front diff failure

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Mar 14, 2019 | 11:23 AM

mnjettr

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Joined: Nov 2008

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front diff failure

2010 F150 4x4, 62k miles, I purchased truck new its never been offroad or abused. took off a couple weeks ago on a trip. roads where ice and slush so I shifted into 4H, no problem no noises drove less than 55 mph most of the time. about 65 miles later I heard a slight sqeeling/grinding noise. shifted into 2H, no change. stopped the truck and could smell something was hot almost like a brake smell but rotors where cool to the touch. we ended up staying overnight and decided to end our trip and head back home. the roads had cleared and was able to drive home in 2H. about 20 miles from home the noise returned. upon getting home I looked under the truck and the right side of the front diff was leaking hot gear oil , ended up replacing diff if a low mile used one. hubs checked out ok. why would the diff get so hot in 2H and fail? {nothing should of been turning} ? is it possible one hub was engaged causing diff to over heat. I've searched the forums with no luck.

Mar 16, 2019 | 04:26 PM

Tom

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Joined: Aug 2003

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From: Isanti, MN

If the system is working correctly the differential should not be spinning. But if there is a vacuum leak or malfunction in the hub, the IWE will not disengage and the differential will continuously spin. That certainly wouldn't cause it to overheat, though. There are places where these trucks are run in 4WD continuously for months on end, and spinning in 2H transmits no power which means very little heat gets generated.

My best guess is that you had a leaking seal that gave up the ghost when you shifted into 4WD, which caused things to overheat without oil. It won't last long without oil, and it was probably toast by the time you shifted back to 2H. I've only killed one differential, and it was because it ran out of oil.