Well here I go again. I have a 2004 F150 Supercrew with 52,000 miles. Two years ago I purchased this truck and began to have issues with the rear end. IN posting here I was given the answers needed for the fix. Clutch Plates repaired. NOw I am having a problem which I believe is coming from the rear end. It sounds like a whining noise. No grinding so I know it not a brake issue. I brought it to my mechanic and he tells me the sound is coming from the rear end and he believes it's possibly the pinion bearing. Has anyone had any issues of the same nature. Any info would be helpful

 

when is it noisy? coast, under load? if its whining under load im pretty sure its the ring and pinion not bearings.

 

happens when coasting and coming to a stop. Thats when you hear it.

 

it might be your transmission, as soon as you hit the breaks your tranny downshifts automatically and just like mine, it will catch a lil bit when im slowing down, mainly when im coasing tho. as long as nothing is grinding and squeeling i think you should be alright. but coming from a dealership you may want to change every fluid in that truck: tranny fluid, rear end, transfer case, etc... when you get a used truck alot of times dealers wont change any fluids becuase when you do this it loosens up anything that may have been held together by thick fluid, its like when your tranny starts slippin the dealers used to put saw dust in there, it would thicken up the fluid and it would run like a top for bout 500 miles or so then fall apart.

 

when i powdered my pinion i was hearing a howling noise for a few days before it let go. mostly on the coast side. eventually it got loud enough i heard it all the time, 5 mins after realizing that i felt some thumping. only missing 2 teeth :P but i power braked right before i heard the thumping... might have something to do with it.

i'd replace bearings if you do pull the cover off. thats just cheap insurance. check your preload on your pinion, make sure its properly seated, also check your mesh, that will make a bit o noise.

 

for the info guys. I had a rear end specialist look at it this morning and he tells me its the bearings. So in the shop next Tuesday. Just when I spent $1600.00 on wheels and now this. Oh the fun of trucking.

 

bearings themselves are cheap timken bearings are good quality too, i think thats even what ford buys to sell you.
the only one thats not fun to do is the pinions.

 

Just throwing it out there, this rear end specialist is charging $700.00 to do the job does this sound about right or am I getting hosed. I have the 9.75 rear end.

 

Do you know which brand of bearing ? Is he going to do a full overhaul (bearing + seals) ? Also, for that price, I would ask if he could check your pinion's preload and check the R&P's mesh. If he has it all apart and in there anyway, I can't see why not.

I am not sure of your labor rates over there, but I think that sounds about right. I beleive the parts (depending on what he is running) will cost around $180-$200 or so for quality stuff.

 

Might as well regear while your at it. The master install kits come with full bearings to rebuild the diff.

 

After overloading my truck w/ sand and driving 30 miles, I noticed a wierd sound I thought was brakes. After changing the brakes it was still there. Turns out it was the ring and pinion gears. $2400.00 Later I don't carry sand anymore.

 

Wow man, sorry for your loss. Mayb you can share with us ? How much weight were you hauling ? What engine ? Rear-end ? How many miles before this abuse ? How many during ? And how many after ?

Just wondering man. Sorry for the breakage tho man. Way lame.

 

All Better now.When the clutch plates were repaired for the shudder in the rear end a year ago the mechanic reinstalled the axle bearing caps the wrong way. This caused the axle bearings to be pinched. Over the past year they have just been getting ground up inside till the point I heard the noise in the rear end. When all said and done all bearings in the rear end have been swapped out with no signs of damage to the case. Total cost for repairing someone elses mistake $900.00. There goes my Vegas Trip......LOL