Whine in Rear End?

[DogDays]

Just picked up an 04 Limited last weekend. On the way home (100 mile trip) I began to notice a whine from the rear end. Starts at about 40 mph and increases in pitch up to 60 mph. This only happens if at constant acceleration, goes away when you let off the gas.

I have a 30 day bumper to bumper warranty and wanted to ask if this is something I should be concerned about. Is this normal for a 4X4 rear end?
Everything else is working fine and I have no problems with the vehicle.

Mike

 

[rrgone]

http://www.fcsdchemicalsandlubricants.com/supplier/tsb/05126.pdf

I'm not sure if TSB 05-12-6 has been updated or replaced. Any Ford service dept should be able to tell you. It's something you definately want to get fixed while you have a warranty.

 

[Exploderpilot]

Yup, get yourself down to the dealership, and have it fixed. keep going back until it doesn't whine anymore.

 

[4MYBOYZ]

whine

I'm guessing if you don't have a warranty, you are shi# out of luck??? I have a 2002 Ex with 97k miles. The whine has been evident for the last 29k miles.

 

[IZwack]

I'm guessing if you don't have a warranty, you are shi# out of luck??? I have a 2002 Ex with 97k miles. The whine has been evident for the last 29k miles.

Try not to push that vehicle too much further . If that whine is gear related, it will probably eventually lead to more costly repairs in the future and quite possibly leave you stranded on the road one day .

If you dont have warranty, the next solution (and less costly than the dealer) would probably to take it to a speed shop that can set up the ring and pinion properly. The axle center section should be similar to the solid-axle 8.8, and this axle is common in Mustangs and other Fords and so on -- so they should know how to handle it.

 

[bkl94gt]

The ford diffs have bearing issues, which is one of the reasons for the whine. I spent most of yesterday replacing all the bearing and seals in the rear diff of my 02 explorer (84K on the clock). Ring and pinion gears were fine. All cups were pitted (both pinion head/tail as well as the carrier cups). I'll try to get some pictures posted in the next day or so. It also appears that the carrier cups were not seated in the housing properly as there was uneven wear on them. Local ford dealer wanted $1,200 to do the job, I did it for just under $200 (not counting my time to do it). With the back end quiet, I can now hear the whine from the front diff (I'll bet I find the same problems).

 

[rrgone]

The ford diffs have bearing issues, which is one of the reasons for the whine. I spent most of yesterday replacing all the bearing and seals in the rear diff of my 02 explorer (84K on the clock). Ring and pinion gears were fine. All cups were pitted (both pinion head/tail as well as the carrier cups). I'll try to get some pictures posted in the next day or so. It also appears that the carrier cups were not seated in the housing properly as there was uneven wear on them. Local ford dealer wanted $1,200 to do the job, I did it for just under $200 (not counting my time to do it). With the back end quiet, I can now hear the whine from the front diff (I'll bet I find the same problems).

Welcome aboard. I for one would like to see those pics. Also, what's your automotive mechanics skill level? Bit subjective I know but curious how difficult this job would be for the average wrencher.

 

[bkl94gt]

On a scale of 1 to 10 where a 1 is an oil change and a 10 would be rebuilding a motor, I'd say this job is a 5. Pulling the diff off the truck is the easy part, removing/installing the bearings is by far the biggest challenge. Having the right tools makes all the difference. Drivers for the bearings and seals are critical. Press one in sideways or not far enough will likely cause issues later on. It is also critical to keep dirt/debris out of the case during reassembly (I spent the better part of an hour cleaning the case after gutting it).

As for the pics, I don't see how I can post them (do I need to hit a certain number of posts before I'm able to do so)? I will try to PM them to you.

 

[bkl94gt]

Here are some pics....

Driver side carrier cup:

Another view:


Inner race:


Roller:


Passenger side carrier cup:

Pinion head cup:


Same cup turned 180 degrees, notice the wear marks between each pic:


Finally, pinion tail bearing (must have been warm at one point):

 

[rrgone]

blk94gt

Yikes, that must have been doing some serious 'humming'. Did you buy the kit that Ford has for this repair or just things as needed when you got it apart? The TSB lists 6.6 hours of shop time for this repair on Explorers so if you got it done in one day that's pretty good.

 

[bkl94gt]

I didn't use the Ford kit, my cousin got the kit for me through suppliers he uses (he owns an AAMCO). All the bearings were Timken and the kit included the carrier bearings, pinion head and tail bearings, crush collar, pinion nut, pinion seal and gasket. I decided to replace the axle seals as long as it apart. The only other expense was the gear oil.

