Cast aluminum differential housing is a problem.

[Duke of]

I was told by a Ford mechanic with 12 years experience that the differential noise problem cannot be fixed. He said with replacement parts or complete replacements they will only last 10K to 25K miles depending on how you drive.

He said the Cast Aluminum Housing is the problem. It will expand and contract with heat and useage. This causes all alignment of parts to start the noise and slipping.

I was wondering if someone with more knowledge than a back yard mechanic like me could comment on this. Seems to make since to me?

After checking my 2003 Explorer it does look like the housing has that pot metal aluminum look to it.

He said Ford does not want to face a recall and is trying to hide the info. about the housing.

Thanks for any feed back,
Duke of

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I've moved your thread into the transmissions, transfer cases, and differentials section.

 

[swetrid]

I have had a bunch of the rears spin the carrier bearings and races in the housings. You have to geta case if this happens. The independent rears in the explorer are horrible!

 

[Duke of]

Thanks for the info. We are at a lose as where to start, have a friend going to look at it. Got it on 4 jack stands right now. He said something about droping the drive shaft and see if we can better pin point the noise.

Do you know if CV joins go bad on the drive shaft? Also thinking wheel bearings too.

Thanks,
Duke of

 

[ericautopart]

If your mechanic was correct, we wouldn't sell them. Very very seldom do I ever get a noise complaint after the differential is sold. I think maybe he just doesn't want to get involved.

 

[Anime]

Many manufacturers have used an aluminum differential housing for a long, long time. It saves quite a bit of weight over a cast iron piece, and the strength difference is generally not an issue for common use.

There have apparently been some issues with these, but not high enough numbers to warrant a recall. Differentials lasting 10K to 25K miles is pretty strange, they are typically an assembly that lasts the life of a vehicle if cared for with proper fluid change intervals and if not abused.

My guess would be they are a light duty part that just has some weak points which might become apparent with high mileage, heavier use like frequent towing or hard acceleration, or even possibly some low quality parts used on some assemblies. If it's like swetrid says and you've got a spun bearing or race, that could make some noise and affect operation. The u-joints on driveshafts can definitely wear out, as can wheel bearings, so replacement with high quality parts can solve problems associated with wear and tear, but it's important to investigage and check for any underlying causes, as you don't want to constantly be replacing joints and bearings that are going bad because something else is out of whack.

Best bet is probably to change out the whole unit for a new/rebuilt one with a warranty. Disassembly of the drivetrain would be a pain, but would allow for inspection of the parts in queston and hopefully indentify the issues and the cause.

 

[Duke of]

I have read on many different web forms where owners are replacing differentials two and three times on the same Explorer. The 2003's seem to be the worse. They all state that the problem was fixed but occurs again later on.

I just typed in "Differential problems, Ford Explorer 2003" and read for hours how people are upset and looking for help. Try it for yourself, I only know what I have read.

I agree that bearing, u joints etc. could be part of the problem but why are soo many differentials being replaced on the 2003, even some with low mileage.

Hey!! I ain't mad at anyone, just trying to get info. without upsetting anyone.

Blessings,
Duke of

 

[swetrid]

Alot of the rear diff failures are related to fluid level. Most of the axle seals leak and in turn allow the fluid to become low and that will cause excessive wear.

 

[Duke of]

Funny you should mention that, I was just looking at the small amount of oil that stains the differential when it gets hot. Does not drip or run but always a small amount if the case is hot.

I have an cast aluminum case and cast iron fill screw, two different metals and they do react different under hot conditions, aluminum will expand faster than case iron thus the threads whoos a tad.

Sounds like I am picking on aluminum cases but I'm not, just know there is a problem with softer metals under all that torque and pressure.

Thanks,
Duke of