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Hi,
I was told by the shop in Phoenix, when I got the oil changed, that they couldn't check my front differential fluid because it was damaged, not the plug, they won't touch it if it looks wrong.
8 months prior to that Ford installed a new oil pan and checked the front end alignment and never said anything about the differential, we only drive on pavement and have not hit anything in the road.
I have a few pics, let me know if you need any more.
We drove the truck from Phoenix to Spokane with no issues.
thanks
I see what looks like a bunch of goobed on silicone sealer in the 3rd pic. But...It does almost look like a chunk is missing from the diff housing at about the 2 O' clock position. If that's the case only thing I could see is a somebody driving in a to long bolt, bottoming it out and poping out part of the housing. The bolts are OEM style bolts however. Far as checking the fluid? why not, unscrew the plug out and see where its at. Lame shop workers. If it is cracked Id not really want to remove the diff cover to service it, just pump out the old and put in new. Sucks but not the end of the world really.
I'm not seeing the chunk, just looks like goobered up silicone. Looks as if the Ford dealer removed and replaced the diff cover and used two tubes of RTV to do it. Probably didn't clean it either, because its leaking now.
Couple things:
1) The front diff is not under power when in 2 wheel drive. So unless you are running it in 4 wheel drive a lot, I doubt there is any damage to the internals.
2) You have a leak, so for piece of mind, check the fluid. It should be within a half inch or less of the bottom of the plug in the cover.
3) When you find a good shop, have them take the cover off, clean the silicone off, clean it well and put a gasket on. Then fill with proper fluid. No more leaks. Silicone works great, but the surfaces need to be spotless, which is hard to do on a housing that drips gear oil.
I have no clue what you're talking about or what the pictures are supposed to show. It sounds like I'm not alone.
What are you trying to show with the pictures? Did the dealer replace the front differential cover with a new one? looks like a pretty old cover with sealer. What damage caused the oil change shop to not be able to check the front differential fluid if it's not the plug that is damaged? Have you tried to check your front differential fluid?
I'm also not making out much. I see the silicone goober. Impossible to know what's under there.
Get a Lube Locker or other reusable gasket.
If it'll clear the tie rod at full lock -- and there's a 99.9% chance it will -- replace the plug with a square head male pipe plug available at HD. Done.
Go swing by LetzRoll Offroad and they shouldn't be pansies about addressing the problem, if there is one. Or if you're escaping the PHX heat to the 4 Corners/San Juans look me up and we'll get you squared away
Thanks for the replies, sorry for the delay in getting back.
it's looked like that for many, many years. We are the second owner and purchased with 26k miles and now at 115k. The previous shops never had an issue checking the fluids.
When I went to pick up the truck the tech was out, would of really like to of talked to him.
We are currently in Spokane,WA and will return to Phoenix this winter.
I thought I would post before taking to a shop.
WWR I appreciate the offer!
Seriously, worst case find a 4x4 or even hot rod shop that does gear installs, TADs etc. They deal with diffs all day and a little fill plug or cover issue won't scare them
I'm not seeing an issue besides the mess someone made. I do see the spot at 2:00 but that could be poor cleanup?
with the low mileage of the truck, I can't see anything being wrong. Even if the diff housing got messed up at the 2:00; it's not leaking there. I would check it out myself but it seems you do not do your own maintenance?
If/ when you make it back to Phoenix, maybe take it to KC turbo? not sure if they do that kind of work or not....but they might know someone in the area that can help you. I'd also imagine there would be someone near Spokane that could help you out
I'm not seeing an issue besides the mess someone made. I do see the spot at 2:00 but that could be poor cleanup?
with the low mileage of the truck, I can't see anything being wrong. Even if the diff housing got messed up at the 2:00; it's not leaking there. I would check it out myself but it seems you do not do your own maintenance?
If/ when you make it back to Phoenix, maybe take it to KC turbo? not sure if they do that kind of work or not....but they might know someone in the area that can help you. I'd also imagine there would be someone near Spokane that could help you out
I can do a few basic maintenance items, once I'm taught how. Unfortunately a lot of the places we stay don't allow us to work on our vehicles, I volunteer at state parks and they are really strict about any maintenance on camp sites or at the shop.
Should we get back to Phoenix I will call the shops and see what they can do.
thanks for the info and looking at the pics.
That's understandable...we definitely need to take care of our parks. They are already abused by idiots.
I learned how to do what I needed back when I was younger. Especially now, I have trust issues with shops and typically can't afford their rates. I can also understand that some shops will choose not to do things because of liability reasons.
It's unclear why they denied you, unless there was damage to the housing at some point....but they should have been able to at least pull the plug and see what the fluid looked like and if it was full enough.
You should be safe until you can get it looked at though.
When I get some time next week I will see if I can get the plug out and check the fluid level.
I have seen some things at the state parks.......where we are at now the rangers are law enforcement which is great for us hosts.
I can do a few basic maintenance items, once I'm taught how. Unfortunately a lot of the places we stay don't allow us to work on our vehicles, I volunteer at state parks and they are really strict about any maintenance on camp sites or at the shop.
Should we get back to Phoenix I will call the shops and see what they can do.
thanks for the info and looking at the pics.
Again, LetZRoll off-road. They do gear swaps all day every day. Those guys live in differentials. They also train installers for Yukon Gear.
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