Started the Diff/LSD rebuild this weekend.

[jav1]

My 03 had the dreaded whine and LSD shudder coming from the differential. 4.0 V6 3.73 gears.

Getting the pumpkin out wasn't as bad as i thought... the worst part was getting the axles pressed out of the hubs. One side was so stuck I actually broke a puller.

The disappointing thing is that after full dissassembly, everything inside looked great- no slop anywhere, all bearings and races look mint, even the gears look great! There are no visual clues to explain why this diff sounds as bad as it does.

I just orderd all the new parts from Ford racing... and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that after all this effort and $$$, the truck will be good for a long time.

Sucks to buy a brand new vehicle, have the wife baby the thing and still have these types of issues start at 60k miles.

 

[chopperb]

Just did mine on my 04 a few weeks ago. Had the whine,grinding and what not. Bearings were shot. Just replaced everything including the clutchs. Just remember to add a pint of lube through the abs sensor hole after you fill up the rear end.

 

[jav1]

I was hoping to find bad bearings or some other explanation for the noise.... nothing. I'm told it's fairly common to have noise but no visual signs of why.

BTW- I bought the updated (1 pc.) stub axel seals... did you do yours? Did you have remove anything from the stub axel?

 

[scdix50]

Had mine done a few weeks ago, Richmond Gears-3.55, Auburn LS, Timken bearings & seals, crush sleeve eliminator, Ford tone ring. Guess what- a light whine. the guy that did the set up does nothing but diff. work. Right now I and running 80w90 per Auburn requirements. I did note the right axle bearing would turn easier than the left.

 

[jav1]

Had mine done a few weeks ago, Richmond Gears-3.55, Auburn LS, Timken bearings & seals, crush sleeve eliminator, Ford tone ring. Guess what- a light whine. the guy that did the set up does nothing but diff. work. Right now I and running 80w90 per Auburn requirements. I did note the right axle bearing would turn easier than the left.

Are you kidding me? A light whine? I ordered all Ford racing parts mostly to aviod any question on quality. Ford ring and pinion, Ford bearings and seals. I am going to run the newer recommended 75w140 synthetic with the Ford XL-3 modifier.

I bought the badshoes rebuild video on the aluminum 8.8.. lots of great info. The aluminum 8.8 has some different setup processes than the regular 8.8 steel diff. I wonder if your guy set it up like the steel 8.8?

If I end up with even a slight whine, I'll be PO.

 

[scdix50]

The guy is really good. If you ordered the gear set from Ford racing, the website says this gear set may be noisey. Thats why I got the best Richmond gear set (USA). If you get your bearings and they are not Timkens (USA), then most likely they are SKF and not made in USA.

 

[jav1]

I looked last night and couldn't find anything re: noise on the Ford Racing site. I did find stuff about staying away from non-ford gears due to noise/quality.

As to bearings- they are Ford numbers so I have no idea what brand they are.

I'm advised that the biggest factor in controlling noise is to make sure pinion depth is perfect. From there, correct backlash and preload should do the rest.

 

[jav1]

gears are in... nice to have a quiet ride again. Not a bit of noise... the ford racing gears seem like the way to go- reasonable coin and good quality.

 

[icepickjazz]

My 03 had the dreaded whine and LSD shudder coming from the differential. 4.0 V6 3.73 gears.

Getting the pumpkin out wasn't as bad as i thought... the worst part was getting the axles pressed out of the hubs. One side was so stuck I actually broke a puller.

The disappointing thing is that after full dissassembly, everything inside looked great- no slop anywhere, all bearings and races look mint, even the gears look great! There are no visual clues to explain why this diff sounds as bad as it does.

I just orderd all the new parts from Ford racing... and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that after all this effort and $$$, the truck will be good for a long time.

Sucks to buy a brand new vehicle, have the wife baby the thing and still have these types of issues start at 60k miles.

Did you have experience doing this type of work before?

 

[jav1]

I have a little experience. I'm not a professional mechanic but I am an avid car hobbiest with a machining background. I've rebuilt engines, gearboxes and one other differential. I'm pretty good with measurements and tight tolerances.