How are all the Ford Truck Fans? I'm a new member. I'll tell you what. If I would of found this site before purchasing my 01' Super Crew, I might of not bought one. There sure seems to be a lot of negative information on this site. What's one to do? I'm sure, if Ford is having problems like this, Ch*** and Do*** are having much more. My father just took delivery of an 01' Extended cab flareside 4x2 with 4.6 liter and automatic w/overdrive and 3.31 gears. He's had it for about a week and yes the whining IS there. It's very noticeable at 55-65 mph. He took it back to the dealer today and has a service appointment on Friday. I will keep you posted on the results. This is a great site and I'm looking forward to many great hours of information. Glad to be a member.

 

Well last week my truck started to make the whine noise, I took it to the dealer and they are tell me that the rear axle barring is bad, s$#t, only 36,500 miles, Good thing I got an exted warranty. Hopefuly this will fix it and all problem will be gone, RIGHT.

Ford tough, don't beleive it.


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Don W
97 F150 4X4 XLT, ORP, Tow Package,
CD-Changer, K&N, B&M shift improver,
PIAA fog lights, Weld Rims 17", 265 70LT AT/S, Flowmaster 40 series 3" cat back.
01 Expedition XLT, Generic.

http://home.pacbell.net/donw35/f150

 

I just test drove a 2002 Explorer this past weekend, and guess what- it also had some gear noise! Even with their redesigned independent rear suspension it seems they're having gear set problems. The one I drove had the 3.73 ratio. Maybe they're using gears made in China. LOL, I did like the way it handled though.

JJ

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2000 F150 XLT,Reg.Cab,LB,4.6,4R70W,3.55 F/D,Island Blue/Silver,Med.Graphite Int.,Keyless Entry,SRW,O/H console,All Pwr,CC,Ford soft Bed Cover,Sport Steps,Tow Pkg.,CD player,Prem.Cast Wheels

 

Well, the dealer is replacing the pinion gear and barings and everything, Wow, all that after 36500 miles, the total is allmost $1000 to repair the rear end, the Extended warrenty cost was $1100. Good thing I got it. I bet the warrent company will think twice about extending the warrenty on a F150, Seems they need thousands of dollars of repairs alot.

Fustrated F150 owner, sorry


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Don W
97 F150 4X4 XLT, ORP, Tow Package,
CD-Changer, K&N, B&M shift improver,
PIAA fog lights, Weld Rims 17", 265 70LT AT/S, Flowmaster 40 series 3" cat back.
01 Expedition XLT, Generic.

http://home.pacbell.net/donw35/f150

[This message has been edited by DonW (edited 04-20-2001).]

 

Well the total for the rear end rebuild is $1400. Man am I glad I got that extended warrenty. The services manager said it was not normal for the F150 to make any noise from the rear end.

Got the pitman arm replaced too.



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Don W
97 F150 4X4 XLT, ORP, Tow Package,
CD-Changer, K&N, B&M shift improver,
PIAA fog lights, Weld Rims 17", 265 70LT AT/S, Flowmaster 40 series 3" cat back.
01 Expedition XLT, Generic.

http://home.pacbell.net/donw35/f150

 

How do you check the differential fluid? I've got the 3.55s.

 

97GreenLariat- Remove the plug on the rear end with a 3/8" rachet/extention (for the rear it's on the driver's side, front side). Stick your pinky inside and down into the hole. On level ground it should be close to the bottom of the hole.

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2000 F-150 XL, RC, LB, 5.4L, 4R70W, 3.55LS,
Class III tow, Payload #3, & Convenience pkgs.,
4-wheel disc/ABS, Chestnut/Parchment 40/60,
Ford bedliner w/Paintsaver & gas/wheel/spare locks,
K&N F.I.P.K. w/Outwears pre-filter, Superchip,
Dynomax ultra-flow welded 3" cat-back w/ 3" Y-pipe,
Hellwig front & rear anti-sway bars, Rancho RS 9000s,
Mobil 1, K&N oil filter.

 

After a 4000 mile trip, the rear whine has hardly changed. In addition to the 45ish mph coast/float mode whine I stated in earlier post, the whine sounds with a slight load in drive mode at that speed. It's a 2001 F150 SC 5.4L 2WD with 16k miles. The dealership where I bought it offered to put in new ring&pinion gears and bearings. This dealership does not have the Blue Oval or the Presidents Award. Does that mean their mechanics' work is not as good as the dealerships that do have the award(s) ?

 

that a good question, I would let them do it anyway, the noise is not normal and should be fixed.

