I recently bought a 2003 Ford Expedition and I'm having a strange vibration coming out of the rear differential. It almost feels/sounds like the rumble strips on the sides of highways. It seems to only happen in the morning or after it has been sitting for a long period of time. I notice it only when I make a sharp turn from a stop and accelerate. It goes away after about 5 minutes of driving.

The dealer has looked at it several times. Through vibration tests they have determined it is coming from the rear differential and are suspecting it is the limited slip. Upon the recommendation of Ford Engineering, they replaced the rear fluid with a different synthetic and asked me to drive it for another couple thousand miles to see if it makes any difference.

Anyone else having similar trouble?


-Ken

 

You almost certainly have a limited slip problem. I once had that problem when the dealer changed the fluid in the rear diff and did not add the recommended friction modifier. Damaged it in just a week of light use. Dealer replaced the Limited slip at his expense,and added the friction modifier. It's been 75K miles since then with no problems. It's not the synthetic oil brand, it's the friction modifier that is so important.

 

Maybe things are different with a Ford rear but I just had the rear of my '69 corvette rebuild and it does have posi and use synthetic fluid(Amsoil).
With synthetics you don't need the friction modifier but it can be added if you want to do so.
I added the GM additive for piece of mind.
I know plenty of guys in my collector car hobby that just use synthetic fluid without the additive in their posi rears with no problems.
Just my .02.

 

I also have the same symptoms and have ALREADY had the first rear-end replaced. Had to wait a few days for parts which tells me they are replacing a lot of them . . . Second unit does the same thing but not as severly. Will be taking it back soon.

 

My '97 Expedition had severe differential problems at about 90K miles. Growling sound coming from the rear end. I opened it up and found the left side differentieal bearing completely destroyed. You could literally grab the differential case and move it back and forth on that side. All kinds of grit floating around in there, too.

When disassembling, the next thig I found was the bolt that retains the pin through the spider gears was broken. Fortunately, I managed to dig it out. Once out, I found the thrust washers under the spider gears were destroyed.

The left side bearing race had completely spun under it's main cap. The right side bearing and race were chewed up as well. I pressed on new bearings and shortened the left cap a touch to tighten against the new race and put it back together and hoped for the best. 15K miles later it's still working. I figure if it goes out again, I need a new housing, because there's no way to really properly resize that cap to hold the race properly.

 

Just like ZFMax, I've got a 97 Expy too and at 90K miles it did the same exact thing. Lucky for me that there was no damage to the gears. I opened it up, cleaned it out well, put it back together and added the gear oil and additive. The shop foreman at the Ford dealership said that one bottle of the additive was not enough so I added two. Problem went away after a few days of light driving.

Mike

 

BTW, the 2003 axles are totally different. Independent rear suspension now. This showed up in the first 100 miles on both axles #1 and #2.

 

Ken - can you give us an update on your situation? I have the exact same problem with the exact same set of circumstances. My 03 expy is at the dealer now. The Services Director says he is familiar with the problem and the fix and the technician is performing the repair as I type this. I will update the board once I pick the vehicle up this evening.

- Rich.

 

I think this may be the answer and the service my dealer is performing at the very moment. Note - this TSB was just posted on 9/15.

Article No.
03-19-8 STEERING - LIMITED SLIP AXLE CHATTER, SHUDDER, BINDING SENSATION, OR VIBRATION DURING LOW SPEED TURNS
VIBRATION - LIMITED SLIP AXLE CHATTER, SHUDDER, BINDING SENSATION, OR VIBRATION DURING LOW SPEED TURNS
AXLE - LIMITED SLIP AXLE CHATTER, SHUDDER, BINDING SENSATION, OR VIBRATION DURING LOW SPEED TURNS

FORD: 2003 EXPEDITION
LINCOLN: 2003 NAVIGATOR


ISSUE:
Some 2003 Expedition/Navigator equipped with the 9.75" or 8.8" limited slip rear axle may exhibit chatter, shudder, a binding sensation, or vibration during low speed turns. The sensation may appear to originate from the front axle, or the steering gear.

ACTION:
To service, first verify the condition. With the vehicle at cold startup. Ensure that the vehicle is in 2WD, to isolate the rear axle. Turn the wheel fully right (or fully left) and then accelerate the vehicle. If the condition is verified to be in the rear axle, replace the limited- slip clutch pack.

Update - Just heard from my service department - this is the service they performed. They also said they are replacing the hubs, so I suspect that some damage may have occured.

 

Klandry: I have an identical problem with my 2003 Expedition. It's a 5.4 L engine XLT model. At ~ 3000 miles I could feel the differential clutches shuddering when the truck was 'cold' and I accelerated while turning. At about 3500 miles it was really shuddering and I took it to the dealer. They replaced the differential and it seemed OK. That was 3 weeks ago. A few days ago the symptoms reappeared with the new differential at about 4900 miles. I am going in for another diagnostic appointment this week. I hope Ford has come up with a fix for this. My patience is running thin.

I'd be very interested to learn how extensive this problem really is. Anyone else have these symptoms?

>JM

 

orig posted Sept 21st...

We had our 03 EB in at 4,600 miles and the dealer replaced the limited slip clutches in the rear-end, 2C6Z-4947-AA, to fix the shuttering on tight low speed turns. While in they replaced the drive shaft, 3L1Z-4602-BA for a clunk, and adjusted the backlash. The shuttering and clunk went away, but we still had a loud wine at certain speeds. Took the Expedition in again and based discussion with Ford the dealer ordered and replaced the entire differential assembly, V-527-E ; this replacement was as the service manager stated, a new version straight off the line.

After this last change, the Expedition drives much better and the front end seems to track straighter with less vibration.

 

I have the problem as well. 2003 XLT 4x4 5.4L w/ 3500 miles built 02/03/03. Already was in for the TSB where they worked on the front hubs.

 

I have a similar problem with an 03 XLT with control trac, but it only seems to happen when going straight. It sounds like a growling or reving noise coming from the front or middle of the vehicle.

Is this the same problem or do I need to keep on looking? Has anyone experienced similar problems when not turning?

Thanks,
Tom

 

The above post should say "Advance Trac" not "control trac".

Also, does the Advance Trac use a limited slip differential to do it's advanced tracking, or does it keep you from getting that option?

 

AdvanceTrac uses the brakes to control Left & Right wheel spin.

My only problem with AdvanceTrac in over 1 year of ownership is that the "Check AdvanceTrac" messages has come on about 3 or 4 times. It mysteriously disappears the next time the Expy is driven.