2015 F350 water in rear differential. Warranty Claim Denied.
 

I am new to this forum and hope I am posting this in the right place.

I currently own a 2015 F350 diesel with around 82,000 miles. Purchased it CPO and it is still under warranty.

Took it in to the dealer to diagnose a noise coming from the drive train. Was told that rear differential fluid was contaminated with water, and would require a $4,600 rebuild.

I had the tech show me the damage, and noticed that the rear diff vent tube was mounted in the wrong place (was clipped to the emergency brake cable support, inside the wheel well) fully a foot lower than where it should be, which is on the interior frame rail, horizontal to the bed.

My argument was that the hose was mounted incorrectly, and would certainly take on water in the current location. Service manager said the position does not matter, and I would have had to submerge the rear end in water above that location for a significant amount of time, for such a large volume of water to get in. His recommendation was to deny the warranty claim.

My truck is garage kept, and has never been in water deeper than a pot hole (I keep my 2002 F-250 V10 with 295,000 miles on her for doing the dirty work.)

Do any of you think I am being unreasonable in asking for coverage, and any suggestions on how to escalate a denied claim?

Thanks for the help.

how long have you had the truck and how many miles? Seems to me like a long term issue and that is why it was traded.




Selling dealer should make it right, they did not check the item before resale.

if you purchased it "USED"... then NO. not covered.
could have been in a flood.. just not under water...

I would say if you got it Certified Pre-Owned, you should at least have a case. In most cases I would agree with Chuck, but CPO to me means they checked the vehicle out and certified it to be reasonably worthy of a warranty. And after all, that's what the warranty is for.

I'm of this opinion, but would like to know how long you have had it. And I'm trusting you have not taken it into deep water yourself. "How long" is not a deal breaker or deciding point by any means, as long as it is in the warranty period; it is a gauge of resistance to honoring a claim.

Damage you did not cause is exactly what the warranty is for.

FWIW, when I regeared my 99 with full rebuild of the rear it was just short of 1400, now add a limited slip carrier and it goes up maybe 500-800, have not priced out the eld in many newer truck. In the end. If it will not be covered I’d look to an off road or jeep shop to rebuild it for you, bet be less than half cost you are quoted now.

What exactly is the damage?

Guys,

Thank you for the responses.

I purchased the truck in June of 2016 with 31,000 miles, certified pre-owned from a Pittsburgh area Ford dealership. It is my daily driver, and pulls our fifth wheel for two weeks each summer. It is a fully loaded Lariat, and I paid more for it than my first home : ).

I traded a 2015 F-350 Lariat flex fuel, that I purchased new, because the diesel was a better choice for pulling our trailer, and for fuel economy.

I have had every oil change and service performed at my local Ford dealership, ever since I bought her. No one else has touched the truck. She is garage kept, and in immaculate condition. Never been near water since I have owned it.

Chuck...I just ran a carfax based upon your observation, just to see if I could see any previous history. Looks like the truck was purchased new in Iowa, then sold at auction with only 31,000 miles about a year later, to the dealer I purchased it from (almost 700 miles away.)

No damage or flood history listed on carfax, but that is not too surprising. Maybe it was in water, and auctioned off to my unsuspecting dealer. It was either that, or the breather location that has led to the water.

My service manager stated as much, but said they would not have caught that at the CPO inspection. They only check the levels, and do not drain the diff.

I am going to pull the front diff plug and test the fluid tomorrow. If there is water there, that would pretty much eliminate the rear breather, and point to flood.

Either way, Ford has closed the file, and unless there is a level of appeal I am unaware of, I am on the hook for the repairs.

Again, thanks for all of the help.

I will post what I find in the front diff, and let you guys know if I hear any more from Ford.

As for the damage, there is a low whine that comes on at 1500 rpm, and goes away around 2000 rpm. If I put it into neutral while driving, the noise immediately goes away.

The dealer pulled the diff cover and took at lease 20 pictures of the milky diff fluid, from every conceivable angle and just said it would need a full rebuild, at around $4,500.00

The regional Ford rep that is responsible for approving/denying claims said she did not possess any mechanical knowledge, and based her denial on the recommendation of my dealer.

Since I did not agree, she suggested that I have them refill the diff with fresh fluid, and take it to another dealer. Seems like a runaround to me.

Sure, I can have the work done by a local guy for 75% less than ford, but I guess my point is, I feel I am getting the brush off from Ford, and that CPO warranty I paid for is worthless.

It is an FX4 with an electronic locking diff, if that helps.

Does it make the noise in gear if you take your foot off the accelerator? Coasting in gear I mean. If you have the noise in gear on and off Throttle I doubt it is differential.

The ring and pinion and all associated bearings are spinning even if you are in neutral. You are taking the load off the side of the teeth that push the truck down the road and Coasting on the back side of the tooth.

During the certification inspection they should have seen the milky fluid... no need to drain to see it just dip a pinky in.

Interesting, did they check back lash? Or have any evidence of excessive wear? Include wheel bearing inspection. If all in spec I’d go for good clean and refill with generic cheap gear oil and see if it clears off. If good then switch over to a synthetic.

I do agree CPO should include more than a check of fluid levels, and even at that, water in oil should have been caught during a level check.

I have no clue on the e locker and how it works. I'm just talking about bearings and gears.

I agree that contamination of the oil is bad but I'd be more concerned about damaged hard parts. Metal shavings in oil? Discolored bearing that got hot? Excessive or bad wear pattern on the gears? I have a hard time believing it all needs replaced due to some water (I assume) in the oil.

Personally I would clean it and fill it up drive it and repeat.

Assuming it makes the noise on and off Throttle in gear I'd look elsewhere for the source of the whine.

It’s a used truck that you’ve driven 51000 miles since you bought it.

I think this one’s on you, especially since there’s no overt failure.

Try refilling the differential with fresh synthetic fluid.

If all you hear is a slight whine at certain speeds, it will probably go another 100k miles before action is necessary.

That (in bold) is debatable... But I drove an old Pontiac for many years with what sounded like a saw working back and forth in the rear end. Never fixed it and it sounded the same 40,000 miles later.

I might still try some appeal under customer satisfaction, maybe willing to split the cost for repair. I would also read the warranty very carefully paying close attention first to what is covered, and then for any exclusions.

Wear and tear is probably excluded, and the miles combined with the water might fit that description depending on the contract language.

I've had some issues with repairs both in and after warranty with other makes. Sometimes it worked out, sometimes it didn't.