Rear end differential went bad in 1998 Ford 4 x 4 truck.
Scott from Williamsburg (EasyCare inspector) denied coverage of $1,500 repair bill under the warranty due to water contamination. That water had gotten into the rear end causing it to rust and therefore going bad. My question was why was the water in the rear end housing in the first place? Since that time I have seen the oil that came out of the rearend and it is not watery (it would be milky) but is orangeish because of the rust.
Contacted some bulletin boards out on the internet and got the following information: "this is like a lot of other FoMoCo issues I've run into as a dealer shop foreman... Ford is aware of the problem, off the record. But on the record, they won't admit to a problem because that would be admitting fault. The best I can tell you is that a regional operations manager told me, personally, that the rusty diffs had the moisture sealed inside them when they were built by Sterling and shipped to the truck plants. So the moisture had a lot of time to collect and rust on inside parts. Typically the victims are axle seal and bearing surfaces and case side bearings. It's a crappy situation not unlike piston-slappin' 5.4's... Is Ford aware of it? Of course. Will they admit a problem? Never!!! They just chalk it up to short-skirt pistons and aggressive spark timing. Good Luck.
The guy who wrote these (the shop Foreman) is a resident of Canada who probably sees more rust in the north than in the southeast.
The mechanics at Medlin Ford dealership give me the impression that they dont agree with EasyCare inspectors findings. They are caught in the middle. But I get a strong impression of what they think of this particular aftermarket warranty. Theyve had problems in the past with them and have actually had to have the state police come in and document why something wouldn't pass inspection.
I ran the VIN number through carfax.com and got the following report: the truck was made in Canada, and for the first 33,000 miles was in Dexter, Michigan as a fleet service vehicle, which MAY ACCOUNT FOR THE RUST!!!
Called Richmond Ford where originally purchased. Business Manager spoke to someone at EasyCare and we got an offer that EasyCare would pay a third of the bill, Ford would pay another third, if we paid a third. I declined that offer. They said that the truck had probably gotten in the water (my son pulls a boat and does load and unload a boat with it) Go figure, you buy a truck with a hitch to haul a boat and where are you suppose to put in at - dry land? Declined offer. Didn't pay for warranty to have to pay for repair bill.
I also contacted Ford Motor in Detroit - no help even though they are associated with EasyCare and sell their product.
Contacted Better Business Bureau of Atlanta which is a joke. No response to date.
This warranty is a joke and a total rip off. My dad is a mechanic so he repaired the truck for about $125.00 (parts)
Rose
Richmond, Virginia
U.S.A.
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