F53 Ford differential growls

fredmnn · 12-13-2007, 07:57 PM

Differential started growling before I could get back from alaska and mileage went over 36000 on 2006 Sightseer. Ford wont even look at it unless I agree to pay over 3000 dollars. Anone have any suggestions?

fredmnn · 12-13-2007, 07:57 PM

Differential started growling before I could get back from alaska and mileage went over 36000 on 2006 Sightseer. Ford wont even look at it unless I agree to pay over 3000 dollars. Anone have any suggestions?

Ray,IN · 12-14-2007, 03:15 PM

Welcome to irv2.com and a great family of camping folks!
Have you changed the differential oil yet? That is the cheapest and best first step in diagnosing the noise. Is/was the oil black with a strong smell, contain metal shavings(use a magnet to check), was the oil level correct prior to changing?

Locate a gearing specialty shop. They usually spend the majority of their time working with race cars, setting-up differentials, and drive-trains. Even experienced mechanics refer people to the gearing shop here, because properly setting the gears "backlash" is very critical, and if a mechanic doesn't do it often they lose their "touch" to be efficient. Improperly set, the gears will be very noisy, wear unevenly, cause premature bearing failure and may cause other drive-train problems.
If you are mechanically inclined, have the tools, initiative, and time, check out ACCU Auto Parts technical article where they help you do it yourself.