2003 Ford Explorer - repeated differential failures (and transmission)

I do appreciate at least knowing our story has been heard. Thank you for listening.

Should I expect to hear from the Transmission Program Manager?

Bradk13 - when you had the entire rear-end replaced by a non-Ford local mechanic, did it finally solve the problem? I'm asking because we face the same issue with our 2003 Explorer.

We just bought our 03 Explorer from my in-laws about 2 weeks ago. They bought it new, and have had no problems other than "the big one". LOL I'm not sure what year or at how many miles the problem began, but it did, and my father-in-law had it "fixed" at the dealership where he bought it. Ford did not replace the whole rear-end, just the parts within it that were the "problem". (At some point later, that dealerhsip began replacing the whole rear-end. That may be how it was at all dealerships, I don't know)

Anyway, the problem was fixed or appeared to be for a while. Then the tell/tale noise started again. At that point my father-in-law took it to a reputable private mechanic. He said that when the Ford mechanic replaced the parts, he did not get something tight enough or in the right position (as best I can re-tell the details), but that he (the 2nd mechanic) had fixed the Ford mechanic's mistake. He went on to explain that it would always make the whine because of wear to the parts while they were not in proper "position", but that the rear end was now "working" properly. He stated that a complete rear-end replacement was all that would eliminate the noise at that point. Due to expense, and since the problem was fixed as far as everything working properly, my in-laws decided to live with the whine.

That brings things to us. My in-laws bought a new vehicle and offered to sell us the Explorer for what the dealer was going to give them as a trade-in. The vehicle is in excellent shape otherwise, so it really was a good deal. Since we paid so little compared to what we would have paid a used car dealer, we feel like we could splurge and get a whole new rear-end. BUT, I would only want to do that if I knew it were truly going to fix the problem for good. If not, I would rather do like my in-laws.....save the $$ and listen to the whine. That's why I wanted to know if the total replacement had worked for you.

THANK YOU for letting me know.

Natalie

Thanks for contacting me Shawn.

Would Ford still cover the cost - or most of the cost - of a replacement?

Natalie

My problem is with a 2004 Ford F-150. Same problem with the rear differential. You described my issues almost perfectly. We will be fixing it for the third time in as many years. It has only 60,000 miles on it and we NEVER haul anything heavy. The first two times, we went to a Ford service center. This time, I'm going elsewhere. And I will NEVER purchase a Ford vehicle again. Which is sad, as we were a Ford family as well, along with my father and my grandfather, and my husband's father and grandfather. So much for American-made. So much for "world class quality." Shame on Ford. And a poor decision on their part not to fix it for me (the current rear differential is out of warranty by a few thousand miles) as we are a young and growing family with plans to replace our small vehicle with a larger SUV-type vehicle soon. We would've bought another Ford.

Shawn, nothing personal against you, but since Ford is responsible for the problem to begin with and failed to fix it the first time (when my father-in-law still owned the vehicle), I don't think Ford deserves the opportunity to make money from working on it again. I would prefer to give the business to someone else.

Rachel....question for you. Why did the first two "fixes" not fix it? Was it not properly repaired or did it mess up again. It seems more than coincidental that it would happen two more times if it had been properly fixed. Did a Ford dealership mechanic do the work?

Bradk13 said he was able to finally get his properly fixed.

Ubelievable the information I've seen on the web today about this problem in Explorers 02-04. This is epidemic! By the way, my Explorer is at the dealership today with the same problem. 89000 miles, out of warranty and looking at repair of $2000.00.

I'm so sorry to hear the dealership you bought your car from closed but I'm not sure it would make a difference since ford is the one not reimbursing the dealers to do the work to fix the differential problems.Kings said they used to about 8 months ago but with the downturn in the economy they no longer doing that

My car is also facing a $3000-$4000 repair. 2003 Ford Explorer. I have been a huge fan of Ford in the past... even bought a new Explorer after my previous Explorer rolled over on the expressway due to the tire issue!!! Well, apparenlty I was wrong to have stuck with them. I am thoroughly disappointed with the lack of standing behind their product that Ford exhibits. After seeing this site and reading numerous other complaints with the same issues, why is Ford not trying to help their customers?? Ford- you will NOT win me back by responding to this message. The only way to win your past customers back in my opinion is to help us with the problem, not just tell us to call a customer service number where all they do is say "we can not do anything else for you, it is a dealer decision". It is ridiculous... they try to make you feel like they are there to help but then just turn you away. Why isn't there a recall on items if these are defective and the Ford company knows it??
Disappointed and disgusted with Ford in Chicago.

