Rear end may be dry

lifespeed said:
If you have any kind of mileage on the car, there is a good possibility you have axle wear (and by axle I mean any of the components that make up your axle assembly, although the shafts themselves are very common wear items). They do wear out, no point in running it until catastrophic failure.

Do yourself a favor and take it to a shop that specializes in rear ends. They'll be more skilled and knowledgeable, faster, and likely have Ford 8.8" parts in stock.
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About 145k
Car isn't driven much. Sits more then it drives. I'll be getting a gear swap pretty soon so when that's done I'm sure they will see what else is needed
 
Blk04MM said:
Any way to check?
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If you've got a seal leak and you're getting a howling noise out of the rear end, I'd say better than an 80% probability you've got issues.

The longer you go without addressing, the worse the damagel; ask me how I know...
 
obvious leaks

An axle shaft seal leak collects on the inside of the wheel, and becomes obvious as it only gets worse.

My axle bearing failed and was completely noiseless. The leaking seal was the only indication of failure. The only way to properly clean out the axle housing is to completely disassemble and power wash it.

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GreekGod said:
An axle shaft seal leak collects on the inside of the wheel, and becomes obvious as it only gets worse.

My axle bearing failed and was completely noiseless. The leaking seal was the only indication of failure. The only way to properly clean out the axle housing is to completely disassemble and power wash it.

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Nope the inside of my wheels are clean.

It's not a roaring noise. After I seem the rear diff in gunk I started to hear the noise. It's not noticeable at all. I put the windows up turn the radio off and "hear it" could be I'm paranoid maybe. I know there shouldn't be a Leak at all it will be fixed.
 
The pinon bearing will "moan" if it's bad and if the pinion seal is leaking (located under the middle/rear of the car) the bearing is most likely the cause of the leak. Mine went @ approx. 115k miles.
 
My drivers side axle shaft was to blame when my bearings started going bad and eventually the wheel was all full of differential fluid. The drivers side seal blew out and luckily i was able to notice it right away. It was all over my drivers side rotor and brake. Took it over by Hans at Deans Performance and they did one hell of a job pulling everything out and cleaning it back up and reinstalling the 31 spline axles, 410gears, m4210c gear install kit, 31 Cobra Carrier & TA Girdle and Stud Kit and Ford Racing Friction Modifier. I was so happy with the guys at Deans Performance I highly recommend that place.
 
Update.

Took the car to a rear end shop. He pulled it in the bay and soon as he took the plug out fluid stared to flow. Rear end is full. He told me the same thing as the last shop. Could be my bald tires against the pavement. He checked everything else said I'm in good shape. So next up is tires.
 
Blk04MM said:
Update.

Took the car to a rear end shop. He pulled it in the bay and soon as he took the plug out fluid stared to flow. Rear end is full. He told me the same thing as the last shop. Could be my bald tires against the pavement. He checked everything else said I'm in good shape. So next up is tires.
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Has anyone checked the axles yet? Can't tell the condition of them by checking diff fluid level.
 
Blk04MM said:
Update.

Took the car to a rear end shop. He pulled it in the bay and soon as he took the plug out fluid stared to flow. Rear end is full. He told me the same thing as the last shop. Could be my bald tires against the pavement. He checked everything else said I'm in good shape. So next up is tires.
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You have to disassemble your axle to do a proper check. If you took it to a rear end shop they know this. Are you sure their diagnosis consisted only of verifying oil is in there? There is a 90% chance at the miles you have there is significant wear and replacement of parts is called for.

At 140K+ miles it would be highly unusual for the axle shafts, bearings and seals to not be worn enough to merit replacement. Did the shop pull your axles and limited-slip carrier to check?
 
lifespeed said:
You have to disassemble your axle to do a proper check. If you took it to a rear end shop they know this. Are you sure their diagnosis consisted only of verifying oil is in there? There is a 90% chance at the miles you have there is significant wear and replacement of parts is called for.

At 140K+ miles it would be highly unusual for the axle shafts, bearings and seals to not be worn enough to merit replacement. Did the shop pull your axles and limited-slip carrier to check?
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^^^^ Spot on.
 
lifespeed said:
You have to disassemble your axle to do a proper check. If you took it to a rear end shop they know this. Are you sure their diagnosis consisted only of verifying oil is in there? There is a 90% chance at the miles you have there is significant wear and replacement of parts is called for.

At 140K+ miles it would be highly unusual for the axle shafts, bearings and seals to not be worn enough to merit replacement. Did the shop pull your axles and limited-slip carrier to check?
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If you're talking about a complete disassemble (pulling the wheels etc) then no that wasn't done. Diff cover came off he said he didnt find any issues inside when he brung the cover and gasket to me. Gasket was bad. Said the rear was good to go now. I didn't ask about axles
 
Blk04MM said:
If you're talking about a complete disassemble (pulling the wheels etc) then no that wasn't done. Diff cover came off he said he didnt find any issues inside when he brung the cover and gasket to me. Gasket was bad. Said the rear was good to go now. I didn't ask about axles
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Our collective diagnoses could be wrong, but as lifespeed pointed out, at your car's mileage, the probability of the axles being worn is pretty high. The howling you're hearing is a common symptom for that, too, so while it may be the tires, I'd guess that's a long shot.

