chillidog10129

I have been reasearching this as my son has this issue. The gear housing is made of cast aluminum and therefore heats faster than the steel components. This will cause gear backlash and bearing pre-load to fall out of the correct specs causing the whine, clunks and rumbling. Does anyone know of a company that makes a steel or cast iron housing to replace this aluminum mess with I believe that this would be the only perminent cure as I have seen hundreds of posts and the fix that ford does only lasts about 15-30 K and the diff must be rebuilt again at the tune of 1000 to 1400 each time. Sounds like an engineer screwed the pooch on this one.

847alexc

Well, I can't quite tell from the information given what your exact problem is.

Generally a rear end noise is caused by a bearing going out.

Axles have for quite some time now been made of aluminum housings with hardened steel internals. The 8.8 ford axle in particular is one of the best around (so good that many Jeep enthusiasts use the 8.8 when building trail riders).

I do not think the different heat/expansion properties of these materials is causing your troubles. it is possible that your axle housing has been damaged to the point that premature wear is occurring on the internals however.

If you are certain that (after a rebuild) the rear end is still having repeated problems, I suggest replacing the entire housing and assembly. this is about the same price as paying for a full labor rebuild. Actually, the one you get will likely be rebuilt from an old core unit.

Just a thought, good luck.