Question1998 Mountaineer V8 AWD. My wife tried to make a long trip with it the other day but only got about 90 miles when "something up front started smelling bad and smoking". She took it to a Ford dealer and they found fluid leaking from the differential seal on the left side. $400.00 later had new seal bearing and part of shaft. The next morning she made it about 30 miles and once again "something up front started smelling and smoking". She stopped at a truck stop had their mechanic take a look and sure enough it was a leak and not just fluid burning off the exhaust. Went back to the Ford dealer and they say it has started leaking out the other side. They checked temperature and said the front diff was running about 300 degrees and the rear about 150 degrees. They recommended a rebuild or a used unit. In the last 2 weeks I have put $2000.00 in this truck and cant afford another $1500.00 right now.
My questions are?
Is the front diff temp of 300 degrees way out of line? (this is after a 30 mile drive at 70mph)
Do you think it would make the 90 mile trip home without repairs?
Do I need a fortune in special tools to rebuild the diff myself?
Anything special I need to know if I decide to do it myself?
Any other advice you have would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Ron
AnswerHi Ron,
So they had a leak from one side and repaired it and then there is a leak on the other side after only thirty miles, it sounds a bit suspicious to me. I suggest you take it out of there and have a driveline specialist look at it. I mean, I could see having a leak on both sides, which BTW means that the front diff does need a repair, but they should have seen the second leak when they saw the first one or did they cause the second leak? As far as what tempeture the differential should be running at? I really don't know and I don't know anyone who does... The service manager at the dealer over here laughed when I asked him. We're old friends. In my humble opinion, dealers for the most part are ok, some better than others but your issue needs to be addressed by an expert in the field of differential repair. Cottman Transmissions will look at it for free, but I really suggest a driveline guy. Hope this helps.
Follow up: Sorry Ron, I answered half your question. No, tow it. When you have the differential rebuilt, they only charge you for the parts you need. Driving it 90 miles will likely cause the differential to granade and then need to be towed anyway. Don't take the chance. Also, if you want to do it yourself, you'll need 23 differential specific specialty tools and a trained technician will take about 5 hours book time. The most important thing is setting up the travel of the pinion and ring gear. This is done with washers and a crush collar on the pinion shaft. My guys here could do it in about 5 hours because we have all the tools and air guns. Parts you'll need are a bearing and seal kit, small parts kit and possibly a ring and pinion. That's if the carrier is ok. Otherwise you will need that as well. This is a Dana 35 differential. If you decide to do it yourself, I have the illustrations. Just resubmit with your email addy. Hope this helps!
