Rear End Failure

[osteodoc08]

2018 Max LTD HD Tow 4WD 80k miles

had my back end start chattering when backing up out of my driveway a few months ago sporadically while turning to exit my culdesac. was driving home and felt it while taking some winding roads on the way home 2 weeks ago. Brought in for evaluation.

I bought this vehicle new. Meticulous maintenance and don’t drive it much now and drive my hybrid back and forth to work (120 mi round trip). Dealer was in TN and I’m in GA. My preferred dealer couldn’t get me the vehicle I wanted so had to go out on my own. It had a third party “lifetime power train warranty” from the dealer. Usually you can use the warranty contract, at best, for butt wipe.

Just got word from my dealer the locking diff actuator failed and was partially engaged and grenaded the rear end.

No I don’t accidentally engage it. Yes I placed it in and out of lock to see if it changed the chattering. With it on, it would fully lock but with it off, the pin wasn’t retracting all the way according to my service writer. Sometimes going in lock and out of lock would eliminate the chatter.

I placed in AWD and 2WD and 4Lo as well to see if that would change it previously and it wouldn’t.

All in all roughly $2100 repair estimate right now. Hope the third party “lifetime warranty” I received when I bought it from a dealer several hours away holds up. If not, it’s still getting fixed.

 

[osteodoc08]

Repair estimated to take 2 weeks between parts and repair.

 

[5280tunage]

Welp, here we are again... Also see deadmans thread. Rear end Puked on Expedition. | Ford Expedition Forum

I've got some aftermarket y pipes etc to install in mine, but after that, I'm not investing another dollar in it. I'm just not confident it will last at this point.

 

[Alwaysthinkin]

Welp, here we are again... Also see deadmans thread. Rear end Puked on Expedition. | Ford Expedition Forum

I've got some aftermarket y pipes etc to install in mine, but after that, I'm not investing another dollar in it. I'm just not confident it will last at this point.[/QUOTE

I'm feeling the same way. Unless you convince me the Intercooler, Lightbar, Skids, and Catch Can are essential!

 

[Deadman]

Mine just failed at 25,000 miles. They took it on last Thursday and it got finished today. I didn't pick it up yet, but its supposed to be ready for me tomorrow as they had to bolt the rear suspension back in it.

 

[Calidad]

Mine just failed at 25,000 miles. They took it on last Thursday and it got finished today. I didn't pick it up yet, but its supposed to be ready for me tomorrow as they had to bolt the rear suspension back in it.

Same deal the pin not retracting and rattling?
My 19 so far has been fine. Granted between a $15k 5 month deer rebuild at 980 miles and Covid, I’m at 13,000 lol

 

[osteodoc08]

Deadman,

did they say what the fault was?

 

[5280tunage]

I'm feeling the same way. Unless you convince me the Intercooler, Lightbar, Skids, and Catch Can are essential!

Essential? The only really was the skids, for me, the amount of snow and debris that flies up under vehicles in CO, it's pretty important. The cardboard shit they put in only sagged and caught snow.

The light bar is nice for the really long trips through antelope and deer worlds. Intercooler no. But I have always been a fan of having cars run cooler with better breathing ability. When I used to race rice burners, I tried some of the water injection systems to keep things cool. Not sure it worked but I tried.

Catch can? I don't know. This is my first ford turbo, and based on what folks say on this forum and the f150 forums, the amount of oil they catch seems to me to be pretty important. Haven't emptied it yet to see.

 

[Deadman]

Deadman,

did they say what the fault was?

Same type of thing. The hydraulic actuator wasn't releasing so the posi was going in and out. They replaced ALL the internals in the rear end housing. The housing was re-used, but the guts were all swapped and also the hydraulic actuator of course. The service guys didn't have a lot of detail for me, but I'm just glad its done. They're delivering it to me tonight, so I'll know more after I get some miles on it.

I'm sure these won't be common failures for a while, because MOST of the 2018's did NOT have the tow pack and electronic locker, so they won't have the faulty parts. 19's had more tow packs, so the number of failures will increase as those get more miles on them.....

 

[Alwaysthinkin]

Essential? The only really was the skids, for me, the amount of snow and debris that flies up under vehicles in CO, it's pretty important. The cardboard shit they put in only sagged and caught snow.

The light bar is nice for the really long trips through antelope and deer worlds. Intercooler no. But I have always been a fan of having cars run cooler with better breathing ability. When I used to race rice burners, I tried some of the water injection systems to keep things cool. Not sure it worked but I tried.

Catch can? I don't know. This is my first ford turbo, and based on what folks say on this forum and the f150 forums, the amount of oil they catch seems to me to be pretty important. Haven't emptied it yet to see.

