-8 hrs labor to rebuild the entire thing I was told... Anyone know what the ford book says? And what it should cost for pinion bearings and carrier bearings?

 

I was gonna take to to a transmission shop too but after talking to the guy and him asking me if it was a full float or semi floating axle I said... Eh.... No

 

It's rare that carrier bearings go out. Now days they usually want to put a whole new unit into whatever it is, and I think it is because it is mainly your money and they don't want to take a chance on fixing anything because half the "mechanics" there don't know how. Sometimes the ring and pinion aren't perfect from the factory and they will howl forever but it never changes. A whine is normally from the gearset and I wouldn't touch it if it was mine unless it annoyed me too much. You can tell if the pinion bearing is bad by taking off the driveshaft and turning the yoke with your hand (wiggle it). They have normally lost their preset (drag) by now but jack one wheel up and check for looseness of the pinion and a gritty, rough feel (bad bearing). If it is loose just tighten it up until there is a little drag when you turn the yoke. I wouldn't blow a bunch of money on it for nothing.

 

they want to re-build everything at 190,000? I just had new bearings put in mine and at 275,000 miles the driveline shop said everything else looks pretty clean and still has alot of life left in it. a full re-build seems over the top unless the ring gear is totally chewed up.

 

It's drIving me insane. It's at the ford dealer now. Called this am told the guy I ran a shop, told him the situation, gave him the outrageous quote, he laughed said he would give me all my parts at shop cost, and gave me a discount on the labor-10 bucks an hour, and said he has seen a ton of these rear ends come through and he's only done gears once. It's usually bearings. It's a 4 or 6 hour job depending on what's worn. Makes me feel a bit better.