KidTriton:

Wonder if Ford has a manufacturing problem during machining of the gear itself. If the teeth are off say .002 it's enough to set up the vibe you pick up and utimately a failure.

Keith

 

yes, its definately a something like that, another theory i have is that the production axles have sort of defective posi clutches in them. There is another issue and tsb that addresses that, but as far as my whine problem goes, everytime i get a new axle, its pretty quiet (though not perfectly quiet) until i start noticing the grunt when taking off on turns. That clutch pack problem is putting ground up particles of the clutches in the fluid, and i think its acting like sandpaper between the ring and pinion.

thats just my theory, hasnt been confirmed.

 

I agree. I have had the same type of issue with another vehicle. I bet if you changed the fluid and serviced the rear-end it would be quiet for a while, and then the noise would start up again.

 

WELL... I took it to the dealer last Wednesday. They still have it.

Rear Clutch Pack is gone or ruined. They could not get the driveshaft off the rear differential for some reason. They said it was somehow fused together. Heat?

They had to order a whole new rear pumpkin from Ford. I have no idea when I will get it back.

I also told them about the black brake fluid. Have not heard what they will do, if anything, about that....


AS FOR THE LEMON LAWS:

Here in Virginia the lemon law states that you can only get a refund IF the problem can not be fixed AND if the problem is something that can cause injury or causes the vehicle to be hazardous. So, something very annoying that has been fixed 20 times (like a rear speaker) is not going to get you your money back. Faulty brakes or 4 rear ends might....


Very sorry I purchased this vehicle. I did not buy the extended warranty. Maybe I should.... Maybe I will just sell/trade it by 36000.

 

KidTriton, I forgot about the IFS. You are correct, there has got to be some sort of production problem. Are the open rear-ends not having this problem? If the LS is at fault, perhaps you could have them put in an open diff and refund you for the option?

As for the brake pad dust, why not just put on some Kleen Wheels dust shields? All semi-metallic pads dust some, it would seem this easy fix would take care of the problem.

In both cases, this requires you to do something to modify your vehicle from the way Ford made it. But isn't that better than being unhappy with a $35K vehicle and spending alot of time argueing with the dealer and Ford?

 

I picked up my Expedition last night after 1 week in the shop. Brand new rear with a new passenger side axle.

Apparently the half-shaft was totally damaged and they could not remove the axle or CV Joint from the rear. I guess they replaced it all. Put new gear oil and a friction modifier.

Only after I voiced my displeasure about them not doing something about the black brake fluid, did they flush it. The tech said "discoloration of brake fluid is normal" and that my fluid was discolored normally at 11,900 miles. BS! At least they flushed that for free as well.


I am really wondering what caused the rear to go bad? Any ideas?

I did get stuck in the sand once with 7 people in the car and had to be pulled out. The 2003 Expedition does not go through the sand as well as its predecessor...

 

BTW: How do I tell if they put a limited slip back in? Raise the rear and spin the tires? Should they go the same direction or spin in different directions?

 

Same direction for L/S, opposite direction for open.

 

crawl under there and on one of the 2 metal tags it will either say
3L73
or
3 73

L for locking.

Im sure it is.

My new (4th) rearend has a noticeable tip in whine between 58-62 mph. Not loud enough to get under my skin yet, but give it a thousand or so miles and im sure it will be.

On a brighter note, i have had the new brake pads for a week now, and put 500 miles of driving with no washing, and the only thing i can see is a very light dirt/grayish dusting.

 

Thanks! I will check.

Hey, what kind of mileage do you get in your Expy? I figure same color (white) and EB we get about the same...

I get about 13 on average in town using 87 octane (all I use). I get about 19 on the open road at 58 MPH. If I hit traffic my average bumps down to around 17. Not too shabby!

 

actually most of my driving is city driving, and i average about 14.5, but my city is a small town and there isnt a lot of sitting in traffic. But the best long trip mileage that i have gotten was 17.2 on a whole tank of interstate driving on the way from nc to fla. But i think it was lower than yours because i was averaging 75-80 MPH.

BTW, this is with a 2wd 5.4

 

kidtriton:

I've got gear whine now with the new rear. It starts at 65 MPH and cuts out at 70 MPH. Its VERY annoying.

How did they fix that with yours?

I really dont know if its worth taking it in or not.

Maybe it will go away? Maybe get worse?

I've got 12K on the vehicle with 24K left on the warranty.

 

it will stay the same or get louder. mine has about 1000 miles on its 4th rear end and its loud as ever. I will go try to get another one ordered soon.

 

Kidtriton:

What about coverage under the Lemon Law and arbitration? Your track record so far is less than stellar with rear ends. BTW, drove a Lexus GX450 Sunday, very quiet, powerful, more amenities, holds value better, and about the same as an EB.

Keith

 

you talking about a GX470? i searched and couldnt find any GX450. The 470 looks a little short? i guess its based off a sequoia, but it looks shorter.