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Rear differential leaking

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21CarbGrayST

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Hey all,

Just noticed I had a little pool of oil under my ST today. Sadly sitting at about 64k miles. Looks like the rear diff is leaking out of one of the seals. Have an appointment at the stealership on Monday. However, have a jam packed weekend of running kids to soccer games, think it’s safe to drive babying it? Thanks!
 

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That’s not a seal, that’s a bushing. If oil is telegraphing down that bolt your diff cover is cracked. Every time you take off it’s stressing it more…I’d park it. Once it goes completely the diff will drop out of place leaving you stranded.
 

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21CarbGrayST

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Thanks, sounds expensive, can’t wait!
 

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Hmmm? That’s a 2-bolt rear as well. Interested to see the results of this problem.
 

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21CarbGrayST

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Yeah, no mods other than a K&N panel filter which is more of a necessity than a mod. And mostly highway driving.
 

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21CarbGrayST

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Car is currently at the dealer and they initially quoted me at like $3700. But they put in a claim with Ford to knock off 60%. Pushing for more due to all of the differential issues and the fact that we do apparently all need differential braces, we’ll see how this goes.
 

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Can you do the work yourself? Grab a 2 bolt diff cover, get the car up on stands then support the diff with a floor jack, pull all the bolts and lower the diff while rotating the rear downward, R&R the cover then put it all back together. Probably take you less than 2 hours.
 

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This isn't covered under drivetrain warranty? That is insane - this is not a perishable part, and you're at 54K miles...
 

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Cdubya

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Id investigate a little more. Support the rear diff and pull that bolt. I find it hard to believe the oil would track out through the bolt/bushing yet leave the rest ofthe cover bone dry. Maybe it's a fluid filled bushing?
 

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CoHPhasor

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Cdubya said:
Id investigate a little more. Support the rear diff and pull that bolt. I find it hard to believe the oil would track out through the bolt/bushing yet leave the rest ofthe cover bone dry. Maybe it's a fluid filled bushing?
Click to expand...
That's what I was thinking, which is maybe why they want to charge so much - they might be trying to replace the entire subframe instead of pressing the bushing out, if it is indeed a fluid-filled bushing.
 

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CoHPhasor said:
This isn't covered under drivetrain warranty? That is insane - this is not a perishable part, and you're at 54K miles...
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He said 64K so out of warranty. Sounds like they’re still trying to do him a solid.
 

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Cdubya said:
Id investigate a little more. Support the rear diff and pull that bolt. I find it hard to believe the oil would track out through the bolt/bushing yet leave the rest ofthe cover bone dry. Maybe it's a fluid filled bushing?
Click to expand...
They are not fluid filled bushings. Several people I’ve seen have destroyed the bushings completely…no liquid inside.
 

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21CarbGrayST

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Yeah, out of warranty. Asked the service rep what parts are needed and this is what she replied. “We will need a few parts, the drive axle lock ring, the cross member, and three different types of bolts and a washer.”
 

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You need the diff cover and possibly one of the bolts in reality. They by law have to replace any torque to yield bolt…you don’t.
 

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21CarbGrayST

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Yeah, the parts she listed doesn’t even address the leak. Confusing to say the least. When I asked where the leak is coming from she said, “It is leaking from the cross member down through the bushings”
 

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21CarbGrayST

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So, oddly enough I got ahold of the service manager and they are liquid filled bushings and the one is leaking. And ford doesn’t sell just the bushing which is why they have to replace the crossmember.
 

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That’s incorrect on all counts. And they do sell just the bushings…a friend just had both of his replaced in the car. He launched his car so many times he destroyed those bushings….had them replaced with the new, updated versions at his dealership. This was just last month.
 

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21CarbGrayST said:
So, oddly enough I got ahold of the service manager and they are liquid filled bushings and the one is leaking. And ford doesn’t sell just the bushing which is why they have to replace the crossmember.
Click to expand...
That's not right. I think everyone who doesn't have one would be grateful to have the whole cross-member replaced, so that's a good thing. Having said that, the current fix is to replace the bushing and bolt. Hence the bushing is available separately.

First I've heard of a liquid-filled bushing in this application. I'd question that and want to know where that leak is coming from.
 

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GearHead_1 said:
That's not right. I think everyone who doesn't have one would be grateful to have the whole cross-member replaced, so that's a good thing. Having said that, the current fix is to replace the bushing and bolt. Hence the bushing is available separately.

First I've heard of a liquid-filled bushing in this application. I'd question that and want to know where that leak is coming from.
Click to expand...
They are absolutely not liquid filled bushings.
 

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UNBROKEN said:
They are absolutely not liquid filled bushings.
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No, I wouldn't have thought it was.
 

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