First mistake.....my wife went to Jiffy Lube. Okay, no lectures on that mistake please!!!

Here's the story, starting on March 10.

2000 Explorer, leased and over the 58,000 mile mark. The lease stated no more than 60K.

We decide to buy a Ford "Big X" and park the Explorer and ride out the lease. The wife takes the Explorer to Jiffy Lube where they tell her the differential oil is "foamy" and may need attention. She takes the Explorer to our Motor Vehicle Admin. to get the tags for the "X"(100 miles, round trip). When she returns home she reports that the Explorer is making a lot of racket. Long story short, the differential is shot. Five months later when I can afford it, I buy a used differential, and a buddy of mine and I put it in. Pull out the old one, and discover that the drain/check plug is missing! The vehicle has only 373 miles on it from the time Jiffy Lube got done with it.

Now I've been beating myself up enough for not checking on it sooner, but I'm on my way to the courthouse this morning to file to take Jiffy Lube to court.

My questions.
Why did Jiffy Lube report "Foamy" oil?
My service scedule states the differential oil is good for 150K.
Did Jiffy Lube even need to go in there?
What is the likelyhood of failed differential oil?

My wife has not abused this vehicle in any manner, and we do not tow with it.

Opinions?

 

Go to Oil & Lubrication section scroll down to Just a Jiff to see how bad they are.....

 

1) Not seeing the oil, I can't tell what "foamy" is, but if it is not clear but is whitish, it probably has gotten water in it. Has the rear end been submerged like crossing a deep floaded wash or launching a boat? If so, it could get water into the oil. If that is the case, the oil must be changed immediately or your differential will fail.

2) The service schedule on the rear end depends on what type of set up you have on the Explorer. If it has the a 3.73L/S that is found on the tow package, then the service life is 150K unless it is submerged in water, then it must be changed immediately. If it is a standard rear-differential, it should be changed every 30K miles.

3) Jiffy lube should not have gone there if you have the Limited Slip (L/S) rear end. Otherwise, yes, it should be checked and should not be "foamy". If it is foamy, it should be changed immediately.

4) Service use determines the likelyhood of failure. If you 4 wheel drive or pull any kind of trailer, the differential oil will wear faster. When it fails, the gears will too. Water is the usually cause for immediate failure. 58K miles will not cause standard differential oil to fail under normal use. Naturally the modified differential oil in the L/S will last longer.

If you have a 4 wheel drive, the front differential uses standard gear oil and should be changed every 30K miles.

BUT...you say that the fill plug was not replaced. Was there any oil left in it? If there is, see if the oil is clear (dark brown is okay) or whitish. If it is whitish, that was probably part of the failure, though not all if there was not ample lubrication. If it is clear, then they not only lied, but ruined your differential but letting it's necessary lubrication escape.

 

As I stated, we do not tow with the vehicle, not has it been submerged. Would the oil (what's left of it)still appear "whitish" after sitting idle in my driveway for five months? The oil is coca-cola brown, and appears normal to me, but was obviously subjected to high temp. Thank you for your reply!!!

 

Yes, if water was mixed with the oil, it would most likely still be discolored even after sitting awhile. If it is coca-cola brown, it has been burned, but does not point to water. Your problem was obviously the lack of lubrication from losing the oil. Best to keep the oil and rear end to prove they caused the problem.

 

guys, they shouldn't have even touched the diff without asking you first. They usually just inspect the gasket for leaks. They tried a hard sell on your wife and that sucks.

Get the money for your used diff, and get some money for the labor it took your buddy to install it.

I would say change you own oil, but not alot of folks want to do that, so the best thing to do is to make friends with a good mechanic who will do the oil change in a shop, not a five minute oil change place.

It might cost a bit more, but piece of mind is priceless.

JH

 

I worked at Valvoline Instant Oil Change for two short months...training to be a service center manager - that was plenty enough time to find out that their philosophy (in general) is to "push the extras", meaning differential/transfer case service on 4x4s, serpentine belts, transmission flush/refills, antifreeze flush/refills and a bunch of other stuff. They try to achieve or "push" a sales receipt average of $60-$75. Of course, if they convince the customer to have these extra services mentioned above, the receipt is typically going to be well over $100. This may not be typical of all VIOC's, but it certainly was the case at 3 of the 4 stores I trained at in those two months.

Some of the guys/gals I worked with there were honest people who wouldn't sell customers what they don't need, but my biggest concern with taking my vehicles to "quick-lube" stores is the lack of concern shown to the original poster by leaving a fill/check plug out, and ruining the diff. My brother also worked for Valvoline IOC for 11 years and he was the BEST! He stood behind the work performed at his service center - he's replaced engines, transmissions, etc. when faulty work was proven, without question.

My point is...if you can do it yourself or know a TRUSTED friend who can perform the work, DON'T take it to a quick-lube store (of ANY name...Jiffy, Valvoline IOC, etc.)

Regards,
Scott

 

Greetings,

I own a 90 Ranger, and I had a similar problem, but I caught it in time to do something about it, I took my truck to have it checked out b4 I headed out of town..you know the generals...

well I was about 20min. out of town when I started hearing a whining noise in the rear pumpkin....but it would go away if I let off the power...and would come back when I got back into the throttle...

so I pulled over to the side of the road...took a look and like you...no plug..so I went back...this time I took it to my uncles. and he took a look and I was completely out of 80/90 and I told him about the howl...found out it was my Pinion bearing was on the verge of death.

well...they settled..and I had my rear end fixed for free.. but after that...they soon went under.

 

I am adding my 2cents here. The quick lube here in Toronto also screwed up my X royally. I bought the company truck that my boss was driving. He told me the transmission oil was just changed at the quick lube, don't worry about it. Well, on the first cold snap morning, the truck won't shift from R to D after back down to the street. I thought the Transmission was shot. checked the oil was full. I over filled it way up to see if it would shift ok, and it did, no more problems. I thought I was just buying time, it was ok like that for 2 years. When I decided to change the oil myself, only then I discovered that the big washer that holds the filter up was missing, the pick up tube wasn't connected to the filter, the oil was low when it was cold, that was the reason it was ok after I overfilled it I was lucky the transmission is still ok. What a bunch of quick lube grease monkeys.