Drivetrain Noise? (Mustang)

erod550 · Postby **erod550** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 9:14

Dealer called me back. They said it's a bearing in the rear end. I have aftermarket parts in there so obviously not covered under warranty. They wanted $1100 in labor just to open the pumpkin and try to see what the problem is. That doesn't even include anything to fix the problem, just to look at it. I said yea forget that I'll just come get it.

I decided to just replace everything in there with new. I shouldn't have cheaped out on the install in the first place. I thought I could trust that the guy would do a good job but I guess I was wrong. So I saved $200-250 2 years ago on the install but it's going to cost me about $800 to fix it now including labor and all new parts. Going to have Revolutions do it. They have experience and he said this will be the 3rd new gen Mustang they've fixed messed up gears in. Hopefully the new set will be quiet because the old set was loud even before it started making this new noise.

Hindsight is 20/20 I guess. Get it done right the first time and save money in the long run, heh.

D Walker · Postby **D Walker** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 9:14

mmmm I have a guy who does nothing but drivetrains in very powerful cars if you would like someone to do it right. His prices are fair and he generically is pretty quick. If you want I will be glad to see if he has time to do it.

Justin · Postby **Justin** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 9:14

$800 is a lot for that repair. Check with some of the 4x4 shops as well. Getting new gears in the 9" axle in my Bronco is about $300 in labor if I bring the center section in, or $400 if they pull it at Crawlertech. Setup kit should be about $100-150 for all new bearings and seals.

D Walker · Postby **D Walker** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 9:14

Yeah, I do all my own diff and gear work, but hesitate to offer the service anymore to the public because of two very specific incidents-
A few years ago a Nissan guy had me do a R&P swap in his Z. I had to buy special tools to set it up and we checked it and it came out perfect acording to the manual, the pattern, etc. The nutjob decided to take the diff to "another shop" and when they checked it it was still "within spec but iffy". Total bullshit, it was within spec and the second shop was just trying to make money off the guy. I refunded him the $$ for the labor and told him to never come back.
Second time was a OS Giken LSD and a R&P for an FD. Bad experience on my end again.

The Ford unit in your Stang is about as complex as an anvil, so "experience" with them is kinda BS. There is not trick to it really, just need to be precise when setting it up Again, I know people who do a great job that I would trust with my racecar diffs (If I didnt do them myself) any day of the week.

erod550 · Postby **erod550** » Tue Oct 01, 2013 9:14

The $800 is a high estimate. I'm replacing the gears too, not just the bearings and seals. They've been noisy from the start and with the bearing going out there might be damage and I don't even want to mess around just to save $150, so with the install kit, new bearings, new fluid, etc. the parts came to just over $300.

I already kinda agreed to have it done by a local shop here but I trust them and they will stand behind their work. He said it will be less than $500 for the full teardown and install. So the $800 total was including all new parts too. Also, the noise is bad enough that I don't like driving it across town right now, let alone to Denver. But I do appreciate the recommendations.

Justin · Postby **Justin** » Tue Oct 01, 2013 9:14

Gotcha, that isn't totally out of line with new R&P. Aftermarket gears will often be louder than factory, so don't be surprised if there isn't some noise still left. Sucks you have to go through this. I'm in the process of regearing some full width axles for the Bronco, plan to take a crack at doing it myself. Hopefully I don't wind up in the same boat. At least it isn't my daily driver.

kingtut · Postby **kingtut** » Wed Oct 02, 2013 9:14

Justin wrote:Sucks you have to go through this.

Was the problem caused by the modding you did?

A roughly 35k-ish modded-performance whip, requiring $500-800 in maintenance/repairs-- doesn't sound terribly out of line to me. Erod probably dumps more than that on tires, whee!

erod550 · Postby **erod550** » Wed Oct 02, 2013 9:14

kingtut wrote:Was the problem caused by the modding you did?

A roughly 35k-ish modded-performance whip, requiring $500-800 in maintenance/repairs-- doesn't sound terribly out of line to me. Erod probably dumps more than that on tires, whee!

It's not maintenance. The gears/bearings I had installed should not have worn in 7k-ish miles. But yea it was caused by the modding I did, or at least had done. Or rather, it was a part that was installed that had the problem, not that caused a problem with a stock part.

And all 4 tires run more than $800, yea, lol.

erod550 · Postby **erod550** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 9:14

Got it all done on Friday and it's like a whole new car. It's quieter than the last set of gears ever was, even right after installation. And here for the last 2 years I had been thinking I was just going to have to deal with the gear noise forever because I figured it was just from the solid bushings on my LCAs transmitting more noise into the cabin.

Lesson learned, even if a guy has business cards and references from other locals on a message board, if he is doing the work in the garage at his house, don't do it. Just pay the extra and get it done right by a reputable shop.

erod550 · Postby **erod550** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 9:14

Oh yea, pic of the pinion bearing which was causing the noise.

Postby **RX-7 Chris** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 9:14

wow, that is really bad. good you got it done when you did before the bearing came apart.

Drivetrain Noise? (Mustang)

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