rearend servivce

[deerefan]

I have a 97 F150 4wd and have never serviced the rearend or front chunk. I cannot not find anything in the manual saying when you should do this. I've heard everything from leave it alone to you should do it every 2 years. What do you guys think/do?

 

[flusher]

I have a 97 F150 4wd and have never serviced the rearend or front chunk. I cannot not find anything in the manual saying when you should do this. I've heard everything from leave it alone to you should do it every 2 years. What do you guys think/do?

I have an '01 F150 2WD with 93000 miles. Last March one of the rear axle bearings came apart and the debris damaged the gears in the differential. Cost $1600 parts and labor. If you hear funny noises from the rear end, get it fixed pronto. I waited a tad too long and paid the price.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Ford is usually 60K or 100K on service items like this for normal driving. Good rule of thumb is if it has green anit freeze go 60K on trany, axles, transfer case, coolant, ect. If its yellow anti freeze go 100K.

That age of truck I would change it then go to the service intervals I listed.

Chris

 

[deerefan]

It has about 160k miles and green antifreeze. It is due soon for a tranny service (still original, never rebuilt) and I may have it done then. I noticed the rear does not have a drain plug, so I guess removing the face and a new gasket are in order.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Yes, remove the cover and drain. With that many miles I would clean it out wit some brake cleaner then let drip dry for a few hours before refilling.

The other little voice in me says "if it not broke don't fix it". Especially with that many miles.

Chris

 

[dodge man]

I'd stay away from the brake cleaner, and if its a posi, it may require a bottle of additive, which is a friction modifier, to be added to the rear end grease.

 

[buck12]

I'd stay away from the brake cleaner, and if its a posi, it may require a bottle of additive, which is a friction modifier, to be added to the rear end grease.

On my 93 F150 I added a bottle of the Ford additive for limited slip differentials per the manual. I serviced the rearend once in 17 years and 150,000 miles. The manual for my 09 F150 says that the rearend should not be serviced unless submerged in water and that it contains a synthetic fluid designed to last the service life of the truck.

 

[WH401]

On my 93 F150 I added a bottle of the Ford additive for limited slip differentials per the manual. I serviced the rearend once in 17 years and 150,000 miles. The manual for my 09 F150 says that the rearend should not be serviced unless submerged in water and that it contains a synthetic fluid designed to last the service life of the truck.

I don't think I'd trust that. No matter how technologically advance the new 150's may be, they still use a differential that has 2 metal gears meshing together to turn the rear axle. Your always going to get "wear particles" into the factory oil because of break-in. After maybe 10k - 15k miles you'll want to get that mess out of there as you don't want it running around in the diff for the life of the truck.

 

[oliver28472]

I have an '03 F 150. How do I tell if it's a posi?

 

[Diamondpilot]

Look at the door sticker on the drivers door where the VIN# is. There will be a axle code. If its 2 numbers like "67" its non posi. If its a number and a letter like "8H" its posi. This rule is true most of the time but there are a few that are different. If you post the code on here I can tell you what it is and what gear ratio you have. I have a book with all the info. If you also post cab type, engine model, tranny type, bed length, 4x4 or not I can tell you the tow rating.

Chris

 

[crashz]

Can't hurt to change out the oil. The oil additives do wear out over time and it gives you a chance to pull the cover and check the gears. I've caught a couple broked ring gear teeth on an F350 before we ran into any serious problems.

If its never been done, you'll be shocked at what comes out (or needs to be scraped out)!

 

[schmism]

i suppose that depends on how much you 4wheel it.

if you had the diff underwater it should be changed relatively frequently.

if its a mall crawler/pavement pounder then 50-60K is fine.

 

[mojoinco]

It's cheap and easy to do -- even with synthetic it's still pretty cheap. The large Dana axles use rtv for the gasket. I would find it likely this does too. Get out a bucket and a piece of cardboard, take off the lower cover bolts (sometimes one of these is drilled through the case for draining; otherwise loosen them all up so that you can pry the cover loose). Do it after a drive and on the afternoon of a warm day. Come back an hour or two later and finish (it might be easier to fill if you jack the body up so that the diff is easier to reach). Bet it costs you less than $25 to do.