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Howdy everyone! 2017 XLT with the 3.5 ecoboost, 130,000 miles. Mine has the 3.55 rear diff with 9.75” axle.
I recently opened up the rear diff to investigate some new noise that has popped up and change fluid. Everything looked to be in good shape in there, so I pulled the axles and changed wheel bearings and seals as a precaution. The old bearings looked pristine with no signs of leaking seals either.
While working in the differential I accidentally spun it and dropped the spider gears. No worries, it should be easy to drop them back into place and it lets me get a good inspection done on them.
Unfortunately, when trying to get the axles reinstalled, everything in the differential was entirely too tight. I couldn’t get the spider gears placed and their pin set without using a pry bar to pull the driver side axle back as far as possible. Even when it was finally put back together, there is too much tension on the gearing and it had a very high rolling resistance. I decided to take everything apart again to see what the problem was.
When I removed the driver-side gear from the carrier, a broken “wave” spring fell out from behind it. I’ve attached an image for reference with the spring next to the side gear that it was behind. This is likely the source of the noise that I was originally investigating. It looks like this spring separates the locking mechanism when it’s not turned on and this broken spring is likely the original source of my rear end noise.
Now, my problem is I can not find the part number for this spring anywhere. Parts diagrams don’t show it on the Ford website, nor can I find it with any of my searches. I did find a spring that looked like it might be the right part (FL3Z4214A) and ordered it, but it is too large in diameter to work. I’m hoping someone here has some more information on this spring so I can get it on order and get my truck back on the road. I’m at my wits end and calling the local dealership has been no help, they want me to buy a whole new carrier assembly at over $1,000. Im at my wits end with this one and appreciate any help that you can offer.
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