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Opinion on replacement rear for 2003 LX Sport

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    #1

    Opinion on replacement rear for 2003 LX Sport

    Apparently on my way home from Indy this weekend the pass. side axle seal decided to take a shit. I have gear oil all over the entire underside, rim, etc. Smelled it when we stopped in Terre Haute and saw that it was wet. Topped it off and made it back home. After getting it in the air I found that both outer bearings are bad, and I suspect that both axles are shot.

    I had replaced the pass. side axle and bearing about 40K ago due to the soft axle issue that Ford never recalled it for. I have the same amount of play in the pass. side again as when I replaced the stock axle the first go around. I have no leak on the drivers side but there is a bit of play in the bearing now. Figures. Just rolled 178K.

    My pinion seal has been leaking for a while now and I just kept an eye on the fluid level so as to not let it get low. Very slow leak.

    At this point in order to get 2 new axles, 2 outer bearings, fluid, and the pinion seal issue fixed I'm looking at around $500 in parts. And I'd have to pay a shop to get the pinion issue taken care of so I don't f up the backlash and whatnot.

    I'd like to stay with the 3.27's out back but add in trac-loc also. Would it be worth upgrading to the 31 spline rear from and 05+ or should I just stick to the 28 spline that I have now? It doesn't see a race track so not an issue there. It's mostly highway miles with the occasional hard driving.

    With all the issues I've had with this rearend I think it would be money well spent to just grab a low mile unit from a JY and swap the whole damn thing in. Getting sick of dealing with the axle issues. Still pisses me off that Ford had the 8.8 built well for all those years and then changed something in it to make it crap. Sick of dealing with it at this point.
    These are highly engineered precision vehicles, the first step in diagnosing the problem is to strike the suspected offending part sharply and repeatedly with a blunt object, then re-test.
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    #2
    One change was apparently the gears supplier. Always heard the new ones are crap, then got a chance to work with a set - yup, crap they are.

    What's the cost difference between 28-spline an 31-spline axles? Same for the diff, how much more is the 31-spline stuff? I mean you gonna be buying new parts anyways, if the axle material issue is fixed on the newer ones and the price is close to 28-spline might as well go for the upgrade. Also do make sure the '05+ shafts are the correct length for your axle housing, Ford changed the housing width several times over the years.

    A junkyard axle can give you everything you want in one complete package. The odds for that to happen tho, idk...
    The ones who accomplish true greatness, are the foolish who keep pressing onward.
    The ones who accomplish nothing, are the wise who know when to quit.

    Comment

      #3
      Since 03+ rears are the same (from what I can find - except for spline count changing to 31 in later years) you should just be able to get newer year parts. 31 spline was 05 or 06. the 8.8 31 spline carrier should be available anywhere... you can actually use your current carrier if you just swap in 31 spline spider gears. I have no clue where you would order just the spider gears though.

      Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
      rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)

      Originally posted by gadget73
      ... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.

      Originally posted by dmccaig
      Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.

      Comment

        #4
        You can get 31 spline traction locks. Good luck finding 28 spline for good prices now. Just for that reason alone I'd change it to a 31 spline.
        86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
        5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

        91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

        1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

        Originally posted by phayzer5
        I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

        Comment

          #5
          yes 05 and up are 31 spline. If you can't find the posi rear you want as Gadget said you can buy the part to make it posi. Even used 31 carriers are likely to be in better shape then a used 28 carrier at this point. At least on average.
          Last edited by jaywish; 05-31-2016, 07:51 PM.
          03 Marauder DPB, HS, 6disk, Organizer Mods> LED's in & Out, M&Z rear control arms, Oil deflector, U-Haul Trans Pan, Blue Fuzzy Dice
          02 SL500 Silver Arrow
          08 TC Signature Limited, HID's Mods>06 Mustang Bullet Rims 235/55-17 Z rated BFG G-Force Comp-2 A/S Plus, Addco 1" rear Sway, Posi Carrier, Compustar Remote Start, floor liners, trunk organizer, Two part Sun Visors, B&M Trans drain Plug, Winter=05 Mustang GT rims, Nokian Hakkapeliitta R-2 235/55-17
          12 Escape Limited V6 AWD, 225/65R17 Vredestein Quatrac Pro, Winter 235/70-16 Conti Viking Contact7 Mods>Beamtech LED headlight bulbs, Husky floor liners

          Comment

            #6
            Yeah, I'm on the hunt for an "X5" code 05+ rear axle assembly at this point. This should get me the 3.27 trac-loc that I want and not break the bank. I'm just going to drop the whole thing out and replace it.
            These are highly engineered precision vehicles, the first step in diagnosing the problem is to strike the suspected offending part sharply and repeatedly with a blunt object, then re-test.

