rear differential cover removal

[jacobl]

I am trying to change the differential fluid and I have been hearing some wierd noises from the differential. I took out the 8 bolts that are on the differential cover and I can't get it off. Is there something I am missing? Thanks. some pics would really help.

 

[03liftededge]

if you wanted to change the fluid on your 02 explorer rear diff why not just pull the 3/4 big plug on the bottom of the cover and just drain and refill it with the smaller 3/8 plug above it.

 

[Potomac30]

Give it a good tug to break the silicone seal loose. Keep a bolt or two (loose) in the top of the cover to hold it in place while it drains.

PS. make sure that you can get the fill plug out before you drain it.

 

[bkl94gt]

The diff cover is actually bolted to the frame (if you have the IRS setup). If you remove the spare tire, you'll see two bolts that go through the frame into the cover housing.

Here is a pic of one out of the car:

Here is another one:

The noise you are hearing is likely bearings. I just rebuilt the one in my 02 Explorer. Go to this thread to see some nasty bearing pics: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=202090

 

[jacobl]

the two bolts in the frame was what was confusing me. I am working on the truck on the ground. If i remove the two bolts connected to the frame will the whole differential come
out? or just the cover? Also what is the torque spec on those two bolts? Thanks.

 

[jacobl]

the rear differential was rebuilt at the ford dealer at 82k miles. the right rear wheel bearing was replaced at 73k miles and the left rear wheel bearing was replaced at 91k miles. the truck now has 134k miles. There was always a howling noise coming from the rear of the car. There was a very loud howling noise coming from the rear about 1000 miles ago. then one day on the highway all of the howling stopped. I have since stopped driving the vehicle and I need to get the rear diff cover off to look and see if there is something lose or rattling inside.

Thats the story.

p.s. also the diff fluid looks really bad it has some metal shavings on the fill plug....thankfully no chunks.

 

[bkl94gt]

When I reinstalled those two bolts, I was using air tools so I didn't really torque them to any specs, but if I had to guess, 85-90 foot pounds would be about right.

Just inside those two frame bolts are two cover bolts, were you able to get them out? There isn't much room to get at them, but if you removed them the cover should pop off and the diff should stay put. The diff is supported by another bolt close to the drive shaft so I don't think the diff can go anywhere.

You might want to consider how you are going to keep crap from falling into the diff as you remove the cover. On mine, the top part of the housing seemed to collect a lot of stuff from the road and you don't want that getting into the diff. Another concern would be cleaning up the diff surface (part still attached to the truck) so when you reinstall the cover, it doesn't leak.

Good luck.

 

[jacobl]

I ended up taking it to a local shop and It turns out the right rear wheel bearing was bad. They said the wheel was shaking. It wasn't shaking while driving and I checked the bearing for play a couple of times. It must have decided to crap out on the way to the shop. The diff fluid was changed while on the lift. Thanks to everyone.