Dealership found metal chunks in rear end just before Oregon trip

[B22-2023]

Got an update from my service advisor: the rear end assembly should come in tomorrow, which is great news! However he said it's a big job and might not be done until Monday or Tuesday... by which time I will already be out of state. They said I can keep the loaner for that time, still it's a little unfortunate the timing will just barely not work out. I guess I should just be thankful it was fixed in 2 weeks and not the several months some of you mentioned...

As far as the actual damage, the way he described it they opened up the diff case and found more chunks similar in size to that one. Definitely not an overreaction to replace the whole thing.

Meantime rename the post, “Dealer found a chunk of solid metal….”(etc) - easier to figure out which way this thing was going. And glad it’s a happy ending for you, an in-stock assembly swap under warranty.

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[HowieLong]

I was given a loaner with Enterprise a few years ago during the winter. The first one they gave me was 2 wheel drive and I too had a trip I needed to take so they allowed me to exchange it for an all wheel drive when one became available. Are there other Enterprise locations in the area to check? Requiring it be a Ford does make it more difficult.

 

[jdoxen]

Meantime rename the post, “Dealer found a chunk of solid metal….”(etc) - easier to figure out which way this thing was going. And glad it’s a happy ending for you, an in-stock assembly swap under warranty.

Oh yeah good idea. I'll edit the OP to contain the full story too.

 

[Beach_Bum]

Wonder how they got one so fast. There are others on here waiting for the same thing since like last November at least.
Either way, glad to hear they have it figured out.

I can only presume the open rear diff with 3.73 gears is available vs. others with different gearing and rear locker are on back-order?

 

[Ducati1098]

I can only presume the open rear diff with 3.73 gears is available vs. others with different gearing and rear locker are on back-order?

No they’re on backorder also. There is one dealer in the country that shows 3 of them available for some reason. Maybe they got it from them

 

[jdoxen]

Mine is a base manual non-locking so it should be the 4.46 based on this post, for whatever difference it makes.

 

[Brian_B]

Mine is a base manual non-locking so it should be the 4.46 based on this post, for whatever difference it makes.

Must be hundreds of those out there. I cant even give the one I have away haha

 

[jdoxen]

Must be hundreds of those out there. I cant even give the one I have away haha

If only I had the facilities to do the work myself, I'd have taken it off your hands

 

[VoltageDrop]

He was in fact able to get me a picture and well, I think we can all agree this is more than normal wear. He said this is "one of" the chips they found. Can't tell *what* it is from this angle and at this resolution but... definitely more than the expected amount of glittery powder.

What happened to the threads on that fill plug?!

 

[BroncoBobArea51]

Why were they changing the gear oil at 30,000 miles? Was it making noise? Found something leaking? It’s not required at 30,000 miles per the maintenance schedule. Although I would be concerned based on the picture.

 

[Ducati1098]

Why were they changing the gear oil at 30,000 miles? Was it making noise? Found something leaking? It’s not required at 30,000 miles per the maintenance schedule. Although I would be concerned based on the picture.

Not uncommon for dealership maintenance packages or schedules to be different from Ford.
In this case it's a good thing it was checked before Ford claims it needs to be.

 

[Kevin Scarbel]

Got an update from my service advisor: the rear end assembly should come in tomorrow, which is great news! However he said it's a big job and might not be done until Monday or Tuesday... by which time I will already be out of state. They said I can keep the loaner for that time, still it's a little unfortunate the timing will just barely not work out. I guess I should just be thankful it was fixed in 2 weeks and not the several months some of you mentioned...

As far as the actual damage, the way he described it they opened up the diff case and found more chunks similar in size to that one. Definitely not an overreaction to replace the whole thing.

This simply shouldn't be happening. Dana hasn't been the same since the 2006 bankruptcy.
Ford should be raking Dana over the coals for all the Bronco axles with metallic debris.
They forgot how to properly produce an axle and differential ?