Answer: money, honey!!

i'd rather have Ford spend THEIR money, than OURS!!! They already have OUR money from paying so much for defective cars!!!

That's just it - they're not going to spend THEIR money - they want it. We want ours too, but to keep it, we are forced to drive a whining car.

I understand about warranties and time limits on them - especially with individual "lemons". But this is beyond a lemon, this is major engineering failure on the part of Ford and they know it. They are simply standing behind the legalities of a warranty, and are not doing the right thing because they don't legally have to.

From what we've been told by diff repair shops, the early independent suspension differentials have a low fluid capacity versus the earlier solid axle rearends so they tend to run very hot and don't dissipate heat very well due to limited surface area (no long axle tubes to sink heat away from the diff gear case when it's running hot) so they tend to eat bearings (and maybe limited slip clutch packs??; although a limited slip clutch pack should only be exercised if the wheels are turning at different speeds as in turning or wheel spinning - off road or different diameter tires worn irregularly or not uniformly inflated; so I'm not sure I understand this failure mode??) if you don't keep the fluid fresh or you load them down for long periods. As such, it's important to have them serviced regularly - about every 30K miles (when does anyone do that with diffs??) - with a high quality synthetic lube and friction modifier compound, which isn't cheap and the garages overcharge for the service (well known muffler chain - $130 to service a rear diff - Bull!!) because the synthetic fluid is fairly expensive unless you can change it yourself (pretty easy & I recommend Royal Purple from an auto supply store. They claim not to need the friction modifier, but I'd put it in anyway.). I have 86K on an '02 Exp EB that was originally purchased as an early model in Mar'01 (Denver area) with no rearend problems so far but it does exhibit the hard drop into reverse gear with the tranny on rare occasions - it's going in for service soon - never any shift problems in forward. It was never used for towing. My son's '03 EB rear diff started howling at about 70K and was rebuilt by a diff shop last year in the LA area. Take it to a reputable diff shop. Most of the Ford garages charge twice as much and send them out to the diff shops for repair anyway after they remove them [that's our experience!! (send me half of the $700 you'll save!!-Ha!) - the diff shop I sent my son to does all the diff repairs for the Ford dealer out there!! His cost about $700; $1500 at the dealership!!]. If the problem is caught early, and the ring and pinion don't get eaten up, you're probably looking at a $700-$1000 repair at a good diff shop to replace the bearings. If the ring and pinion have to be replaced, probably $1500 to $1700+. I've heard that the rings and pinions in some of the early units weren't all that great either (materials or fabrication problems??) so it may be a combination of driving habits, lack of regular service, improper repair (not replacing all the bad stuff when they go for repairs or a hack mechanic); tire inflation; and/or defective OEM materials ganging up to cause a lot of these issues?????? There are a hell of a lot of Explorers and Mountaineers and F150s (F-150 is a solid axle, so I don't understand that one either?? - not the same problem.) on the road and not that many have diff failures like some have experienced. But the ones that do, along with the cracked plastic panels on the '02-'07? Explorer rear hatches (crappy design - I replaced mine - put it on with 3M tape - don't glue them or they'll crack again - thermal expansion mismatch that needs some compliancy!!) are pretty aggravating. A few years back I had a 55K tranny service done by the Ford dealership I bought my '99 XLT from and their hack mechanic botched it - cracked the flex plate (flywheel) putting it back in. Got a new flex plate, torque converter and a reman Ford tranny out of that one under the Ford ESP warranty ($50 deductible, which I'd already paid to have a leak fixed after they pressure-flush-serviced it and blew out the front seal - bone-heads!. Only took the Ford dealer 5 tries to get it right after that one! - all at their expense, except my $50 deductible!!).

I'm happy to report 10K miles later, we haven't had any issues with the after market LSD replacement.

Could you please give the exact name of the aftermarket diff you purchases. I have the same problem and want to try your solution. Thanks.

Thanks for the help. Also, where did you purchase it from?