2006 F150 Pinion Seal

So i have a F150 I bought new, has about 50k miles on it and i noticed some dripping by the rear axle. I have come to find out its the rear pinion seal most likely. I have read around and found its a pretty common problem. Has anyone had this problem and know if its covered under warranty??

I dont tow ever with this truck, never really put much in the bed other than a motorcycle here and there. Should this seal be worn out already. I can only imagine if i was towing a trailer everyday what it would be like.

Also anyone know what ford charges to fix this if its not covered under warranty? My local mechanic said about $250.00 if its just the seal. If the bearings bad as well it could be costly he said $750-$1000 range.

Thanks
Rob

Seals fail now and then, it's not uncommon. To answer your question about warranty coverage, I would say not unless you have some sort of extended service plan or aftermarket warranty would it be covered. Factory warranty was only 3 years, 36k . You are well beyond both those parameters.
I think your estimate for just the seal is a little on the high side. You should not have to pay over 1.5 hours labor for that operation, the seal is typically $25-30 range. I would think more like $150 would be in order.
If you have rear axle damage, is the rear end making any noises, shuddering or binding? You would be looking at a larger bill. It would be safe to estimate roughly $1400 for a bearing only overhaul of the rear axle. I suspect you probably only have a leaking seal, or maybe a grooved yolk. Average labor on that job is around 7-8 hours, 300-400 for bearings, pieces ect. Gear lube is synthetic 75-140w and is spendy . It runs around $20 a qt. You would need 3-4.
Take it to someone reputable. Have them asses what is the cause of the leak, and overall condition of the rear axle, unless you are capable, then do it yourself.

Im taking it to the dealer tomorrow. Ill see what they say. Appreciate the response

Just heard back from the dealer. pinion seal is bad and they need to replace the crush bearing. Supposedly it needs to be done when replacing the seal. Well that what the dealership said. originally i was quoted $750 and got them down to $630. Seems very high. They said about 4 hrs worth of labor and 100 worth of parts. Seems like im getting porked, problem is i need the truck fixed. Oh well thanks for the help

That's about right for dealer pricing. Anytime you do a pinion seal you have to do the crush sleeve. Take it to a good shop or an offroad shop that does gears and you should be about $250. Most guys will do a rear end service at the same time so depending on what type of oil you go with you could be a little more. Either way if you have not done gear work before I wouldn't do it yourself I have seen a lot of guys take a simple pinion seal job and a few hundred miles down the road they get to do a whole new rear end.

Yeah, i dont have a good offroad shop around and my local guy didnt know about the crush sleeve so i decided to go to the dealer. Adn im about 20 mins outside NYC so car repairs are always pretty high. This way i get a 12,000 warranty on the work or a year.

That sounds like the safe way to go. Plus Ford will service the rear end if I recall correctly it is part of the shop rate on the Pinion seal job.

Crush sleeve needs to be replaced to insure the proper amount of preload on the bearings. Its behind the front pinion bearing and unfortunately the front bearing usually doesnt just slide out.(most of the time needs to be pressed out) Therefore differential needs to be disassembled.

At least all your diff bearings can be inspected and replaced if needed without much extra charge.

You did right taking it to a professional. You can easily mess this job up.

75 bucks of the parts is just in fluid.(75/140w) The crush sleeve, seal, and silicone are the cheap parts.

Ok guys. Hate to break this to ya. The crush sleeve does not have to be replaced when servicing the pinion seal. Maybe someone should bother to check the FACTORY workshop manual before quoting things. The labor for that repair should only be 1.3 hours (1.1 warranty). I am a Ford senior master technician and have been doing rear end repairs for 15 years or more. The key to doing that job correctly is removing the flange, replacing the seal and nut. The nut has locking compound pre applied. The nut is then torqued to to the peviously recorded rotating torque that you measured before disaasembly. There is no nead to remove the rear cover. No need to disassemble the gear set, ect. I hate to see ya get taken for a ride and waist hard earned money on someone elses incompetence. If anyone wants to agrue this, argue it with Ford, they built the truck and wrote the service manual.
I will also add that you guys out there that replace seals and have the rear end fail in a few thousand miles afterwards either overtightened the nut and crushed the sleeve further, or left it too loose. Most of the time it is overtightened. No need to change the diff lube at 60k either, it's good for 100k. Sounds to me like the someone is scarred of gears!

Bawshogg How long you been with Gresham Ford?

Started there in Jan. 01.

Nice Mike A. still around in parts? I used to do a lot of work for Gresham Ford.

Yes he is. That guys is a permanent fixture. I think he is included with the building. if you don't mind me asking, what did you do?

Logistics now. I used to do Suspension and gear work for a lot of dealers over in the valley. Now I just build trucks for fun not a living much more enjoyable. Probably know a lot of the same people if you have been wrenching for awhile in that area.