2003 Ford Explorer Rear Differential Whine

Refer to TSB 05-12-6 as I suggested. Ford has a service kit that includes all effected bearings, seals and the gear set. They also include a sticker to refer the heavier gear oil that replaces the original 75W-90 with 75W-140 QL.

I have it on mine between 50 and 70 about. It's not loud at all and it just sounds like the noise a larger vehicle makes. I'm not fixing it. It doesn't sound like anything is wrong so I'm going to leave it alone. The only thing weird I noticed is that it gets a lot louder with the AC on.

I have a 2003 4.6 liter EX with the 3.73 rear end that had the same problem. I had the complete rear end replace three times. The last time the dealer told me that Ford had replaced that aluminum housing on the "hogs head" with a steel housing. I haven't had a problem since. He told me that the housing and the gears expanded at different rates since they were different metals. This caused the gears and housing to pull apart over time.

I've got over 35k miles on the new differential with no problems.

Rubberhead said:

I have a 2003 4.6 liter EX with the 3.73 rear end that had the same problem. I had the complete rear end replace three times. The last time the dealer told me that Ford had replaced that aluminum housing on the "hogs head" with a steel housing. I haven't had a problem since. He told me that the housing and the gears expanded at different rates since they were different metals. This caused the gears and housing to pull apart over time.

I've got over 35k miles on the new differential with no problems.

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rrrrrrrrright, thats what they want you to believe, thats not what the problem is , but you know what they say, you can blind them with brillance or baffle them with bs, no offense to you though, but i hate it when dealerships do that. there is no "steel" hogs head, they just rebuilt it again but finally got it right. as long as its fixed and ou didn't payanything for it, but i would find another service dept. if i were you

I had the same problem appear in my 2002 Limited. It wasn't apparent when I purchased it 15 months ago with 6,000 miles on it, however after I had it for only a few months, it was easily noticable. Being under warranty, they fixed it for me without a fuss. The vehicle now has 40,000 miles on it and there is no sign of the whine at all. I think they correctly fixed it - I would think by now I would notice it again if it is going to return at all!

The thing that bugs me is a little chirp/squeek that I hear when the AC is on. It does it every 15 to 20 seconds ALL the time that the AC is on. Oh well - good luck on getting the whine taken care of!

I have had my '05 (17k miles) differential (tag code V648M) repaired three times for the whine condition. On the second repair I picked up a vibration at 35-50MPH. I was told it was the tires, drive shaft, transmission, and finaly a normal condition. The third replacement of the r&p resolved the majority of the problem . I still believe that there is still a very slight vibration present at 70MPH. What could be causing this? If the carrier (ring gear mounting) was out of tollenence wouldn't this show up on the ring gear run out check? I want to buy a complete assembly I have seen on ebay with a V670M tag code.

My xlt 4.0 4x4 has been in 8 times for leaking rear axle seals and whinning. Dealer has replaced complete rear axle assy and shafts twice. also twice they have replaced ring and pinion under some bulletin to correct problem. So far 3000 miles and no leaks or whinning. Also last time in the shop when they replaced rear axle assembly truck still had a whine which I told service manager that you could feel vibration in steering wheel at 50 mph and up. I said it felt like front wheel bearings, Technician told me I did not know what I was talking about. Since they did replace both front wheel bearings no noises. I did also tell technician seem he knows everything what was his best guess? I think maybe he needs to go back to school or I need to find another dealer to take my vehicle into. I would not think that having 37,000 miles on thi struck that I would have these many problems with it. I want to get rid of but wife wants to keep it. Any Thoughts crew.....

I have the same whine, drives me crazy. Can anybody tell me what they paid to have the rear end fixed out of warranty? I would like to get it fixed, but have not had the time to take it in and I dont have thousands to fix it.

Any help would be great,

I bought one from this guy on ebay. I made an offer of $400 including shipping and he took it. I paid the dealer $300 to install it and everything is good so far.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/F150...019QQitemZ290023088979QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

I had mine fixed at the stealership out of warranty.
The charge was $566.64 for the COMPLETE kit and oil. The kit does not come with seals. You have to buy them seperately, which is why I say COMPLETE kit. The kit itself was $464.00. Seals were $65.32 for two of them.
oil was $36.74.
Labor was $362.99.
The sound of silence is wonderful

Dave

rear whine

i have an 05 ex. xlt and at only10000 miles i got the dreaded whine...dealer replaced r and p and all bearings and seals...am at 20000 miles and so far no whine...this sounds like a major manufacturing prob ford should adress!

