Experimenting with the whiney differential

[robsxlt]

I've been reading about the horror stories with the 02 diferential issues for a year or 2 now since discovering it on my truck. It seems even the "fix" that Ford has prescribed in the TSB is not necessarily a permenant fix; and if out original warranty (as mine is), you are subject to fixing again at your own expense. Unless someone can post compelling evidence against going to an open differential, I believe that is the route I'm going. I had been shopping for an "aftermarket" differential or lock at a local 4X4 performance center. The salesman was asking about the type of driving that I do etc., and suggested I give the open differential serious consideration. Most every vehicle I've owned has had an open differential, and my Explorer is a day to day street driver. It is my understanding that the "auto" 4X4 selection will engage the front wheels when the controller senses too much rear slip in a surprise incident. If I'm in the snow or ice (2 weeks a year around here at most) I'll just set it in 4 high coming out of the driveway. ANy thoughts?

 

[MountaineerGreen]

I didn't think the LS was the culprit- I thought it was improperly setup gears. How is a different carrier going to help?

 

[EasyRhino]

I am interested in where this thread may go, as my thoughts are headed a similar direction. My 2002, purchased new has 86K miles and has had the whine since new - not getting better, not getting worse.

I have read speculation that the dreaded whine is specific to the 3.73 limited slip differential, and that if you have the whine, you can expect the grenade sometime in your future. The one thing I have not been able to put together is whether all whine/grenades are specific to the rear differential (why not the front one too?).

Although I do not have the answer to your question, I am thinking that the initial build was unsat, perhaps in that the runouts were incorrectly set??? I have heard in the past that improperly assembling the crush ring can lead to whining. Add this to it - mine only whines when applying throttle. When the throttle is lifted, there is no noise.

I am wondering what would be the harm of doing a rebuild with specific attention paid to the settings???

 

[satyr64]

I have an open diff with 56k and she whines. Thanks ford!

 

[EasyRhino]

The more I think about this, the more I think that a rebuild with attention to the pinion pre-load, gear contact patch matching, and the ring gear backlash might be the ticket to long and quiet service.

I think that sometime in the not too distant future that I might pull the cover on mine and check the wear pattern and backlash setting. I don't think it is possible to check the pinion preload without pulling the axles and driveshaft, but I might get a gross check by checking for thrust play and for overall ease of rotation.

Thoughts?

 

[mavric]

My Explorer is still covered and they just fixed the noice. I'll check with them to see what they did...

 

[jhrsmail]

Dont know if this helps or hurts..but....uh, alot of explorers have this noise (mine does) that does not have LSD....so, it would have to be something that is common on LSD and non-3.55 gear diffs..

 

[jrford]

So a 3.55 Open Diff should be noise free? Mine is at 35k and no noise. My Axle code is 45. Also AWD V8, made in St. Louis.

 

[MountaineerGreen]

What I've heard is the whine is due to improperly setup gears at Dana. They delivered the pumpkins to ford with the gears set up wrong. My understanding is the warranty work involves new gears set up properly. Not 100% on that though...