kitra
Active Member
- Joined
- August 9, 2009
- Messages
- 56
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Beaverton, Oregon
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1999 Montaineer
OK, Everyone here was trying to save me money detailing the replacement of the rear differential pinion shaft seal. The instructions were great. Thanks! My Wife took the Mountaineer to the Ford Dealer as a favor so I have one less project to deal with. So I'm $180 poorer. The mechanic that replaced the seal said the differential was 3/4 of a quart low in oil. I've been topping if off every couple of months so was really surprised by his report, especially since I had topped it off last weekend. Nevertheless, he told me the pinions bearings are trashed. He said when he rotated the pinion shaft, it felt very rough and gritty. No noise yet. Is there anything I can do short of replacing the whole rear-end assembly from a junkyard donor? They quoted us $1200 - $1500 to rebuild the rear-end. I also wondered if indeed the bearings were lubrication starved, wouldn't the outer bearing have the most chance of oil starvation since the ring gear would tend to toss oil onto the inner bearing? What I'm asking for is recommendations. If there is a possibility of replacing the outer bearing and race with the differential in place? Or should we drive it and see if it fails? We are planning to drive a 3500+ mile vacation in a couple of weeks and don't want a failure on the road. Thanks again.