My '04 V6 with 3.55 has it pretty bad at 60-62 mph. I am out of warranty, so no real incentive to do anything about until it becomes a problem. Fortunately I don't drive 60mph that often. Usually have the stereo up high enough I don't hear it

If something else breaks and I have to tap into my Guaranteed Price Refund extended warranty, then I may have the whine fixed too. But if I don't use the warranty then I get the money back at the end of the term, so it's a pretty good deal.


Jason

bfast1day said:

i have a 2000 eb and mine does that too. it seems to only make the noise between 40 or 50 mph.is it something i need to be worried about as far as damaging something,or is it just an aggravation?

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My girl truck 1998 Mountaineer wined also. Need to be rebuilt. Bearing where shot.

I also have the whine in my 2002. This whole car (i mean truck) just seems to be falling apart. I bought it in july and i've already had a few issues. I'm already thinking about pulling the 4 sale signs out of my 1993 explorer because it is actually built tough and durable and i know it will last for a good while, and its 13 years old, and selling the 2002 that after only 4 years old is already falling apart.

Rear end noise

I have a 02 EB Explorer, class III tow package, etc and it is in the Ford Service Bay right now having a new rear assembly installed. I had the loud whooo noise starting at 35 MPH, at its worst at 45 MPH, and finally tapering off at 70 MPH. I had a leak in the rear seal and the fluid level dropped enough for the limited slip clutches to burn out. The fluid, when drained, smelled foul. I had new oil and a new additive put in but it didn't stop the noise. Brought it to the ford dealer today and they said the entire rear assembly is shot and needs to be replaced. It is going to cost me $1500 for the assembly and new seals. I hope they warrant the new assembly because I don't want to replace it again. If it happens again I'll probably trade it in on a new one.

Yup, got the 2002 Limited bought new, Cl III tow package, 3.73 gears. Also have the whine (but do not recall seeing it on the list of standard features). Has about 76K miles now, has had the whine from birth. Pretty much all of the time under accleration of constant throttle, but stops when you let off the gas (reverse lash).

Will probably just let it go until it grenades, as it does not seem to get worse over time. Well beyond warrantee anyway.

Thought about changing the oil to 140 weight though, maybe it will buy some time.

Got the whine on a 2003 Limited Centennial 4.0L V6 4x4 bought used a couple of months ago. Has almost 65K miles on it, and a few other annoying noises in cold weather (I started another thread about them all). The whine starts at 50mph and ends at 62-3mph... not that annoying, but noticeable. Does this indicate any ongoing damage to the vehicle in any way? I read a lot of people talking about fixing it or having had it fixed, and some about leaving it alone. Can't believe that this isn't a very widespread problem that affects a large percentage of '02-'05 X's. I have the Ford BaseCARE extended warranty effective until 98K miles or end of 9/09, whichever comes first. This should be covered under the drivetrain part of the warranty if I ever reported it and wanted it fixed. I have to take it in for my 65K routine service soon (my dealer is 60-70 miles away), and I'm debating making an issue of this and the other noises, but don't want to lose the car for an extended period of time. Otherwise, I love the truck... I just want to know if this is causing ongoing damage that I will have to pay for later? Thanks.

Timoteo said:

Refer to TSB 05-12-6 as I suggested. Ford has a service kit that includes all effected bearings, seals and the gear set. They also include a sticker to refer the heavier gear oil that replaces the original 75W-90 with 75W-140 QL.

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My 2004 had a whine that started at around 53 and quit a 60. I brought it in and had the TSB repair done. It was quiet for about 2 months and now it whines at around 30-35 mph, though not quite so badly as before the repair.

dickm

Well here is my two cents. Our '03 developed the whine last Sept. Took it in and had the ring and pinion replaced and all was well. Until now. Just went in today because the whine came back. Tech said it is the rear tires. I really hate having to prove to the dealer when things go wrong. They did seem to fix the cruise control and ABS problem though. Sometimes I think the '92 Explorer we traded for this one was much better built.

My 04 has a slight, really high-pitched whine, but only while accelerating at pretty low speeds. It seems to be in second gear. It'll stop if I take my foot off the accelerator or if it changes to third gear. I never considered it to be a problem to be honest... I kinda like it! Sounds like there's a nice wee supercharger under there somewhere! I never actually considered it could be a problem but after reading this I'm not too sure!

The sound definitely is coming from the front though. Truck runs great though, no codes getting thrown, runs great... something I should worry about?!