2004 Mercury Mountaineer Noise in the drive train

JAMES757

MEMBER
2004 MERCURY MOUNTAINEER
V8
AWD
AUTOMATIC
65,281 MILES

I have had the front and rear wheel bearings replaced because of noise in the drive train. I am now told that the noise is in the rear differential. It makes the noise under acceration and while driviing. I am concerned it could fail on a trip. What repair do you recommend? What is the most most cost effective?
* I have changed the fluids according to the mfg recommendations.
* I contacted Ford and got no satisfaction! This noise started at about 39000 miles, I thought it was tire wear. Replaced tires at 62000 miles and it was not the solution. Also had bearings replaced at that time. Dealer then tells me there is a quite kit available?

Any help or suggestions appreciated.

thanks
James257

1 Reply

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,815 POSTS

Hi james757,

Thank you for the donation and our apologies for the delay in answering. Seems it is the story about the fish that got through. ;)

There was a Technical Sevice Bulletin on rear axle noise repairs with a improved parts kit.

It deals with limited warranty and I guess your vehicle must be out of warranty.

This repair is a specialised repair and I would recommend it to be done by someone who knows the job so the dealer is the best place.

No information is available on the kit cost but a break down of the items is rather costly, more than $ 1000 in parts.

I would suggest you get more info from your dealer.
Did you do the bearing replacements at the dealer? If yes you could ask them for a goodwill repair, ( at least part of it is better than nothing ) as they did not diagnose the noise correctly resulting in you having to replace the wheel bearings.

This type of axle noise would not cause the differential to break down suddenly and is only caused by improper adjustment or some wear of the pinion and crown wheel. It is not going to fail without a warning. At least the noise level would be unbearable before it would give way.