2011 Ranger XLT Rear Diff Play

[maplebaconjulio]

Yep, 2010 and 2011 were the only years to get rear disc brakes from the fatory. Usually, the auto parts places get that right. Weird that you are having trouble.

If the carrier is cracked, that definitely needs replaced as soon as possible. Since there are vaiances in carriers, expect to need a shim kit to get the back lash and tooth engagement set right again. Ford axles are a real pain in the butt to setup. So expect a lot of installing and removing the carrier. You might get lucky and the new carrier will take the old shim setup, but don't hold your breath

Since you don't have to mess with the pinion, that will male things easier. You just need to worry about the side to side distance in getting the tooth engagement right.

There is an article or two in the tech section that will show you what it should look like.

I did have some issues with ordering brake pads the first time when I first got the truck but maybe that was just amazon's fitment and/or my own ignorance at the time idk. But I haven't had any issues since. So it's not actually the carrier itself that is cracked, it's just the cage for one of the carrier bearings. It still seems functionally okay but I know that's no good. I almost wonder if that's from when it was installed and they just decided "oh well" and rolled with it. It was cheaper to order the bearing kit that comes with carrier and pinion bearings, a pinion seal, crush sleeve, gear paint, diff cover gasket, etc but I just plan to only replace the carrier bearings and use the pinion seal and diff cover gasket. I'll hold onto the pinion bearings and crush sleeve for the future when it comes to it.

The only shim I found was behind the right side spider gear so I'm hoping the replacement gears and bearings for the carrier match and kind of put everything back into alignment using that same shim or maybe I won't even need that shim with non-worn spider gears. I will check it carefully though and order some shims if I have to before closing it all up and running it.

Sounds like you have handle on it.

Thanks for your help Senor.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

If that dent doesn't affect the roller bearing I would run it. But I'm cheap and willing to take risks.

 

[SenorNoob]

Agreed. It should be pretty obvious if it's dragging. Sounds like OP already has parts on the way. Might as well use them.