2017 F350 DRW.
The dealership replaced the differential on my truck. Shortly afterwards lots of noise coming from the differential. Dealership replaced the pinion bearing and I think the noise went away for a while. Now differential noise is back and louder than ever. I’m considering going to a specialty shop and having it replaced/repaired.
Has anybody else gone this route? What was your experience?
Thoughts are welcome.

 

Well after having them "fix" the same issue twice and not being fixed I wouldn't go back to that dealer and unless you're under warranty. I wouldn't look at a dealership for any kind of work outside warranty work unless you like to burn money. I'd check a trusted independent shop if I were in your shoes and assuming you're no longer under warranty. If you are still under warranty and it's not going to cost you any $ then I'd find ANOTHER dealership to take care of it.

 

how can they get it wrong. theres a frikin shop manual that shows exactly how to do it. maybe they dont believe in manuals like members on here

 

Differential repair, setting up the ring and pinion, which would have to be done over when replacing the differential, is almost an art.
I never do my own, always pay someone who I know is the artist in that area.

But, were I the OP, I would take it back to the shop that messed it up and make them make it right, either by doing the job over again, or getting them to refund the money or pay the outside shop to do it.

 

follow simple directions in a book. how is that a art ?

 

"the Art" is putting the Ring gear in, measuring the slack to the Pinion gear, dabbing on the Yellow paint and noting the wear pattern,

pull it out, move the shims, and do it again.
even the "good guys" say it takes about 3 to 5 tries to get it right

Watch Ray, took him several tries to get it "exactly right"

 

lol that yoyo doesnt even have a long handle ratchet.
anyways back to the black magic gears. if a person can follow directions theyll be fine.

 

That’s the key. Install the pinion, ring gear, check backlash, pinion preload, gear pattern - and IF they aren’t right, [-] pull it out, change shims, do it all again, rinse / repeat until it IS right.

the [-] spot above is where most half asses send it out the door.

Growing up I heard it said many times “all aftermarket gears whine” or “I put race gears in it” after someone changed gear set themselves or their uncle or “Joebob” did it for them.

Later years when I was a Manufacturing Engineer at a Dana Corp light axle plant (Jeep Wrangler, Cherokee, Liberty, Ford Econoline, GM Quadrasteer) I learned those dudes back home were full of sheet, and the average Joebob very likely can not setup gear set in his garage “RIGHT” without specialized tools that he very likely don’t have.

Im taking my truck in next week for a pinion seal leak (at 9,200 miles) and I’m not at all comfortable with the idea of a green horn putting his hands on it.

 

Oh, he has all the tools he needs, including a rachet with a 4ft long handle.

I am having a TrueTrac installed for me next week.
all I have is a floor jack, and a gravel driveway.

you won't see me trying to do that job.
my friend is doing the job for $350 plus bearings, I thought that was more than fair.

his shop has 15 cars in it today, one of them is "King Kong" said to be very famous, 1st I knew of it was when I saw it on a lift.

Smothers Supercars

 

if its the spacer and torqed nut style they just change the seal and torq a nut back on. nothing else to it. crush sleeve style really isnt much more difficult

 

Sorry to hear that this was never fixed right Warren.

You have been having issues for awhile now.

Scott

 

Hi Scott,
Yes. The camper you and I went to get is a year old now, so I know I've been dealing with this for well over a year. I'm so fed up with all the Ford dealerships in my area and by extension Ford Corporate.
I drove the truck on a 20 mile round trip today and I am honestly afraid to drive it anywhere. I did check the fluid level yesterday to be sure the dealership put oil in there, and while it's not tippy-top full, it's not what I would call low.
The noise starts as soon as I start moving and changes pitch with speed. It actually sounds (for the most part) like ginormous off road tires on pavement, only much louder. I need to put it up on jack stands to absolutely identify the source of the noise, but I've looked for something rubbing on the tires, etc, with negative results.
I'm at my wit's end.
I was hoping somebody on here had replaced their rear end assembly with after market and could point me to a good source. I seem to be chasing my tail online. There is a shop in Charleston that specializes in differential repair but they can't get me in until May 22nd.
Next step looks like it might be trying to buy the assembly from LKQ or similar.

Edit: Just called LKQ and they say these rear ends are hard to find and they don't have one available.

 

detriot true trac is my only idea.

I'd bet you could make it to Charleston ok.

 

Is the noise different on / off the throttle? Typically a gear set will sound a little different on throttle (drive side of the gear) and off throttle (coast side of the gear).

If the noise is the same on / off throttle and is speed related (louder / faster with speed), it may be bearing noise? Just thinking out loud

ETA - rereading your description, sounds like maybe they got the pinion depth or difcase shims all jacked up

 

It's the setup. I had a whirring rear axle on my dually, the local Ford dealer set the gears up and they were silent afterwards.

If it was initially silent then the noise came back, you lost carrier or pinion preload. Either hardware loosened or bearings installed too tight and have failed on the race.

The tech needs to follow the correct procedure. The new Dana advantek axles have a different pinion preload setting that needs to be followed.