 

Well I'm back. Sorry for being away so long. I've been busy. But I do have some good news for the rest of you with the rear end whine. My father took his truck to get fixed and what they did the first time is changed the oil in the rear end with some special stuff which did absolutely NOTHING. So guess what? He took it back and got REAL upset with both the service and sales managers. They kept his truck for three weeks, gave him a demo for a loaner (a more expensive truck than he bought that the service manager was driving) and FIXED it properly. They replaced everything including bolts, nuts and washers from the rear u-joint on the drive shaft to the 2 rims. I seen the work order, it was 4 pages long. But the whine is GONE. He is now a happy camper. For a reference see the above reply from "thebestneverrest"

 

DonW - I'm with you on the frustrated F-150 owner list. I also have a 1997 4.6 5-speed XLT, which not only is the rear end going on it, but also the front bearing in the transmission. My truck only has 48k f**&ing miles on it. I'm really pissed. I've never towed, plowed, hauled, or off-roaded with this vehicle. It has been babied since day 1.

I'm dumping it as soon as I can - trading it in, and not on another Ford. What really really baffles me is that I look at the posts, and it seems that people take this in stride, except for you, and this is normal repair work for what I would consider a new vehicle. I have a hard time accepting this, when I have a 1992 Nissan Maxima with 190k miles, original clutch, and drives like it has 20k miles, with no major repair work.

It is my opinion that Ford is putting out sh*tty workmanship and design for what is supposed to be one of the best selling trucks.

Very frustrated...

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1997 F-150 XLT, 4.6L Triton, Flareside, Black, 4x4 Off-Road Package, 5-speed, Tonneau Cover & Ford Bed Mat. (Completely stock except for the 10" sub behind the passenger seat)

 

Well guess what, I went to my parents house this weekend and I could smell something from my truck, I looked under it and diff oil all over the place, Called the Ford dealer and told them that this is the third time I am bringing the truck back for the same repair.

Is it time for ford to buy back my truck, My wife and I love the truck, we just can't driver more then 3000 miles without having to take to the dealer for something.


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Don W
97 F150 4X4 XLT, ORP, Tow Package,
CD-Changer, K&N, B&M shift improver,
PIAA fog lights, Weld Rims 17", 265 70LT AT/S, Flowmaster 40 series 3" cat back.
01 Expedition XLT, Generic.

http://home.pacbell.net/donw35/f150

 

My thoughts on the rear-end stuff:

Check my sig for my truck's details. I knew nothing about this stuff until I took my truck in for the 30,000 mile maintenance work at my dealer. I've done my own maintenance until that point, but I didn't have the time to do all the 30,000 mile stuff. Of course, diff drain & re-fill are part of it. I get it back & at about 31,000 miles, it starts making this grinding sound when cold and making turns. I check this site and low and behold the limited slip rears require this Friction Additive Modifier. Nope, its not on the work receipt from the dealer. I question them, they say they keep it at the mechanic's work stations and it "more than likely" was added. Bulls***. I bought two bottles then and there, went home and put one in myself. After about 3 weeks, noise was gone. What really pi**es me off is the fact that I must have one of the decent rear-ends because it has never made a peep of noise or given me any problems. Anyway, I digress...

I believe that there must be some problems when these rear-ends are being built. I don't think there are that many gear defects. Gears have been done the same way for years and years. If the gears are not put together precisly, then they are going to wear out much faster and cause vibrations. Especially if they are put together too tightly. There is a specific amount of distance that must be measured and correctly set because every time you get on the gas, then let off the gas, the gears slap back and forth against each other. This is called backlash, and when its set right, you won't notice it. But when its wrong, you will!

If a dealer says noise is normal from your diff, he's full of it. Tell him to fix it or go to a different dealer. I think Ford has some quality control issues when it comes to building these rear-ends properly, there shouldn't be that many problems out there.

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1999 Lariat 4X4 SuperCab Flareside 5.4; Auto, Tow Pack, Offroad Pack, 3.73LS, Factory Step Bars, 17" Chrome Wheels, Oxford White/Silver, Graphite Leather, Keypad Mod., Airaid, SuperChip, ARE LSII Bed Cover, Alpine CDA-855/JBL AMP, Polk dX7's, Custom cat-back exhaust.

 

I agree... If you're getting ANY kind of grinding or whining from the diff, theres a problem. As we all know, noise is generated by vibration. The whining diffs sound to be as-if they're set too tight and the vibration is sent up the driveshaft, and I would assume that the noise being most prominant at 35-45MPH is probably when the noise generated is closest or at the resonant frequency of the cab. I would wonder if you all have all ext. cabs, SCrews, or a mix of both that have matching speeds.
BTW, I have an '00 Lariat ORP ext cab w/ the 5.4 and 3.55 combo with no noise, but I'll definitely keep my ears open... if my steering woud just shut up. :-/


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