My 2008 Mountaineer with 62K miles recently started making a rumbling sound from the front end. Took it to the dealer and they said the front differential needs to be rebuilt at a cost of $2,000 or more!

Problem is, I had the front differential already rebuilt under warranty at 40K miles due to a pinion and carrier bearing failure. The noise I have now is almost exactly like the noise I had at 40K miles. So the front diff failed again only 22K miles later!

Please help me!!! The dealer and Ford's customer service says tough luck because it's out of warranty. I feel Ford should cover this repair, there is no reason a diff should go out twice under 62K miles! Does anyone know who else I can talk to at Ford? I'm already filing a BBB complaint against Ford and the dealer who did the first repair.

Thanks in advance.

 

Your original warranty is only 50,000 miles, your warranty on parts thereafter is usually 12,000 miles. I would get a second opinion, and find out if your first diff was rebuilt, or is just a couple parts were replaced. Since it was under warranty, they should have replaced the entire diff.

 

In MY 2008, the full warranty was 3/36K. And the powertrain was 5/60K. So I'm out of the powertrain one by just 2K miles. And only 22K miles on the diff. At 40K miles the Ford dealership didn't replace the diff, they completely overhauled it. The receipt says front axle housing assembly overhaul. Specifically that the carrier and pinion bearings failed.

It's funny you mention they should have replaced it. I argued for days with the dealership that a diff shouldn't go at 40K miles and to replace it. The dealership and Ford fought back and said all they would do is an overhaul. Guess they figured they'd get me to pay for the next one.

I swear the auto companies don't get it. Treating customers like this is exactly what causes generations to by pass a brand.

My parents till this day purchase nothing but GM. But they had so many problems with each car that I swore never to purchase GM. I gave Ford a try and this is where it got me... It's my third Ford to boot! No more owner loyalty from me, and after my three kids have listened to me complain about my Ford's, I'm pretty sure they'll avoid the brand in the future.

Thanks again!

 

You have had bad luck! Nothing else can explain it. Ford has built several million Explorers since their introduction 20+ years ago, which means many had to be repeat buyers. This in view of the infamous "roll-over" problems so highly speculated over.

impish

 

I would agree to a point. However, your story is a large part of why I have never owned, no pursued owning an Explorer. I have owned several Aerostars, which is the heavy duty version of an Explorer.

To me, the Explorer is a vehicle that from its early design is targeted towards a group of buyers who want a larger vehicle, but do not need offroad capabilities, towing capability, etc. Obviously there are a lot of people who buy them because they do need the utility, but its like Ford understands that the majority of owners never use the vehicle for its theoretical capabilities, so Ford may cheapen parts of the vehicle that are not being fully used anyway.

Compared to the Trailblazer, the Explorer is awesome. The I6 in the Trailblazer is junk, the trans is junk, etc.

 

I called an independent shop. They're going to take a look at the diff and let me know exactly what failed. The guy was really knowledgeable and said there was definitely something wrong with the way the diff was setup from the factory. Speculating, he said it probably wasn't shimmed correctly at the factory and when it was rebuilt the tech probably just used the same shims causing it to fail again so quickly.

He said if it's just the bearings I could probably get away with just 1K worth of repairs. If the ring and pinion are toast then it's pushing the 2K mark.

I just flushed the diff to check if there were any chunks. The fluid came out like black metallic paint. So I'm pretty sure it's the bearings. If that's the case that would mean the same part failed again. I'm going to try small claims if it's the same parts. I truly believe I shouldn't have to pay for a bad setup from the factory.

I hear you on my bad luck. But I have a documented problem, Ford should step up and AT LEAST offer to pay for a portion of the repair. The CS rep was actually somewhat nasty at even the thought of them paying or helping pay for the repair. How is that customer service!

Thanks for the input and letting me vent!

 

Anyone have any idea how hard it is to do a DIY front differential replacement? I'm thinking of giving it a try with a remanufactured unit.

It looks like I should be able to drop the diff down with minimal issues once I remove the anti-sway bar. The steering rack is somewhat close so I was concerned there may be a clearance issue there.

Any tips anyone is willing to offer? Any shortcuts with removing the drive shaft or axles?

It would be great if someone had a how-to video on this. I have yet to find one for the later model mountys/explorers.

Thanks again!