Rear End nightmare

Joined
Jan 27, 2004
Messages
4,131
Location
Richmond, VA
Last winter the rear diff on my 2007 Mustang GT started whining, got worse over the course of a couple of months so I bit the bullet and took her into the local Ford dealer. They wanted $2600 to rebuild the diff, I said your nuts. Went to a local trans shop and they said $2400 for a remanufactured unit from NAPA with full warranty etc. I got the trans shop to go ahead. A couple weeks after picking her up the rear end started whining again, a week after that it was BAD. Took her back in they said hmmm, no problem. A couple weeks later a new rear end arrived and they put that on. I drove away and the second I got over 3 mph it was humming. Called the next morning (had to pickup after hours because I have a job) told him it was humming really bad and asked, didn't you road test it? He said yeah, it was fine yesterday...whatever. He started looking for another rear end, supply shortages are in full bloom and they couldn't find one for about 3 months. Took it in, they put on the "new reman" unit, I pick it up for the 3rd time with the 3rd rear end. Service writer tells me over the phone that I'm not gonna be happy because he drove it himself and said it wasn't "quite right". I pick it up that night and yup you guessed it! Over 40mph and its whining like a 4 year old.

Now this service writer is GOOD, I don't usually have much patience but what can I do? They have $2400 of mine and I have a rear end that is VERY clearly not working correctly. Told him he needs to get with the owner and figure something out because at this point it is beyond absurd. He locates another rear end, I take it in and they replace it. Yup drove it home a few days later and it sounds terrible. A couple of weeks ago it felt like one of the wheels was out of balance so this past weekend I took it into one of those shady used tire guys to balance the tires. Guy pulls off the rear left tire and says whoa man you need some brake work, I said why he pointed at the inside of the rim, it is covered in thick clumpy grease. I touch the backside of the rotor and it is absolutely covered in gear oil. So now it looks like I need new pads and new axle seals, my car drives like poop (still feels like a tire is way out of balance but now I'm guessing it is rear axle related???) and I'm really really sick and tired of dealing with this. It has been over 15 months with 4 rear ends.

Any advice from people that have dealt with something like this? Can I get my money back at this point? The service writer is a nice guy and swears they are doing their best, but I'm afraid their best is terrible.
 
What is this? An 8.8?

I don't know about getting your $$ back but I'd go to a 4x4 or custom hot rod shop and have it gone through. Someplace that installs lot of gear sets. Local 4wd clubs are a great source for references.
 
I'm struggling with $2600, too...unless that's just "dealer mark up"

You can typically have both axles re-geared in something like a Jeep for about this amount. Ring and pinion + install kit shouldn't be more than $500 tops. Add in wheel seals, gear oil, still not THAT expensive

If you need a carrier that can go mild to wild depending upon open or flavor of TAD, but if you NEEDED a carrier I'd want to know why: carrier bearing spun? Pinion went AWOL and chewed into carrier??

Then add in say, $700 to $1k labor (rates vary a lot depending upon region) and you're still ~$1500 tops.

$2600 to go through ONE live axle sounds really, really steep
 
You're in a pickle. I would never trust anything from NAPA, ever. Way too many bad experiences there. It seems the only solution here would be to have the shop source a used rear (under 50K) from a yard and have them check it first, then install it on your car. Take that piece of crap back to NAPA, and shove it up their arse. I got three defective napa premium rebuilt alternators in a row... 3 in a row. I was stuck using them as any others were 3-5 days away.
My 8.8 is being re-built right now at a 4x4 shop locally. I chose them because all they do there mostly is swap out diff and gears. I am having every single thing replaced, I'll let you know how I make out price wise.

I will not accept humming of any kind from a new rear.. I looked at the rebuilds and all the ratings for them were REALLY bad. Jegs, NAPA, a few others.
 
Forgot to mention, dealer wanted over $2k for a new lsd installed.. Yes, just the diff without any new gears or bearings. Open up, remove and install new diff.

Ridiculous.
 
