1999 Explorer Differential -HELP please.
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1999 Explorer Differential -HELP please.
My 99 Explorer (Limited, AWD, V-8 5.0) has about 120k on it and has had some problems in the differential.
About 2 years ago, I had a leaking pinion seal which may have led to it being driven with low fluid.
Got the pinion seal fixed, but had some bad noise (louder than I'd normally listen to the stereo) in the diffy--gears were not meshing correctly. Got that fixed too.
About a year later, my ABS sensor lit up, and when I got it checked, they found a lot of metal filings in the differential. They said that the gears were wearing from the past issues and it would just get worse with time.
The noise in the rear end has gotten progressively louder--still nowhere as bad as it was before--but my fuel economy has started to drop.
The questions;
is replacing the differential my only option,
how much would it cost to have someone do this,
or is this something that I could sort out with a Hayne's book and salvage parts???
Thanks!
John
About 2 years ago, I had a leaking pinion seal which may have led to it being driven with low fluid.
Got the pinion seal fixed, but had some bad noise (louder than I'd normally listen to the stereo) in the diffy--gears were not meshing correctly. Got that fixed too.
About a year later, my ABS sensor lit up, and when I got it checked, they found a lot of metal filings in the differential. They said that the gears were wearing from the past issues and it would just get worse with time.
The noise in the rear end has gotten progressively louder--still nowhere as bad as it was before--but my fuel economy has started to drop.
The questions;
is replacing the differential my only option,
how much would it cost to have someone do this,
or is this something that I could sort out with a Hayne's book and salvage parts???
Thanks!
John
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Joined: Dec 2001
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From: UT
The DIY manuals don't like to deal with diff rebuilding. believing that it is beyond the scope of most DIY'ers. There is a certain "art" to setting up gears that requires patience and experience to do well.
You could probably sort out replacing the entire axle (and often this turns out to be less expensive than rebuilding the existing differential) with a Haynes manual. If you decide to go this route, make sure you get an axle with the same gear ratio as you currently have. There's a code on the door sticker that tells what gear ratio you have, or you can look on the tag bolted to the diff cover.
You could probably sort out replacing the entire axle (and often this turns out to be less expensive than rebuilding the existing differential) with a Haynes manual. If you decide to go this route, make sure you get an axle with the same gear ratio as you currently have. There's a code on the door sticker that tells what gear ratio you have, or you can look on the tag bolted to the diff cover.
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Thanks...
Thanks for the info.
I'm completely self-taught about anything automotive, and this doesn't seem like something that would be an easy and intuitive one to figure out,
so this might be a job better left to professionals (who guarantee their work).
Any idea what I could expect to pay for either the axle replacement or differential rebuild at a shop?
I want to look for a tranny/diffy specialist, right?
Thanks again,
John
I'm completely self-taught about anything automotive, and this doesn't seem like something that would be an easy and intuitive one to figure out,
so this might be a job better left to professionals (who guarantee their work).
Any idea what I could expect to pay for either the axle replacement or differential rebuild at a shop?
I want to look for a tranny/diffy specialist, right?
Thanks again,
John
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 306
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You can often find a complete rear axle (31 spline 8.8) at junkyards from 100-200. 1996 and newer will have disc brakes, just make sure the differential has the same gears.
Swapping rear ends shouldn't take more than a couple hours. A lot of people do this just to swap in another axle with different gears, because it's often less expensive than re-gearing.
Swapping rear ends shouldn't take more than a couple hours. A lot of people do this just to swap in another axle with different gears, because it's often less expensive than re-gearing.
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greenbevo
Explorer, Sport Trac, Mountaineer & Aviator
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Dec 4, 2002 09:24 AM
1999, 99, differential, differentials, diffrtal, explorer, gear, mountaineer, ration, rebuild, specs, sport