My cousins help was huge, he let me use his shop (lift), air tools, and one of his techs whenever we had a question and needed some help. I think I could have done this in my garage on my own, but it would have taken alot more time. I won't hesitate at all now tearing into the front diff.

 

[wood1]

Holy crap, I haven't seen rear end bearings look that bad...

Was the cause of that water in the diff?

 

[bkl94gt]

The gear oil looked normal, no evidence of water. I did find some metal shavings in the case, but well within what I believe would be normal. What's interesting is that when I was cleaning up the bearings/cups, the shop rag I was using was full of tiny metal flakes (almost looked like what you'd see in a holiday card). I haven't been able to get the bearings analyzed yet, but it really looks to me like the metal was disintegrating or had impurities burried just under the contact surface.

 

[jcjcm]

Pictures look eerily familiar. I've got a box of rear end parts in my garage that look just like this. My mechanic rebuilt the rear end in my '02 explorer(55,000 miles), and he said the problem is inferior quality parts. The newly rebuilt rear end is much more quiet, but he mentioned that the independent rear assembly tends to transmit more noise into the cabin than the solid rear axles.

 

[bkl94gt]

The bearings I removed were Timken (carrier) and Koyo-USA (pinion). I agree with the quality being inferior. Hard to believe we can't get 100K before having issues, doesn't speak well for either bearing company or Ford for that matter. I work with a guy that came from Ford. He's was the project manager from 97-03 for the trannys that went into the explorers. He's trying to get me in touch with the quality engineers at Ford that were responsible for the diffs. I don't expect I'll get anywhere with them but I'm willing to try.

 

[EasyRhino]

Okay, that is scary bad.

I guess that I will need to plan on rebuilding mine before too many more miles - gotta be cheaper to replace the bearings than the entire pumpkin, I'm thinking. I have had the whine since new, now at 90K miles. Not too bad, but noticeable.

Since the original post indicates that removing the pumpkin is not too bad, but since I lack the tools to change the bearings, I am considering pulling the pumpkin and taking it to a automotive shop to replace the bearings, and to reset the lash and pinion.

Sound like a reasonable plan?

Suppose while I am in there would be a good time to check the rear wheel bearings, replace the rear shocks, inspect the brakes, and anything else that looks suspect. My rear springs are not broken, at least.

Any thoughts on what other work would be good to do while I've got this thing in pieces?

 

[bkl94gt]

I think pulling the diff out and taking it to a shop will definitely save you some labor time (perhaps as much as half the time). If you have air tools, the job gets even easier.

The only other suggestion I would make would be to hold off on changing out wheel bearings or other drivetrain components and see if the whine goes away after the diff rebuild (save yourself some money and only change them out if they need it).

Good luck.

 

[blue_goose]

I didn't use the Ford kit, my cousin got the kit for me through suppliers he uses (he owns an AAMCO). All the bearings were Timken and the kit included the carrier bearings, pinion head and tail bearings, crush collar, pinion nut, pinion seal and gasket. I decided to replace the axle seals as long as it apart. The only other expense was the gear oil.
QUOTE]

I'm hoping to rip this apart and do the same. My humming rear end has started to be more of a quiet scream now and I'm concerned about breaking down on the road trips that this thing goes on. It's got 101k on the clock and the rear diff has gotten significantly louder, to the point where I pray that I make it home to fix this over break. Sooo my question is do I need the ring gear and pinion? from the looks of things I don't, but I don't want to have this thing apart and not have the parts to fix it. I can get the kit itself pretty cheap, but my supplier said that the ring and pinion gear come from the kit from Ford and they don't have that. So do you think I need that, or is it just the bearings? Thanks!

 

[stevenh]

hey bk
I have 02 explorer, rear abs sensor wss bad, changed, sensor had a scrape on the face with metal flakes, so I decided to service rear end oil, syth. 75x140 with additve Question ....how much oil?? my book says 3.25 pts, ford dealer says 5.7 pints???? I could only get 3 pts in before it came out of the fill hole. so I sqeezed in 3.25 and quickly put in the plug.... now I'm getting howling in rear end when let of the excellerator (feel like snows tires on rear)Can anyone tell me how much oil and has anyone had this sound??

Thnx Steveh

 

[bkl94gt]

Steveh,

3 pts sounds about right (can't remember). If oil is running out, she's full.

Sad to say but I'm all too familar with "The Howl" My guess would be your bearings are toast, much like the pics above.


Blue_goose,

Ring & pinion on mine looked good and I did not replace them. Avoid the additional cost and just do the bearings. What you might consider doing is see if any local parts guys in your area have the ring and pinion in stock, just in case. Good luck!