 

[wjtinfwb]

Around 2 weeks ago I took my Bronco (2023 base manual 2dr) in for its 30,000 mile service, which is the first major service where they do more than change the oil and top up the washer fluid. It had been driving great and not making any noise, so I was surprised when later that afternoon I got a call from the advisor saying they found "metal flakes" or "shavings" (I forget his exact wording) on the rear diff drain plug. I haven't seen the damage with my own eyes so I don't know how bad it is. A cursory look online suggests that fine powdery shavings is normal wear, but any larger chunks are bad news. He recommended replacing it while the vehicle was still under warranty to save me 3-4 grand. Unfortunately the parts they need have, in his words, "no ETA" so they're just hanging onto my Bronco indefinitely until they can repair it. In the meantime, they've given me a Mustang convertible as a loaner (it was the only other Ford available that day at the local Enterprise, apparently).

If I were only planning to commute during that time, I'd be fine this this arrangement. A bright yellow muscle car isn't really my style, but it does all the car things a car needs to do on the daily drive. However, I'm planning to drive from where I live in the Bay Area up to Oregon this coming Saturday, a trip I've been planning for months and would really not like to cancel. I am expecting to encounter some snow on my route and was counting on having the Bronco's 4WD to get me through if things got hairy. I mean we're not exactly talking Ice Road Truckers here, but better safe than sorry... Only now I'm stuck with a car that has, charitably, a very different set of capabilities.

So, what would you do in this situation? Time is running out to make a decision. Do you think they're right to nip this in the bud while it's still under warranty? Or are they making a bigger deal out of normal wear than they need to, and I should just have them change the fluid as normal and give my Bronco back? If I do have them go through with the repair, will I have any success pestering them to give me a loaner with a skill set closer to the vehicle I actually bought? Any advice is appreciated.

UPDATE so you don't have to hunt through the rest of the thread: What was at first described to me as "metal flakes/shavings" turned out to be big chunks, I don't know exactly what part they broke off of but it definitely wasn't an overreaction to stop driving the Bronco and let them replace the rear end under warranty. Have a look for yourself.

As of writing they will apparently have the new rear end assembly in tomorrow (and that's surprising since some people have been waiting months for the same part), but they likely won't finish installing it before I leave. The consensus as far as the loaner seems to be "people still buy Mustangs back east" so I'm just going to put the miles on their car and pick up the Bronco when I get home.

Call Enterprise directly and ask them if they have a more suitable vehicle for your needs. They have a full fleet of SUV's and trucks (since that's all Ford builds, except Mustang's) so not unlikely they would have at least a Bronco Sport or Explorer to use. Not sure why the manufacturers get hung up over rented loaner cars from a 3rd party being their same brand. I went through that with FCA a few years ago while my 300 was waiting for parts. I waited 3 days for Hertz to find a Chrysler vehicle, they finally relented and gave me an Altima.

 

[jdoxen]

Call Enterprise directly and ask them if they have a more suitable vehicle for your needs. They have a full fleet of SUV's and trucks (since that's all Ford builds, except Mustang's) so not unlikely they would have at least a Bronco Sport or Explorer to use. Not sure why the manufacturers get hung up over rented loaner cars from a 3rd party being their same brand. I went through that with FCA a few years ago while my 300 was waiting for parts. I waited 3 days for Hertz to find a Chrysler vehicle, they finally relented and gave me an Altima.

Apparently it's Ford policy that the loaner must be another Ford. I guess they think it'd be bad PR or something. I asked Enterprise and they said Ford was only paying for "up to a full size car" which, whatever that means, apparently doesn't include any of the AWD/4WD SUVs. At this point I'm sick of arguing with them and I'll just make do with what I got.

 

[Red2000]

Technically these trucks don't have a drain plug from the factory. It's a fill plug. Unless of course you suck out the fluid from the rear end then I guess you could argue. Magnetic non the less.

It is hard to tell what is going on from a single photo but those threads look cross threaded or mangled. I would be a little skeptical about those long metallic shavings and their origin since those threads look so strange. Push for more photos.

Assuming that the object attached to the magnetic plug is indeed metallic. It should not be to hard to diagnose it's origin. These rear ends are pretty simple and if they found it on the inside then they should be able to identify where it came from. Unless it's some strange anomaly. Removing the 12 bolts and inspecting would be a start.


Why do the threads on the drain plug look so messed up?
Is the "chunk" metallic?
What do the other "chunks" look like?
Where did they come from within the differential?
Will they share more photos of the differential and the pieces?
Do I trust this dealerships diagnosis of the problem and do I suspect they are being honest with me?

Trying not to make any assumptions or place blame because we really do need more information and photos but at the end of the day none of this matters anymore because you're getting a brand new rear end!

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