One quick way to check would be to just swap front and rear tires (even if they're staggered sizes; won't hurt anything for a short period) and take a test drive. If the howling continues, you've got axle/bearing issues.
 
Blk04MM said:
If you're talking about a complete disassemble (pulling the wheels etc) then no that wasn't done. Diff cover came off he said he didnt find any issues inside when he brung the cover and gasket to me. Gasket was bad. Said the rear was good to go now. I didn't ask about axles
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What can you check with only the cover off? Think about it for a moment. None of us are thrilled at the idea of spending $$ to repair worn items, but that is the reality of car ownership.

Have your rearend shop do a proper teardown inspection of your axle, then rebuild it. You'll be glad you did. Or wait for it to leave you on the side of the road with extra damage.

Edit: the lack of a real inspection by the rear end shop is actually not a good sign. They should know better. Or did you tell them to do nothing beyond pull the cover?
 
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SC Cheesehead said:
Our collective diagnoses could be wrong, but as lifespeed pointed out, at your car's mileage, the probability of the axles being worn is pretty high. The howling you're hearing is a common symptom for that, too, so while it may be the tires, I'd guess that's a long shot.

One quick way to check would be to just swap front and rear tires (even if they're staggered sizes; won't hurt anything for a short period) and take a test drive. If the howling continues, you've got axle/bearing issues.
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I'm not saying anyone is wrong. I was just saying what was done. And I corrected myself stating it isn't a howling noise. It was more of a rolling sound very faint roaring noise that I only started to be paranoid about after I seen the diff cover. I appreciate the diagnostics from everyone. I will have the proper stuff done to keep it in tact
 
Blk04MM said:
I'm not saying anyone is wrong. I was just saying what was done. And I corrected myself stating it isn't a howling noise. It was more of a rolling sound very faint roaring noise that I only started to be paranoid about after I seen the diff cover. I appreciate the diagnostics from everyone. I will have the proper stuff done to keep it in tact
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That is the sound. It will go away when you rebuild your axle.

Good luck.
 
Blk04MM said:
I'm not saying anyone is wrong. I was just saying what was done. And I corrected myself stating it isn't a howling noise. It was more of a rolling sound very faint roaring noise that I only started to be paranoid about after I seen the diff cover. I appreciate the diagnostics from everyone. I will have the proper stuff done to keep it in tact
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Actually, that's closer to the sound I had in my car, so yes, get the axles checked as soon as you can.

I know it sounds like we're all
Beating_A_Dead_Horse.gif
but, the longer you wait, the more expensive it's gonna get. Cleanout of the axle housings and diff carrier alone can take several hours if there are a lot of shavings in there, and the longer you drive on a bad axle, the more shavings you're going to get; ask me how I know...:(
 
lifespeed said:
What can you check with only the cover off? Think about it for a moment. None of us are thrilled at the idea of spending $$ to repair worn items, but that is the reality of car ownership.

Have your rearend shop do a proper teardown inspection of your axle, then rebuild it. You'll be glad you did. Or wait for it to leave you on the side of the road with extra damage.

Edit: the lack of a real inspection by the rear end shop is actually not a good sign. They should know better. Or did you tell them to do nothing beyond pull the cover?
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Hell if I knew what can be checked by pulling the cover then I would've done it myself. That's the purpose of mechanic shops and posting here to gather collective information to help someone right? I took the car to the shop as I should have done and how everyone stated.

I took the car there and told them the noise I think I hear and don't know if its coming from the gears due to the leak and was low on fluid or what not. i didnt tell them to ONLY do anything. They pulled it in and did what they did. Midway through i was shown the diff cover & gasket they went back and a bit later the car was brought back up. I was told rear end was fine and it needed no fluid but they put new fluid in and sealed it up. I didn't ask if they checked axles and seals. Maybe I should've but I didn't. The car is back in the driveway where it sits as usual. I plan on on going 430 so then I will have the complete job done if its needed. Thanks for the info
 
SC Cheesehead said:
Actually, that's closer to the sound I had in my car, so yes, get the axles checked as soon as you can.

I know it sounds like we're all
Beating_A_Dead_Horse.gif
but, the longer you wait, the more expensive it's gonna get. Cleanout of the axle housings and diff carrier alone can take several hours if there are a lot of shavings in there, and the longer you drive on a bad axle, the more shavings you're going to get; ask me how I know...:(
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I'll definitely get it looked at when I do the gear swap. I have everything for the swap so far if I don't need anything else done. I just don't drive it much as I thought I would. So it sits but I will get it looked at when I take her in for the gear job. I know everyone is like "WTF get it done" for every problem they read here about marauders due to the love they have but it'll get done.

Did you go back OEM?
 
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