Thanks @5280tunage, I appreciate your response. After joining this forum you were one of the first forum members whose posts got my attention. The first thread that had me making changes was @Deadman post on rear sway bars. Your responses were part of the reason I "bought in" on changing out my sway bars (plus I'm all set to use your solution for the front sway bar end links)! So, that had me wondering about the other changes you had listed in your signature line and if a any of those changes were ones I should consider. That led to additional research and my acquiring more knowledge about our vehicles. Now I know enough to be dangerous! Which means relying even more on this forum and its members sharing of information. Thanks to all!

 

[Expedition Dave]

Sorry for your woes, and I wonder if an early fluid change could help the packs.

However, when you say "pin" not retracting, I am getting confused on the locker system we have.
From what I have read the F150's have a pin locker while the Expys have a clutch pack type locker that clamps down hard enough to make it work like a locker.
Is this not the case?

 

[Soliyou]

The ELSD in our vehicles has a hydraulic actuator that pushes small rods (pins) to lock both sides together. The actuator has the clutches inside.

In the picture below, the actuator is the yellow thing and it has an alignment pin too. The protruding grooves on the carrier house the push rods.

 

[Expedition Dave]

Thank you!

 

[Deadman]

The ELSD in our vehicles has a hydraulic actuator that pushes small rods (pins) to lock both sides together. The actuator has the clutches inside.

In the picture below, the actuator is the yellow thing and it has an alignment pin too. The protruding grooves on the carrier house the push rods.

View attachment 41751

THIS is EXACTLY what failed on mine. These "PINS" were trying to engage when they weren't supposed to and they were jumping in and out of their slots and making a chattering sensation. When they pulled it apart these pins were all chewed up from trying to engage all the time and then jumping out of the holes and wearing away the ends of the pins. "Ford" supposedly doesn't KNOW what causes this, so they just instructed my dealer to replace the entire guts of the rear end. The hydraulic pump and actuator are lubricated with transmission fluid, so luckily the hydraulic pump wasn't contaminated with the metal shavings. Hopefully this fixes it.

 

[lbv150]

Essential? The only really was the skids, for me, the amount of snow and debris that flies up under vehicles in CO, it's pretty important. The cardboard shit they put in only sagged and caught snow.

The light bar is nice for the really long trips through antelope and deer worlds. Intercooler no. But I have always been a fan of having cars run cooler with better breathing ability. When I used to race rice burners, I tried some of the water injection systems to keep things cool. Not sure it worked but I tried.

Catch can? I don't know. This is my first ford turbo, and based on what folks say on this forum and the f150 forums, the amount of oil they catch seems to me to be pretty important. Haven't emptied it yet to see.

Haven't emptied the Catch Can yet??? I do mine every 1000-1500 miles in the summer and it's nearly full. 500-600 miles in the winter as it traps moisture too. JLT 3oz can.

 

[Grizguy]

When I bought my 18 max with tow pkg.. I did not want white.. Bought the red one. No one local had one What I found was at a dealer 350 miles away.. Bought the red one.. got to the next exit. Stopped for lunch. Ate. got back into the car.. ALL kinds of noise. Car would barely go.. Managed to get the 13 miles back to the dealer. Not sure if it was the transmission, transfer case or what.. I brought the white one home.

 

[wakeboarder]

Sorry for your woes, and I wonder if an early fluid change could help the packs.

However, when you say "pin" not retracting, I am getting confused on the locker system we have.
From what I have read the F150's have a pin locker while the Expys have a clutch pack type locker that clamps down hard enough to make it work like a locker.
Is this not the case?

This video shows a really good break down of the internals. Basically, the actuator pushes on the push rods which push on the clutch packs.

IntelliTrac™ electronic limited slip differential RWD - Vehicle - all videos - Eaton videos

Update: The "exploded" view is at the 2:00 mark.

 

[wakeboarder]

So far it looks like the following people have reported failures: I have been updating this as other people report.
@Deadman 18' 4X4
@osteodoc08 18' 4X4
@simmons351w 19’ 4X4 (updated)
@NukeLife 18' 4X4 - Let us know if you confirm that the differential is the problem.
@jddotson 19’ 4x4 Let us know if you confirm that the differential is the problem.

 

[Fozzy]

I lock my rear all the time. Hope I’m not next. [emoji2955]


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[Deadman]

I lock my rear all the time. Hope I’m not next. [emoji2955]


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That MIGHT keep it free and working better. I've only locked mine a couple times in its entire life. I have a 3/4 ton plow truck for the bad weather days, so my expedition hasn't needed the locker hardly ever.