            Comment

              #7
              Yup, 31-spline diffs are cheaper and more available than stupid 28 spline. That'd be the way to go if you ask me.

              Comment

                #8
                Have a full 3.27 locker on the way from Iowa as of today out of a 2011. Made sure the yard verified the axle tag on it. $450 shipped to my door. Also have some KYB P71 spec rear shocks coming as well. All I need to get is some rear axle fluid and some friction modifier and I should be good to go. Will likely be swapping it towards the end of the month once I get my Grand Prix back on the road.

                And while I think of it, I planned on running Mobil 1 75W-140 gear oil in it, which on the bottle has the "LS" on it so I won't have to worry about adding the right amount of friction modifier for the trac-loc. Anyone have any experience with this lube or should I just stick with Motorcraft and get a 4oz. bottle of FM to dump in it?
                Last edited by FordMan77; 06-04-2016, 02:01 AM.
                These are highly engineered precision vehicles, the first step in diagnosing the problem is to strike the suspected offending part sharply and repeatedly with a blunt object, then re-test.

                Comment

                  #9
                  Originally posted by FordMan77 View Post
                  And while I think of it, I planned on running Mobil 1 75W-140 gear oil in it, which on the bottle has the "LS" on it so I won't have to worry about adding the right amount of friction modifier for the trac-loc. Anyone have any experience with this lube or should I just stick with Motorcraft and get a 4oz. bottle of FM to dump in it?
                  75-140 is the heavy-duty/high-load application oil, generally speaking if you don't rive like a total douche all the time or use your car to pull a trailer that would typically be found behind a 1-ton truck you should be just fine with the lighter 75-90 or whatever (unless the 2011 axke specifically calls for the 75-140 oil, in which case obviously use that). But yes, the synthetic Mobil 1 oil is good stuff, and in your case I would suggest running only it and skipping the Ford friction modifier altogether - the friction modifier is added to dyno oil to make it more slippery, without it the clutches grab like a beastly, but the synthetic oil is already slippery to begin with, plus the limited-slip you're using has been soaking in other slippery soup for tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of miles already. Basically if you stack slippy friction modifier on top of slippy synthetic oil on top of slippy-soaked clutches the whole works may end up entirely too loose. So run just the Mobil 1 oil alone at first, then if the clutches are too grabby add some friction modifier a little bit at a time, till things work how you want them to work.
                  The ones who accomplish true greatness, are the foolish who keep pressing onward.
                  The ones who accomplish nothing, are the wise who know when to quit.

                  Comment

                    #10
                    Anyone have the torque specs for all the bolts in the rear axle assembly? I will be tearing this out soon and haven't found much online yet.
                    These are highly engineered precision vehicles, the first step in diagnosing the problem is to strike the suspected offending part sharply and repeatedly with a blunt object, then re-test.

                    Comment

                      #11
                      Ring gear bolts: 60 lbs-ft

                      Diff/carrier bearings caps bolts: 60 lbs-ft

                      Pinion nut torque: 140 lbs-ft or more, I run the impact on 200 and use short bursts and check for pinion preload VERY frequently

                      Pinion preload: 14-19 lbs-in with new bearings, 6-8 lbs-in with used ones. Notices these are lns-in, NOT lbs-ft.

                      Backlash (slop between ring gear and pinion): .011-.016", these axles are very loose in factory tolerances hence why they clunk so much sometimes.

                      Bolts on diff cover are 5/16" Grade-5, that thread calls for 17 lbs-ft max when assembled dry (do not oil them as it will mess with your diff cover seal), but really just use your best judgement.

                      Bolts on control arms are IIRC 12mm Class 10.9, that threads calls for 93 lbs-ft max when assembled dry and 69 lbs-ft when lubricated with oil, I suggest going with the lube here as that will keep moisture (and therefore rust) away for a while longer.

                      For the rest of the stuff ID each bolt as you run into it, and then use these two tables to determine proper max torque:
                      http://www.cncexpo.com/InchBoltTorque.aspx

                      http://www.cncexpo.com/MetricBoltTorque.aspx
                      The ones who accomplish true greatness, are the foolish who keep pressing onward.
                      The ones who accomplish nothing, are the wise who know when to quit.

                      Comment

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