Plus, why does the whole thing need to be replaced? I had my front axle bearings replaced in my ‘96 Jeep by a differential shop for just under $700. Even if it needed a new carrier, ring gear, and pinion, it should have still been under $1,500.
 
Plus, why does the whole thing need to be replaced? I had my front axle bearings replaced in my ‘96 Jeep by a differential shop for just under $700. Even if it needed a new carrier, ring gear, and pinion, it should have still been under $1,500.
agreed, I work all day, everyday. Had it 2 places and just accepted that I would pay good money for a good job. I don't have time to call around check references, etc.
 
{snip}
My 8.8 is being re-built right now at a 4x4 shop locally. I chose them because all they do there mostly is swap out diff and gears. I am having every single thing replaced, I'll let you know how I make out price wise.
{snip}
Winner winner chicken dinner
 
Did they already get rid of your original diff? The 8.8 is pretty bomb proof, it was probably something extremely minor. These are probably China remans you are getting with garbage internals setup by monkeys without two sweet clues. The dealer price was insane, but you'd still have your OE diff. A specialty driveline shop would have been able to fix your OE diff for probably a few hundred.
 
Again, it doesn't help with getting your $ back but in the future at the very least in the future call Randy's and ask for a Yukon Certified Installer

I'd gladly help you out but we are many, many states apart
20220405_142834.jpg
 
Last winter the rear diff on my 2007 Mustang GT started whining, got worse over the course of a couple of months so I bit the bullet and took her into the local Ford dealer. They wanted $2600 to rebuild the diff, I said your nuts. Went to a local trans shop and they said $2400 for a remanufactured unit from NAPA with full warranty etc. I got the trans shop to go ahead. A couple weeks after picking her up the rear end started whining again, a week after that it was BAD. Took her back in they said hmmm, no problem. A couple weeks later a new rear end arrived and they put that on. I drove away and the second I got over 3 mph it was humming. Called the next morning (had to pickup after hours because I have a job) told him it was humming really bad and asked, didn't you road test it? He said yeah, it was fine yesterday...whatever. He started looking for another rear end, supply shortages are in full bloom and they couldn't find one for about 3 months. Took it in, they put on the "new reman" unit, I pick it up for the 3rd time with the 3rd rear end. Service writer tells me over the phone that I'm not gonna be happy because he drove it himself and said it wasn't "quite right". I pick it up that night and yup you guessed it! Over 40mph and its whining like a 4 year old.

Now this service writer is GOOD, I don't usually have much patience but what can I do? They have $2400 of mine and I have a rear end that is VERY clearly not working correctly. Told him he needs to get with the owner and figure something out because at this point it is beyond absurd. He locates another rear end, I take it in and they replace it. Yup drove it home a few days later and it sounds terrible. A couple of weeks ago it felt like one of the wheels was out of balance so this past weekend I took it into one of those shady used tire guys to balance the tires. Guy pulls off the rear left tire and says whoa man you need some brake work, I said why he pointed at the inside of the rim, it is covered in thick clumpy grease. I touch the backside of the rotor and it is absolutely covered in gear oil. So now it looks like I need new pads and new axle seals, my car drives like poop (still feels like a tire is way out of balance but now I'm guessing it is rear axle related???) and I'm really really sick and tired of dealing with this. It has been over 15 months with 4 rear ends.

Any advice from people that have dealt with something like this? Can I get my money back at this point? The service writer is a nice guy and swears they are doing their best, but I'm afraid their best is terrible.
Get your money back and buy a low mile used one. I see quite a few for short money. Lots of these cars got wrecked with low miles on them.
This is a two chump Saturday job, nothing too difficult, a little rust maybe.
 
When I lived in Tampa, FL. my 97 F-150's differential (open 8.8-3:55 gears) was just a singing after 40 mph. I took it to a GEAR SHOP ONLY to have it rebuilt (990.00 OTD).
Long story short, after having to rebuild it (3) times they checked the housing. It was out of round (warped) just enough to make the gears sing the blues.
They installed a rebuilt differential, from axle bearing to axle bearing, and didn't charge me anything extra.
Take it to a gear shop ONLY!
 
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