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.

 

[maplebaconjulio]

Yeah, it seemed functionally fine. I bet it's been there since installation. But I already got the bearing separator yesterday and the replacement bearings should be here in a couple of days so I'll just use the parts and get the practice in.

 

[pjtoledo]

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.

Thanks for your help Senor.

the gears on the shaft ends are called side gears. there should be a flat spacer/washer/shim between each side gear and the housing.
they are actually just precision washers, don't do any adjusting of clearances.
the smaller gears on the pin are the spider gears. each should have a cupped washer.

the spline wear on the axle shafts is weird, part looks good, other part is badly worn.
what do the internal splines in the side gears look like?
do they easily slide on both shafts? swap them for test fitting.
is the entire housing straight? visually sight it end to end. if you can rig up disks with small holes that works fine.

 

[pjtoledo]

friendly reminder:
spider and side gears only rotate against each other when there is a difference in wheel speeds, like going around corners, curves, or doing 1 wheel spins.
99% of the time you're going in a straight line, those gears are not turning against each other. or the diff pin.
even going around a corner there is only about 1 rotation of those gears. just enough to make up the difference the outer wheel turns.

 

[maplebaconjulio]

the gears on the shaft ends are called side gears. there should be a flat spacer/washer/shim between each side gear and the housing.
they are actually just precision washers, don't do any adjusting of clearances.
the smaller gears on the pin are the spider gears. each should have a cupped washer.

the spline wear on the axle shafts is weird, part looks good, other part is badly worn.
what do the internal splines in the side gears look like?
do they easily slide on both shafts? swap them for test fitting.
is the entire housing straight? visually sight it end to end. if you can rig up disks with small holes that works fine.

friendly reminder:
spider and side gears only rotate against each other when there is a difference in wheel speeds, like going around corners, curves, or doing 1 wheel spins.
99% of the time you're going in a straight line, those gears are not turning against each other. or the diff pin.
even going around a corner there is only about 1 rotation of those gears. just enough to make up the difference the outer wheel turns.

Thanks for the clarifications. I won't forget. There was only one flat spacer/washer/shim total and it was between the right side gear and carrier housing. I'll say yes they easily slide on both shafts and I can't visually see any wear or uneven wear on the inside grooves of the side gears. They look to be pretty solid. There is play between them side gears and the splines of the axle shafts no matter which way I combine them but it's not too bad. So I think that means though the axle shaft splines are definitely worn.

As for the actual spider gear wear, maybe doing this on low gear oil doesn't help. Oh well. Hear we are. Lessons learned.

New video · Saturday, Jan 24 🎬

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New video · Saturday, Jan 24 🎬

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