Rear end groan while turning in AWD Maverick? New differential fluid is the solution

[Dieselmechanic]

With 31k miles on my AWD maverick, I started noticing a groan while making sharp turns. Being a mechanic and having ZERO faith in ford dealers.

I racked the truck and drained the differential And fluid was dark brown. I refilled the differential with ford 75W disconnect gear oil. 50 miles later and the noise is gone. The new fluid is clear btw.

So if you have this groaning noise, new fluid takes care of it.

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[FromAway]

Have you done a lot of towing, hills, stop and go, offroading?

I plan to change mine at 30k miles, but have quite a ways to go still.

 

[Dieselmechanic]

Have you done a lot of towing, hills, stop and go, offroading?

I plan to change mine at 30k miles, but have quite a ways to go still.

It's used only to get parts for the shop. No towing or offroading. No hills in south Florida lol

 

[MaverickTopGun]

It's used only to get parts for the shop. No towing or offroading. No hills in south Florida lol

Nice AWD rear diff on the Mavericks! It is a Dana twin clutch unit. And yes, it takes a special fluid to get the friction in the clutch plates right: "Motorcraft® SAE 75W Disconnect Rear Drive Unit Fluid".

Ford Disconnect Rear Drive Unit Fluid (XY-75W-QL) | Bob Is The Oil Guy

I looked on the maintenance schedule, and it just says to inspect the thing for leaks back there.
I'd definitely want to flush out loose wear particles that might interfere with clutch operation friction once in a while.

Those clutches actually operate any time you do a turn. They aren't unclutched all the time except when the tires are slipping like some units, it actually uses clutch action for differential turning effect.

What is the torque specs on the drain and fill plugs? Only takes a quart? Were the drain or fill plugs magnetic to catch iron wear particles?

 

[Dieselmechanic]

Nice AWD rear diff on the Mavericks! It is a Dana twin clutch unit. And yes, it takes a special fluid to get the friction in the clutch plates right: "Motorcraft® SAE 75W Disconnect Rear Drive Unit Fluid".

Ford Disconnect Rear Drive Unit Fluid (XY-75W-QL) | Bob Is The Oil Guy

I looked on the maintenance schedule, and it just says to inspect the thing for leaks back there.
I'd definitely want to flush out loose wear particles that might interfere with clutch operation friction once in a while.

Those clutches actually operate any time you do a turn. They aren't unclutched all the time except when the tires are slipping like some units, it actually uses clutch action for differential turning effect.

What is the torque specs on the drain and fill plugs? Only takes a quart? Were the drain or fill plugs magnetic to catch iron wear particles?

The plug was not very tight for both fill, and drain. It took 3/4 of a quart. Drain plug was magnetic and did have very fine metal on it and clutch debris. Nothing out of the ordinary from what I could tell.

I would definitely NOT advise anyone that plans to keep their maverick, follow the rear diff interval, or lack thereof. Service every 30k.

 

[NoVaJimmy]

This is a common issue with clutch type differentials and yes fresh fluid usually takes care of it

 

[Buford]

Thanks for writing this up. Mine has 80k miles and has been groaning for a little while now. Changing the oil this week!

 

[billbillw]

I would definitely NOT advise anyone that plans to keep their maverick, follow the rear diff interval, or lack thereof. Service every 30k.

Agreed! Also, don't forget to do the PTU fluid at roughly the same interval.

 

[Bmckenz]

With 31k miles on my AWD maverick, I started noticing a groan while making sharp turns. Being a mechanic and having ZERO faith in ford dealers.

I racked the truck and drained the differential And fluid was dark brown. I refilled the differential with ford 75W disconnect gear oil. 50 miles later and the noise is gone. The new fluid is clear btw.

So if you have this groaning noise, new fluid takes care of it.

did it take 50 miles to completely go away? Had mine done at a dealership, and is better but not perfect. Just wondered if it needs time to work it’s way in

 

[Bn1970]

Groan on slow turns started at 5k, never got worse. Took it in at 50k before warranty ran out. Ford told dealer to do a drain on rear diff. before ripping it out. Fresh fluid took care of the noise.

 

[Bn1970]

also, noise went away immediately after fresh fluid.

 

[TacoTanium]

Has anyone used 75w90 for the rear diff? If it's making noise with OE stuff, I don't want to put it back in.

Groan on slow turns started at 5k, never got worse. Took it in at 50k before warranty ran out. Ford told dealer to do a drain on rear diff. before ripping it out. Fresh fluid took care of the noise.

I just started to notice my very light groan too on sharp slow corners.....it's only 1.4k miles. Did you tow/haul heavy between your 5k and 50k?

 

[ImGoose]

Surfacing an old thread.

12/2023 @ 32k miles, my 2022 AWD Maverick had the low groan while turning at low speeds. Dealership changed fluid. Sound gone.

18 months later, 20k miles, sound is back. Dealer looked at it and has decided to replace rear differential.

Fluid changes need to be pretty common on this thing. I wouldn't say the sound ever got worse, but certainly makes you worry.

 

[Maverick123]

My guess would be that if it's groaning and the fluid looks ugly, there's a reason for that: there's probably something gone wrong in the diff. The noise and oil aren't the problem, they're the symptoms

I'm curious how many of the "noise went away after an oil change" replies eventually needed the diff replaced.

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